Motive

by Kennedy Layne

  “Blair?” Grace had been the one to write the names down, and Blair had been at the bottom of the suspect pool. “She was underneath Steve, Meredith, and Vern. What do you know about Blair that I don’t?”

  Rye didn’t answer right away, which meant he’d been withholding information.

  “Rye?” Grace waited for him to pull his car into the slot alongside hers. He had an early meeting up in Duluth, which meant he’d be using his car service. She’d wanted her own vehicle to drive into work tomorrow. “Why would you think Blair had reason to kill Brad?”

  “She wouldn’t, as far as I know, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be thoroughly vetted,” Rye countered, shoving the stick shift into park. His gaze zeroed in on the rearview mirror, most likely to ensure that their protective detail was back in place after having come through the entrance of the garage. “Blair had an affair with Paul before she ever came to work at Manon Investments. It’s old news, and most likely has nothing to do with this case.”

  Grace honestly couldn’t see Blair and Paul together in such an intimate fashion. Blair was in her mid-twenties. Paul had to be in his late forties. It made no sense to hire someone after sleeping with them, knowing full well the future could be ripe with problems of a personal nature.

  “Blair was twenty-two at the time,” Rye said, filling in the blanks. “They were both adults, and she’d been at another firm before he ever offered her a job at Manon Investments. Paul hired her because she’s good at her job, not because they cared for one another.”

  “How do you even know this?” Grace asked, unable to believe that Rye could have this kind of knowledge when it had been so well hidden from the employees at her own firm. “This industry is starting to rival the plot of an afternoon soap opera.”

  “Blair’s brother works for me,” Rye admitted, though he was still cryptic on how he’d discovered such a bombshell. They’d agreed this second time around to never allow business into their personal lives. “Listen, we have our own jobs to do. Nielsen isn’t coming after me. Arresting you was a major mistake for the police department. Having Brandon all but served up on a silver platter could make any seasoned detective wary, and Nielsen is just crossing his Ts and dotting his Is.”

  Grace wasn’t so sure about that assumption. Rye hadn’t been in on this morning’s meeting. Detective Nielsen didn’t seem like a man who varied from the script in front of him, which told her that he might very well believe Brandon’s claim of innocence.

  “I want you to follow me back to my house,” Rye said, not giving her a chance at rebuttal. “This way, your vehicle is safely ensconced between me and the agent assigned to protect you this evening.”

  Grace wasn’t going to argue. There were too many loose ends, and she’d already been served up as the sacrificial lamb once. She sure as hell didn’t want to be the next meal for the wolf.

  “Okay,” Grace replied softly, leaning over the console to receive a kiss. Her previous irritation had begun to wane, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up with him in front of the fireplace. Her desire reminded her that she needed to stop at her apartment before joining him at his place. “I’ve got to grab some clothes first, but then I’ll be over.”

  “I can—”

  Grace stopped Rye from saying anything else by pressing her lips to his. She’d meant to keep this brief, but his fingers somehow managed to slip underneath her bun and instantly sent shivers of arousal down her spine. The faint scent of his cologne enveloped them as her taste buds came alive with the delicious hint of mint that lingered from the treat at the end of their meal.

  She leaned in closer, her breast pushing uncomfortably into the console. She didn’t care, though, as long as he didn’t stop. Even after all this time, she couldn’t get enough of him. Her wish was cut short by the ringing of his cell phone, and from the look on his face, it was clearly a client.

  “Take it,” Grace encouraged while taking advantage of this momentary clarity. She still had to stop at her apartment, and she didn’t want to take too long knowing what was waiting for her. “I’ll meet you back at your place.”

  “You can still follow me, so that you’re safely in between two vehicles. Oh, and make sure to pack your black lace lingerie,” Rye whispered with a lingering promise, stealing one more kiss before she leaned down to grab ahold of her purse she’d set on the floor mat. “You can leave the panties.”

  “And miss watching you take them off me?” Grace blew him a teasing kiss as she opened her door. “Not a chance.”

  “Charles, what can I do for you?” Rye asked at the same time he wagged a finger her way. “Friday? Yes, I’m sure we can…”

  Rye was already deep in conversation by the time Grace closed the passenger side door. She waved as he pulled out and headed toward the exit, leaving her with her protective detail. She didn’t doubt that he would be waiting at the exit of the garage. She reached into her purse for her keys, only to find that they weren’t in the side pocket where she usually kept them.

  Damn it.

  Grace recalled setting her keys down on the credenza after having locked her filing cabinet for the night. She indicated to the driver in the vehicle who’d been tailing her all evening that she needed to go inside the building. Within seconds, a man she hadn’t seen before stepped out of the car.

  “Ma’am, is everything alright?”

  “Yes, but I left my keys in my office.” Grace began walking toward the corner of the garage where the elevator was located in a small foyer. “I’m so sorry. I know this is probably an inconvenience.”

  “It’s no problem, ma’am. I’m Jax Christensen. Ethan has the night off.”

  Jax opened the door for her, stepping back so that she could enter first. She wasn’t in the least fooled that he hadn’t already checked out the small enclosed area through the side window. There was an underlying tension in this man’s shoulders that told Grace he was ready for anything or anyone.

  Only one word could describe a man like him—dangerous.

  She was glad he was on her side.

  Without even knowing he’d done so, she found herself out of direct sight from anyone who could have been inside the elevator when the doors swooshed open. He then rested a hand on the side, preventing the doors from closing early as she stepped inside. She couldn’t stop herself from quickly checking to see if he had a wedding band on his left ring finger.

  He’d be the exact something needed to get Cynthia’s mind off of Gareth.

  Unfortunately, the man was sporting a thick silver ring that stated he’d been claimed.

  Grace would have told him what floor her office was located on, but he’d already pressed the right button. Rye hadn’t fooled around, had he? He’d hired the best of the best. It did ease her mind to know that someone was watching over them.

  “Do you know if the security cameras are back up and running?” Grace asked, never having liked awkward silence in an elevator.

  “Yes, ma’am. The garage owner had their security system completely tested and the video surveillance is now up and working properly.”

  “You can call me Grace.” She offered him a smile, but he stepped in front of her as the elevator doors slowly opened to reveal the large area of the floor’s lobby. It wasn’t long until he indicated it was safe for her to vacate the elevator. His cautious behavior was somewhat alarming. “Is there something that I don’t know about?”

  “Not at all, Grace.” Jax must have been listening to her earlier. “But you’ve basically had someone by your side the entire day, so it would have been rather hard for someone to make an attempt on your life. I don’t know what to expect going into the offices of your place of business after hours, but my job is to ensure your safety. I’m just being cautious.”

  Well, when he put it like that…

  “Wait. An attempt on my life?” Having someone try to frame her for murder was one thing, but to try and kill her? That was something else entirely. “There’s something I don
’t know about, isn’t there?”

  “No,” Jax answered confidently, though he came to a stop right before the glass doors of Manon Investments. “You know everything I do at this point, but is it usual for the door to be opened this time of night?”

  “Yes.” Grace continued through the opening, inhaling the mixture of leather and paper hanging in the air. Laurel said the scent reminded her of money, but Grace always thought it smelled like the interior of a brand-new car. “A few of the analysts work late hours, and Paul has been putting in at least fourteen-hour work days since Brad died. You can have a seat here. I won’t be long.”

  It didn’t surprise her when Jax didn’t take her advice. Instead, he fell into step beside her as they made their way past Marilyn’s desk and into the trading room. Grace was the one who stopped walking first.

  “Steve, what are you still doing here?”

  It was one thing for the analysts and the support staff to work late, but there was honestly no reason for Steve to still be sitting at the trading desk. He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, which told her that he never went home to change.

  “Um, working. I was just going over some option trades that Smith is considering making on tomorrow’s opening. Josh usually handled those types of trades.” It was clear to Grace that Steve was doing nothing of the sort but staring off into space. As a matter of fact, he looked as if he’d lost his best friend. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he and Meredith hadn’t patched things up. “What brings you back to the office?”

  “I left my car keys here.” Grace struggled with the decision to do what she came here to do, knowing full well Rye was going to be waiting for her near the exit of the garage, and taking a seat to get some type of reassurance that Steve had nothing to do with Brad’s murder. After all, this was the perfect time. She had a personal bodyguard. “Steve, I heard about what happened with Meredith. I’m sorry.”

  Steve closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, clearly deciding if he should confide in Grace. Regardless that she wanted assurances, that didn’t mean she couldn’t be a friend in need. Josh was no longer here. His and Steve’s friendship had been ruined due to choices that she wasn’t sure he would retract if he could.

  “Let me guess. Marilyn.”

  “You know that she’s the eyes and ears of this office.”

  Steve shook his head in misery, most likely believing that he’d been betrayed on every level. Nothing in his life was going well.

  “I didn’t kill Brad.”

  Steve’s declaration was said in anger, but his resentment was something she could understand.

  “Neither did I,” Grace responded softly, taking a seat in one of the rolling black chairs. Jax had judiciously given them privacy, though she could still see him standing near her office. “And trust me, being blamed for something so horrible can instill a rage inside of you that threatens to burn down everything in your life. But you can’t let that happen.”

  “You think I’m a dick for what I did to Brad, don’t you?”

  “I know that Brad and Meredith were divorced.” Grace set her purse down on the workspace in between two keyboards. “Who Meredith chose to spend her time with afterward is none of my business. It’s no one’s business but her own. Do I think you should have been the one to tell Brad? Yes, I do. Unfortunately, that’s hindsight. What’s done is done.”

  “But it’s not done,” Steve argued, leaning forward and squeezing the white and blue stress ball that he and Josh used to throw around the office on a daily basis. “Meredith had the audacity to ask me if I killed Brad in cold blood. You tell me. Did Rye Marshall ask you the same thing after your arrest?”

  Grace wished she could share with Steve a similar story so that he didn’t feel so alone, but she wasn’t able to do that. Rye had never once doubted her, just as she hadn’t him.

  “My circumstances are different than yours, Steve,” Grace shared reluctantly, not wanting anything she said to come out as vain. “I had a previous relationship with Rye to build on, along with having to overcome a lot of odds to be in the place we are now.”

  “This isn’t just about Meredith and everyone here.” Steve pressed his thumb and index finger against his eyes, though she doubted that it would relieve any of the built-up pressure. “My brother-in-law withdrew his bid to come work for Manon Investments. And before you say anything, I know full well that the job offer was off the table the moment Brad’s death became public knowledge. It’s the point that his actions spoke louder than his words.”

  “Brad, I understand all too well how families fall apart under stress. My own mother closed the door in my face this evening after I went over there to speak with Brandon. He’s the one who committed insider trading, was arrested for murder, and yet I’m the villain.” Grace had calmed down a lot since she and Rye had driven away from the Walsh residence. She was able to put things in better perspective now that some time had passed. “What my family can’t understand is that I’m not willing to compromise my integrity for the sake of smoothing over someone else’s mistakes.”

  Damn, but it felt good to say that aloud.

  “Steve, call Josh.” Grace hoped that her brother had someone telling him something similar. It was doubtful, considering her mother was acting as his gatekeeper. She could still hope. “Josh was your friend, and you made a mistake by not telling him that you were seeing Meredith. Josh and Anita used to be pretty close with Brad and Meredith back in the day. I’m sure you can understand why he felt betrayed at being kept in the dark.”

  “You don’t get it. Josh betrayed me the moment he went to Brad with his suspicions.” Steve’s defensive attitude was most likely what got him in this predicament to begin with. She should know, considering it was the reason she walked away from Rye in the first place. “Josh should have come to me first.”

  “And how do you think Josh felt finding out from a stranger that you and Meredith were involved? You worked longer hours beside him than he spent with his own wife. Secrets like that can destroy even the strongest of friendships.” Grace wondered if her relationship with her family might have been different had Brandon come and apologized to her and Rye for betraying them. Would she have been a better person and forgiven him for his crimes? Well, she doubted she would ever know that outcome. “Call him, Steve. Make amends, because you need a friend now more than ever.”

  Grace quietly stood and picked up her purse, astonished that such a random conversation had helped her put things into perspective with her own family. She’d harbored guilt over too many things out of her control. She’d learned to leave remorse behind with her experience with Rye, but she could now do the same with her mother.

  It didn’t take her long to close the distance to her office. Jax had already flipped on the light switch, so all she had to do was cross the threshold to where her credenza was positioned on the back wall.

  There was only one problem.

  Her keys were nowhere to be found.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Do you want another glass of wine?”

  Rye waited for Grace to reply, but it was obvious she hadn’t heard his inquiry. She’d been staring at the flickering flames of the blazing fire for the last ten minutes.

  “Grace?”

  Rye had no doubt she was going over this evening’s events with a fine-tooth comb. He’d done so himself a hundred times in the past hour, but neither of them would find the answers they sought here in this moment.

  He’d walked into Manon Investments just in time to find Grace holding her keys, but she’d been adamant she hadn’t left them on her desk. Steve had sworn that he hadn’t seen anyone enter her office, but he really couldn’t have been sure given that the trading desk faced away from Grace’s door.

  Rye had driven to the exit of the parking garage, only to sit there finishing his conversation while staring into the rearview mirror waiting for Grace’s car to pull up behind his. Only five minutes had passed with no sight of her
. He wasn’t about to leave the garage without her in between him and the agent assigned to her for the night.

  Unfortunately, a vehicle had driven up behind Rye before he could put his car in reverse. He’d had no choice but to drive through the gate, around the block, and back into the entrance of the parking garage. Before he’d pulled his Audi alongside Grace’s car, the agent with her had sent a text that Grace had forgotten her keys.

  “Did you know that an alien spaceship landed outside my office today?”

  Grace didn’t blink.

  Rye did the only thing he could.

  “Hey!” Grace exclaimed after he’d tried to pry her fingers off her wineglass. One would have thought he’d been trying to steal her jewelry. “Hands off.”

  “Now that I have your attention, would you like more?” Rye asked with a lift of the bottle.

  “I’m sorry.” Grace scrunched her nose in a sheepish manner. “I’m not very good company, am I?”

  “You know, you could have easily knocked your keys on the floor and the cleaning crew set them on your desk after picking them up.”

  There could have been multiple reasons why Grace’s keys weren’t where she’d left them.

  “The cleaning crew doesn’t come into the office until after ten o’clock at night.”

  “Someone else could have been in your office leaving you a file.”

  “There were no files on my desk.”

  “Maybe someone was walking by and glanced into your office only to spot your keys on the floor.” Rye would continue to offer scenarios until she accepted that there was most likely a simple explanation as to why her keys weren’t in the spot she thought she’d left them. She’d been on edge ever since her arrest, though he didn’t blame her. “Grace, for all we know, you forgot that you set the keys on your desk after locking the filing cabinet. We’ve all been under a lot of stress lately.”