by Eve, Jaymin
“Seriously?” he muttered, sounding a bit shocked. He reached for my phone, and I handed it to him to see for himself. “Huh. Technically, he invited you to dinner, but even so...” His brow furrowed, and I groaned.
“What? You’ve got that look. What’s wrong?”
He gave a small shrug, handing my phone back. “Just seems suspicious that he agreed to meet so easily. Everything we hear about Graeme Huntley is that he holds his privacy of utmost importance. Now he’s inviting a Delta heir into his home? Seems... odd.”
I huffed, disappointed that he wasn’t congratulating me. “Maybe he’s just curious about what I want to discuss? I mean, I’m still his niece.”
Beck nodded, but didn’t lose the tension in his jaw.
“What does it matter?” Dylan commented. “It’s not like Riley is going alone, and Huntley wouldn’t dare hurt her so close to the vote. They need Catherine to hold her seat and she can’t do that without a living heir.”
“True that,” Jasper agreed. “Hey, can I come to dinner too? I really want to see the inside of Huntley Manor.”
“No,” Beck replied, throwing a scrunched up ball of paper at his friend across the table. We’d all been working on school assignments while eagerly waiting on a response from Graeme Huntley. We needed to know why he hadn’t shown the cops his stalker files for Katelyn and decided the best way to find out... was to ask.
Beck was done now though, leaned back in his chair, gaze on me. “What?” I finally said, my lips tilting up before I could stop them.
“We never finished our conversation last night, Butterfly,” he said softly, and I realized that I hadn’t given him the folder yet. I’d packed up the papers and slipped it in the drawer before we went to bed, and then promptly forgot all the scary horrible shit.
“You said that you thought the gifts were from the stalker, the flowers, maybe.”
Beck had actually let it go longer than I expected, but he’d clearly had enough of waiting.
Leaning over to my side table, I pulled out the file. “Wells sent me this. Apparently, he found out about the police investigation and wanted to give me the heads up.”
Beck took the papers, his face hard and unreadable. Dylan leaned over to read on one side and Jasper on the other. The three of them were silent, and when Evan lifted his eyebrows at me, I just shrugged. He eventually got up and stood behind the couch to see as well.
A tic started high in Beck’s jaw. Dylan’s too, if I was being honest. Jasper looked sick, and Evan was pale, his eyes wide as he stared down.
“You should have given this to me straight away,” Beck said softly, that menace in his undertone his scary one. “I figured the papers you threw were to do with school or something unimportant. Not a fucking dossier on this rose killer.”
I shrugged. “Sorry. I just … the nightmares.”
I’d needed a break from the nightmares, and Beck had given me that.
A knock at the door sounded, and we all startled. Our whole crew, Eddy included, was already inside my apartment ... so who was knocking on the door? No one should have been able to even get to our floor without the appropriate access keys, Evan had ordered the elevators rewired to block access from the rest of the building.
“I’ll get it?” Eddy yelled, moving out of the kitchen where she’d been making a snack, missing all the drama.
Dylan was on his feet in an instant. “Sit down,” he snapped as he stalked over to the door. He took a moment to peer out the peephole then swung it open to reveal ... no one. A chill of fear ran down my spine, which quickly turned to ice when he bent to collect something from the doorstep.
That act had all three other boys bursting out of their seats and doing all kinds of shit that I barely even noticed. Beck pulled a gun from God knew where and darted out into the hall with Evan tight behind him, Dylan tossed the package to Jasper then slammed the door shut and flicked all my deadbolts. He then disappeared with a gun of his own in hand, checking all through the apartment then winding up at the huge living room window. He stood there for a while, peering down at the street below before giving a faint nod and tucking his gun away in the back of his jeans.
“Here.” He held his hand out for the package, and Jasper handed it back over as he came over to where I still sat. Totally frozen.
“Riles, you okay?” Jasper asked, touching my hand where I clutched the edge of the table. My grip was so tight my knuckles were white, nails biting into the wood varnish.
I blinked a couple of times, trying to shake myself out of the shock I’d sunk into. “Yeah,” I replied in a hoarse whisper. “Yeah, just open it.” I nodded to Dylan, who held the small package in his hands.
He gave me a nod, lifted the lid of the shiny gift box, then frowned.
“What is it?” I asked, trying so freaking hard to hide the panic in my voice. “Is it...?” Any number of horrible things crossed my mind, fueled by the crime scene photos of Cordelia June’s murder.
Dylan didn’t reply, just held up a flash drive then tossed the box—and the rose—onto the table. “Jasper, pass over your laptop,” he said.
“What if it’s a virus?” Eddy suggested, right as Dylan was about to plug it in. “What if this is some, I dunno, Huntley ploy to hack your computers? Even if it doesn’t immediately do anything, it could be a Trojan horse designed to lurk and gather info every time you use your laptop.”
Both boys paused, then Jasper rushed out of my apartment, returning a few tense moments later with a brand new, still in its box, tablet. “Smart thinking, sis,” he complimented Eddy as he ripped the packaging open and powered up the device. Dylan passed him the flash drive and he plugged it in, propping the screen on the table for all four of us to see.
“Video file,” Dylan murmured, and Jasper tapped the icon to open it.
When the file began playing, I was too shocked and dumbfounded to do anything but stare in horror.
“Whoa,” Eddy murmured, but even that didn’t cut through my stunned disbelief. “Girl, is that...” On the screen Beck flipped me over, pressing me into the couch as my legs circled his waist and—
“Turn it off!” I shrieked, finally breaking out of the trance and slapping my hand over the screen. “Oh my god. Oh my god. He has a camera in here.” Nausea twisted my stomach, and I swallowed hard.
Jasper and Dylan were already scouring my living room, searching for the hidden camera while breath rushed in and out of me with increasing speed.
“Hey, come on, girl,” Eddy said, rubbing my back, “you’re okay, just put your head between your knees for a minute. You’re about to pass out.” Helpless to do anything else, I did what she said.
Thankfully, it only took a few seconds for the fuzziness to fade and my breathing to slow, because the slamming door almost startled me into a heart attack.
“What’s going on?” Beck demanded.
“Got it!” Dylan announced, pulling the tiniest little speck of technology from the decorative light fixture over my kitchen island.
Beck’s whole body turned to stone, and his eyes fixed on the thing on the end of Dylan’s finger. “Is that what I think it is?”
His friend gave him a tight smile, then walked over to the table and dropped the micro camera into Evan’s beer.
“Show me,” Beck demanded, his voice like the crack of a whip. Even I flinched a little.
Jasper handed him the tablet, and I watched as Beck hit play. This time, without the distraction of watching my very first sex tape, I could hear the audio. Except that wasn’t audio of Beck and me fucking on the couch. That was—
“Is that someone jerking off?” I exclaimed, totally horrified.
Eddy screwed up her nose and made a gagging sound. “Pretty sure it is.”
Beck stared at the screen, watching the clip and not saying a damn word. The look on his face, though…
“Turn it off,” I snapped at him, and his gaze rose to meet mine. “Please, Sebastian. Turn it off.”
He sh
ook his head. “I need to see if there is any message here, other than the fact that this sicko filmed us and then beat off over it.”
I clenched my jaw, angry at him for refusing my request and fucking furious at this psycho who’d placed a camera inside my apartment. He was inside my apartment! Was that what had woken me that night? Then how the hell had Beck slept through it?
A deep shudder ran through me.
“I can’t stay here,” I muttered, standing up and grabbing my bag. But, if he got inside my apartment, who was to say he hadn’t bugged everyone else’s? “Where do I go?”
For a moment, no one replied. Beck was still watching that fucking video, so it was Evan who spoke up.
“Grab some clothes and go change in my apartment,” he suggested. “I seriously doubt this creeper put cameras in there, too, and you still have dinner with Graeme tonight.”
I groaned, rubbing my eyes and probably smudging my makeup. “Fucking hell. Doesn’t this psychopath understand how many other things I’m dealing with? As if I need to be stalked by a serial killer right now!” I said it with a bitter laugh, but it was only to stop myself from crying.
I started toward my bedroom, then paused. “Can someone please check the bedroom for cameras? I can’t...” I shook my head, the words sticking in my throat.
I can’t fucking deal with the idea of him watching me right now.
“Any trace?” Dylan asked Evan quietly, while Jasper hurried into my bedroom and started turning over every item of movable furniture.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Evan give a grim headshake. “This prick is good. Trained. The officers didn’t see anyone come in or leave. Not even the other building residents.”
Hearing this, I shuddered again. Just evading some lazy cops who were probably napping or eating, that didn’t shock me. But if my guys couldn’t find a trace of him or work out how he was getting in and out ... that scared the shit out of me.
Once Jasper cleared my bedroom—or as much as he could without any detection technology—I grabbed a change of clothes and my makeup bag. Regardless of stalker gifts and sex tapes, I still needed to free Dante from prison. That meant I needed to bring my A-game to this dinner with Graeme.
“Beck,” I snapped, returning to the living room where he still stared at the fucking tablet, even though the video must have ended already. Using his nickname seemed to break his train of thought, though, and he narrowed his eyes at me.
“Yes, Riley?”
I pursed my lips, getting a handle on all my out of control emotions. “I assume you’re coming to dinner with me?” He gave a short nod. “I’ll be ready in fifteen. We can deal with this later.” I gave a pointed look to the tablet in his hand then followed Evan down the hall to his apartment.
18
Graeme Huntley answered his own door and I was surprised enough by that, that I almost stepped back into Beck. I managed to catch myself though, plastering on a polite smile. Graeme stared down at me, a smug sort of look on his face. There was silence for a minute, and I realized that this was my first time seeing him since I’d caught him making out with his sister, and it took actual effort to control the way my smile wanted to twist into something more like disgust.
“Welcome Ms. Deboise and Mr. Beckett,” he said, the epitome of politeness. He wore a dove gray suit, with an open white dress shirt. Looking rich and business casual. “Please come in.”
Said the spider to the fly.
We stepped in together following Graeme. Beck had barely spoken a word to me since the folder and “gift” incident back at my apartment. The simmering fury in his eyes did not abate, and I wondered if Graeme would think Beck was here to attack him or something. Because right now, he looked capable of anything.
Graeme’s house was flawless and apparently brand new. Considering they had only been living here for a month or two, I wondered if it had been built for them in anticipation of the vote. Or if it was a lucky coincidence that a brand-new mansion was just available for them to purchase.
We entered a large, formal living area first, dressed mostly in gold and sky blue styling. “Please, have a seat,” he said, gesturing toward a gold tinged leather couch. The sort of couch that looked fancy and uncomfortable. “The staff will be by shortly to take a drink order.”
Beck and I both sat, and I decided there was no way I was eating or drinking anything here tonight. I remembered all too well how my father drugged me. Graeme I trusted even less than Richard, and that was saying something.
Graeme took a seat across from us, crossed his legs, looking the picture of elegance as he tilted his head in my direction. It was such a direct contrast to Beck, who was all broad and relaxed, leaned back in the seat. Legs spread slightly, arms to the side, expression one of coiled lethality.
“I was surprised to receive your message,” Graeme said softly, eyes glittering in the low light. “But I’m glad to have this opportunity to get to know my niece.”
I focused on keeping my breathing nice and even, so as not to let him catch a glimpse of my nerves.
“Thank you for the dinner invitation,” I returned, playing his game. “I figured there has been too much hostility between our families and it was time to break that cycle.”
Plus, I know you’re fucking your sister.
His grin broadened. “Something tells me there’s more to this visit than just breaking the cycle of hatred between our companies. Tell me, Riley, what is the real reason you’re here tonight. Maybe if we get that out of the way first, the rest of the meal will be more pleasant.”
I seriously doubted that, but it was worth a shot. “I need you to release the black files.”
He didn’t speak, but his expression conveyed his shock.
“Not all of them,” I hurried on. “The ones for Katelyn only should suffice.”
He shook his head, and for the briefest moment, grief crushed his face. He’d loved his daughter. I hadn’t been sure, but it was there.
“You have a lot of nerve,” he said softly, “coming into my house and bringing up my murdered daughter.”
Our polite conversation was now over.
“Dante didn’t kill her,” I said just as bluntly. “It’s a killer already being hunted by the police, a killer that is now targeting me. By withholding that file, you’re withholding evidence that might help catch the actual killer.”
Graeme crossed his arms, face again emotionless. “There is nothing in that file you need to concern yourself about. That fucking gangbanger killed my daughter, and he will pay for his crime.”
I turned to Beck, unsure where he wanted me to go now. Should I threaten him? Tell him that I saw him and Catherine and threaten to expose them? One way or another, I was leaving here with that file released to police.
“I will vote for you,” Beck said shortly, and I sucked in a deep breath.
Both because I was shocked he’d just come out and said that, while also realizing that Graeme would expect me to be shocked.
“In the Delta vote for a new member of the board,” Beck continued, “I will cast mine in favor of Huntley taking the sixth seat.”
Graeme looked between both of us, like he was unsure what to believe.
“Beck, no,” I said shaking my head, deciding to push my “shock” a little further. “I really want to save Dante, too, but there has to be another way.”
He reached over and pushed some of my hair behind my ears. “It’s only one vote, Butterfly. Graeme has to secure two more to actually get his seat. It’s not that huge of a sacrifice on my part.”
Beck acted supremely confident that there was still no way that Graeme would take the sixth seat, which again, was all part of the game we played. Beck had told me the other night that he was almost certain Graeme had two secured votes already: Catherine and someone else on the board who they’d managed to bribe or threaten to his side. Which was why Katelyn had been working so hard to get Beck’s vote. The third and final they needed.
“Will
you confirm this in writing?” Graeme asked.
Beck nodded. “I will, but you will need to keep that hidden until the vote. If my father hears about it, he will try and revert the vote back to him.”
Graeme tented his fingers in front of him, regarding us both for a moment. “Why do you want to free the gangbanger?” he asked, still clearly suspicious about why Beck would offer something so huge for someone like Dante.
My eyes burned, as they did every single time I thought about my best friend. “Dante is my family,” I said simply. I had the heirs now, they were the most important people to me ever, but that didn’t make Dante less of a part of my family.
“And Riley is mine,” Beck growled.
Graeme’s expression brightened, and he straightened in his chair. “In that case, consider the file yours. I will have it couriered over to your house, and also the separate files sent to both your private network and the police investigating the Osiria Killer.”
I straightened then too. Osiria killer? We hadn’t told him that. “You knew,” I said breathlessly, fury simmering in my gut. “You knew and you were still willing to let Dante pay for a crime he didn’t commit.”
His eyes shuttered. “Ah, yes, well … that was a favor for someone. But I consider that favor repaid, and now I’m looking out for the future of Huntley and Delta. We will be stronger together.”
Beck and I didn’t bother to answer; I was too busy trying to figure out who the favor was for. Catherine? It had to be Catherine. She was the only one who wanted Dante out of the way so he couldn’t cause her more trouble.
That bitch needed killing more and more every day.
“You only have one vote,” Beck reminded him. “Unless of course you have something to tell us about the rest of Delta board.”
Graeme shook his head. “You let me worry about that. You just need to enjoy the fabulous meal.”
He clapped his hands and three waitstaff entered the room, clearly having waited for his signal. “Drinks for everyone,” Graeme said, sounding jovial. Bastard thought he’d gotten exactly what he wanted.
