It was time to start making do.
“I’m good, Jack,” she said, reaching for the door handle to show her readiness. “I grew up in a don’t-tell environment not so different than this. I know the rules.”
His eyes studied her as if he accepted, but didn’t like, what she’d just said. “Okay.”
They both opened their doors, getting out. Claire kept her chin down as she waited for him to lead the way. To her surprise, he draped his arm around her shoulders before guiding her to the elevator. Part of her flinched; part of her leaned. She hated both reactions for different reasons.
“There are three cameras on the way to the room,” he said casually. “The one looking at us now will only get the top of your hat if you keep your chin like it is right now.” He punched the button to call the elevator. “The next camera is in the top corner of the elevator and it picks up reflections quite well on the right side of the elevator, so we’ll stand on the left. Just act tired and nuzzle in a bit, and we won’t look all that suspicious.”
She could do that. She just wouldn’t get too comfortable or inhale too deeply. Jack smelled like Daniel, which tricked her mind into being more comfortable than it should be if she stopped paying attention.
“The last camera is to the right when we get off the elevator,” he said as the elevator bell signaled that it had arrived. “So keep your head pointed down and left, and you’ll be fine.”
His precise instructions calmed her, which was saying something considering how much she hated him at the moment. He’d betrayed her. He’d lied to her for four weeks. He had his reasons, sure, but he didn’t have to pretend to be her friend. He didn’t have to make her trust him. He didn’t need to stay up with her night after night for weeks learning all her secrets.
That hadn’t been friendship. It was recon that he was now going to use against her. She, in turn, knew nothing of him. Everything he’d ever told her was a lie. Conversely, everything Jack knew about her was the bald-faced mortifying truth—including the whole embarrassing situation regarding her crush on Ryan. She’d told him everything the night after Ryan had been arrested.
Every dumb fantasy.
She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to look Jack in the eye after all that, but she would have to find a way if she wanted to get through all this. It was time to put on her big-girl pants and start dealing.
The elevator chimed that they’d arrived at their floor, and Claire responded by ducking her chin and turning it to the left. She jumped a little when Jack’s hand slipped into hers and led her out of the elevator and down the hall. When they were out of sight of the camera, he released her hand.
Of course he did. She’d been stupid to find the connection comforting for the few seconds it lasted. It had all been for the cameras.
He moved to the first door on the right and opened, gesturing for her to walk in ahead of him. She did, hearing the door close and lock behind them as she took in the simple room. Her mind quickly went through its usual routine, mapping objects and corners. She was aware of the two people sitting at the dining room table watching her, but her compulsion forced her to look at them last. She’d been expecting Kali to be one of the two waiting for her, but instead, she saw Jason Statham’s stunt double and an unsmiling brunette whose beauty looked Photoshopped.
Were all of Jack’s colleagues models?
“Have a seat,” Jack said, interrupting Claire’s thoughts as she openly gawked at the other woman, assessing her. Her level of physical perfection was actually suspicious—unnatural. As Claire took her seat, she started cataloging the woman’s modifications. At the top of that list was Botox. Just like Claire’s mom, this new woman had enough Botox injected into her face to mask any authentic thought she might have. The best reads of her would come from watching her hands and feet, which were conveniently hiding under the table.
Claire had a feeling that wasn’t on accident.
All Claire knew was that the woman was obsessed with perfection. Flawless hair, makeup, posture, and attire all said as much—along with the nose, cheekbones, eyes, and lips that had certainly been refined by someone with a medical degree and a scalpel.
Jack’s colleague might be gorgeous, but unlike Kali, she wasn’t born that way. And when a person went to such extreme lengths to hide their inherent selves, there was a story there.
“Good to officially meet you, Claire,” the tattooed man said, his eyes taking in her body language like a bodyguard’s might. He stood and offered his hand. “My name is Ren.”
Claire lost the ability to speak as his massive hand engulfed hers. If meeting Kali had made Claire afraid to run, this man doubled down on those fears. He was all muscle and all business, despite his friendly smile.
“And this is Margot,” Jack said from next to her.
Claire nodded in acknowledgment when the woman made no move to shake her hand. “Good to meet you, Margot.”
The woman’s face remained unchanged. She didn’t even blink. “We’ll see about that.”
Okay, then.
“And Kali?” Claire blurted. “Will she be joining us.”
“No,” Margot said, her tone clipped.
Okay. Margot didn’t like Kali. Note taken.
Next to her, Jack angled his chair to face her. “Ren, Margot, and I work together as a pod.”
“Doing what, exactly?” Claire asked. It was a bold question, but she was taking her cues from Margot.
Margot shook her head. “First, let me tell you how this works. Everything you’re about to hear is confidential, which means you repeat it never.”
“Oka—”
“I’m not done,” Margot said over Claire’s response. “You tell anyone about this, I destroy you. You try to blackmail any of us, and I’ll take your entire family line down. No playing soft or giving second chances because you’re a girl or because Jack is soft on you.” She leaned forward, looking Claire directly in the eye. “All we expect is for you to live up to your word, so don’t ever offer anything you can’t deliver. We won’t expect you to deliver more than you’ve promised. But if you break a promise, you’ll feel the earth fall out from under you so quickly that you’ll never fully trust your two feet on the ground ever again.”
Claire was too stunned to respond, so for a moment, she just looked the other woman in her unflinching eyes.
“I can end you—” Margot brought her hand up and gave a sharp snap of her fingers. “—like that. And I can end your corrupt family in half that time if you decide you want to play games with anyone sitting at this table. Do you understand me?”
For a moment, Claire forgot how to blink or breathe. “I, uh, yes,” she managed after a moment. “I understand.”
“Good,” Margot said with a quick nod. “Then we can continue.”
Stunned and more than a little off balance, Claire looked around the table to see if Ren and Jack shared Margot’s intense sentiment. The look in Jack’s eyes told her that nothing Margot had just said was exaggerated.
Ren gave a helpless shrug when their eyes met. “Now you see why Margot isn’t invited to the company Christmas party.”
Claire didn’t know which was funnier, the statement or the fact that no one laughed at it. Claire was too terrified to laugh, but in that moment she decided she liked Ren.
Margot continued as if Ren had said nothing at all. “You know of the dark web, correct?”
“Of course,” Claire said. “Every contact I’ve had with investors has been through the dark web.”
Margot nodded as if she’d been expecting that answer. “This venture works the same way. We find jobs and communicate on the dark web, then receive payments through bitcoin.”
Claire locked eyes with the other woman. “And what is that business, exactly?”
Margot smiled. “We police the elite.” She gestured to Jack. “At least, he does. I’m the one who makes sure he gets paid for it.”
“And I’m just eye candy,” Ren said with a smile.
<
br /> “Basically,” Margot said, not looking amused. “We’re here because many of your scam targets got twitchy after investing with you—especially the ones who are coming up on a year without seeing movement.”
“And nobody likes a twitchy billionaire,” Ren put in, clearly trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Margot didn’t play along. “No. Reputation and money are two things most rich people protect at all costs. Getting screwed over by a hover car scam is not something any person who fancies themselves powerful wants to be associated with. They’ll pretty much do anything to avoid that. In their world, if you can’t get even, it’s better to kill the person who tricked you than to admit defeat.”
“Oh,” Claire said, thinking of her father and the hundreds of dinner conversations she’d witnessed that told her Margot was not exaggerating. Pride and money. Those were definitely the priorities in her own family. All this time she’d been trying to minimize the threat she’d been facing, but hearing Margot say it out loud put an end to that.
She was in trouble. Big trouble.
The realization had her looking at Jack, of all people, which only made her feel more stupid. All her life she’d been the smart one, but from the day she’d met Jack she’d been nothing but stupid. So much for a 176 IQ. She should probably test again. The score had definitely been a fluke.
With everyone looking at her, Claire felt like she should say something. “So I’m here because you need me to give the money back to investors?”
“Not necessarily,” Margot said, picking up a tablet and doing a few swishes with her hand before turning the screen to face Claire. Even from across the table Claire recognized the numbers. They were numbers she recited hundreds of times a day. “We need you more for your access to the computer you use during your meetings.”
Seeing the numbers that were supposed to be confidential up on Margot’s screen left Claire feeling a ill with panic. “Where did you get those numbers?”
“From the investors,” Margot said as if it was obvious. “A few months ago, I saw the bounties going up on boards on the dark web to find out if your investment was legitimate or not and pointed them out to Jack. He immediately spotted it as a fraud and gave me permission to set up a counter-bounty. We promised to shut down the scam, name the leaders, and return the money in exchange for a fee.”
Ren jerked his thumb Margot’s direction. “The fee was her idea.”
“Of course it was,” Margot replied indignantly. “I’m not a charity, and these people we’re dealing with say thanks in the form of cash. It’s the universal language of respect, and they don’t respond to anything less.”
“You would know,” Ren muttered, earning a narrow look from Margot.
“Point is,” she continued. “Jack, Ren, and I want what you want. You want to go back to your old life and we want to get paid.”
Ren cleared his throat and Margot rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” she amended. “I want to get paid.” She gestured to the men dismissively. “These guys have motives all their own you can ask them about if you feel so inclined. But the point is that we are three people who are in the habit of getting what we want, so it’s best not to screw with us.”
“I think we covered that at the beginning of the meeting,” Ren muttered under his breath. He might be big and tattooed and muscular, but Ren was seriously starting to grow on Claire.
Claire could tell Margot was just about to snap back when Jack took over the conversation, his voice calm. “The position we’re all in now is that we’re all invested in quietly dissolving this situation. But to do that, we all need to coordinate. We need each other.” He turned his chair to face Claire. “You’re new to this dance, but this is how it works: this meeting is to establish what we want to do and how we’re going to do it. Everyone will commit to what they will do and the resources they will put toward achieving our collective goal.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “This is the important part, Claire: everything committed to today must be fulfilled. There is no wiggle room or modifying your commitment later. Doing so endangers us all, which means that you—or whoever fails—will be the one sacrificed when things start falling apart.” He let that settle in a moment before hammering the point one more time for good measure. “In this world, your only protection is your integrity. Do you understand? If fear makes you falter, leaving us exposed, we will disappear like smoke. But live up to your word, and we have your back to the end. That’s the situation you’re walking into if we continue this meeting.”
The words should have been intimidating, but an odd calm came over Claire as she considered the terms.
Perfection.
That was all they wanted. Exactness—for Claire to promise something and then do exactly as promised while they did the same in return.
It was like an OCD dream come true.
“I can do that,” she said, feeling confident for the first time in weeks.
“I just want to make sure as we understand each other,” Jack replied.
“We do,” Claire said.
“Well, then,” Jack said, looking relieved for some reason. “Let’s get down to business.”
Chapter 26
Home, at last, Claire thought, taking a seat at the small dining room table in the dining room of the apartment she thought she might never see again. For some reason she chose to sit in Daniel’s usual spot, facing the kitchen.
She had so many memories at this table—good memories. Or so she’d thought. They were tainted now that she knew they were all a ruse. Her fake roommate, Daniel, hadn’t hung out and made her laugh because he liked her company. He’d done it because Jack needed information.
Still, twisted as it was, the apartment felt like the closest thing to a home she’d ever known. That was a pretty sad commentary on her life. But sad or not, being back in the apartment had her feeling a bit nostalgic. It was like the apartment represented a part of her life she was graduating from, and she couldn’t go back. She could only move forward, whether she wanted to or not.
Because life didn’t have a pause button, and it definitely didn’t have a rewind button. It was all just one big chaos button, apparently.
If ever there had been a time in her life to see a therapist, this was it. But therapy would have to wait. Jack said the first part of the plan was stick to her routine. They wanted to give Mr. SUV as little to worry about as possible after what she’d said to Ryan at the prison that morning. Claire might have been verbally resistant when she spoke to Ryan, but if she kept to her routine and stayed in sight, it would go a long way in smoothing feathers.
And according to Jack, they wanted to keep Mr. SUV’s smooth feathers for the moment. Ruffled feathers came later.
Jack…not Daniel. Jack.
She was still getting used to that, especially now that they were both back in the apartment. Daniel didn’t exist, even though Jack had put Daniel’s clothes back on before they came back. Once the door was shut behind them, however, he’d dropped the act and gone to his room.
No classical music this time. Just silence, which meant there was nothing to distract her thoughts as she relived her conversation with Ryan in the prison that morning.
“What an idiot,” she muttered, not knowing whether she was talking about him or herself. The sentiment applied either way.
She went to UNLV for this man—UNLV for heaven’s sake! Maybe Ryan couldn’t do better, but she certainly could. In the name of being in close proximity to Professor Ryan Eastman, she hadn’t.
Apparently love made everyone dumb. And how had Ryan repaid her within an hour of meeting her mom? He had…
She couldn’t even finish that thought in her mind.
Claire was like the opposite of that girl in Legally Blonde. That girl had chased a loser across the country and ended up better for it in the end. Claire had made the brilliant move of declining the most prestigious universities in the world and following a narcissist to Nevada to become a c
on woman. And for what? A PhD from UNLV would put her on the top of no one’s short list, but Ryan had made her believe that the two of them would develop a groundbreaking dissertation she couldn’t create anywhere else, and she’d bought his line.
All those smiles. All those promises. All the careful flirting. She’d basked in his attention and had loved how special he made her feel. Other universities had enticed her, but Ryan had seduced her—platonically, no less. He’d given her hope that maybe someone out there understood her…wanted her—
Claire pushed those thoughts away. For the moment, it was easier to focus on the academic disappointment than the personal one.
Is this why people drink? Claire thought after a few minutes of wallowing. She never drank. Her being her and all, it just didn’t seem like a good idea. Usually. Tonight it sounded like an excellent idea.
Standing up from the table, she walked over to take a look at Danie—no, Jack’s cooking stash. Two red wines, one white, and rum. She’d never tried rum.
Feeling a bit guilty, she put an inch of liquid in a glass and brought it back to the table. Then she stared at it. Now that she had it in front of her, it didn’t seem so necessary anymore. She needed her mind for what was coming, not a drink.
“Just checking in,” Jack’s voice said from the other side of the room. Claire looked up and saw Daniel’s clothes with Jack’s face. He was waving one of Daniel’s pocket squares. A white one.
Cute. Too bad cute didn’t work on her anymore.
He stayed where he was, concern evident in his eyes. “Do you need to talk to someone about what happened today?”
She bit her lip and dropped her gaze down so he wouldn’t see the flush of embarrassment she felt rising up her cheeks at the sight of him. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
He nodded his understanding and started to back out of the room.
“But,” she called, stopping him. “It would be good to talk to someone, and it seems there are only four people on this planet I can tell any of this to at the moment.”
Pimpernel Page 12
