by HELEN HARDT
“Why would he give it all to you?” I asked.
She sighed. “I was his favorite. Unfortunately.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “It wasn’t your father who…”
“No,” she said sullenly. “It was my grandfather.”
“Close your eyes and think of diamonds,” Riley said quietly, her eyes full of anger.
Mom cleared her throat. “Anyway, Derek found out somehow about the nearly a billion dollars that would come to me on my twenty-fifth birthday. Mind you, even I didn’t know about it at the time. My parents never told me.”
“Did they even know?”
“Maybe they didn’t. I have no idea. Once they found out how corrupt Grandpa Larson was, they cut him out of our lives.”
“How old were you then?” I asked.
She breathed in. “I was fifteen, Reid. Fifteen. My grandfather had been molesting me since I was seven.”
Silence for a few moments.
None of us wanted to think about what a degenerate had done to our mother, but personally I couldn’t forgive her for not helping Riley.
Neither could Riley, evidently.
“Fuck you, Mom.” Riley stood, her fists clenched.
“Hey, honey,” Matt soothed. “It’s okay.”
“What about any of this is okay, Matt?” Riley yelled.
“None of this is okay,” Matt said. “But we need to get to the bottom of your father’s murder. After that, you can decide how to deal with your relationship with your mother.”
Riley sat down. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You never have to be sorry,” I said. “You’re right to be angry with her. We all are.”
Riley nodded as Matt entwined his fingers with hers.
“How are we just finding out about all this now?” I asked my mother.
She scoffed. “How do you think? I signed a confidentiality agreement promising never to tell where the money came from, and your father made it all go away. He had my trust fund, nine hundred and fifty million dollars. Easy enough to wipe out stuff he didn’t want anyone to see. Then, with the rest, he built up Wolfe Enterprises into a billion-dollar company.”
“And you’ve kept this from us all these years?” I shook my head.
“I didn’t have a choice. I signed a contract.”
“Were you forced to sign?”
She laughed lightly. “I was not. I thought I was in love with the bastard.”
“What about your divorce?”
“He took care of me. I hated him by then, so I didn’t care about the marriage. He paid me off, and I was just as happy to be rid of him.”
None of us could dispute that.
“And you really never knew about Irene Lucent?” Rock asked.
“No, I didn’t.”
“I believe her,” I said. “We talked at length about this yesterday.”
“All right.” Rock drew in a deep breath. “Our working theory is that Dad wanted to fake his death. Nieves Romero intercepted the call he made to me pretending to be Reid. Somehow she and her shady sister got involved, and they went to Hoss and Manny. Which means…”
“Fuck,” I said. “It means that was the leak. That’s how Father Jim—or whoever ultimately offed Dad—found out about his plan.”
“Why would he want you to know, though?” Roy asked Rock. “Why would he call you, pretending to be Reid, and tell you about the hit?”
“Easy,” Rock said. “To implicate me. To implicate all of us. Jesus Christ.”
“But—” Lacey began.
“You have to think like Derek Wolfe,” Rock said. “It was a cover-your-ass thing.”
“You lost me there somewhere,” Roy piped in.
“First,” I said, “the phone call”—air quotes—“proves that both Rock and I knew about the hit. Then we have the will that Lacey drew up, naming Rock as CEO instead of me. Giving it all to Rock. So by me telling Rock about the hit, that sets Rock up to be implicated because he knows he’d be taking over. It sets me up as well because I’d be angry Rock was taking over instead of me.”
“But none of us knew that,” Roy said.
“No, but Dad knew. About the will. He was sowing the seeds to pit us all against each other and try to implicate each other.”
“Motherfucker,” Rock said. “His fingerprints are all over this, and there’s no fucking way to prove it.”
Someone pounded on the door to the conference room.
“What is it?” I yelled.
“It’s me.” Terrence’s voice. Terrence whom I no longer trusted.
“What do you want, Terrence?”
He opened the door. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for—”
Two uniformed NYPD officers followed Terrance into the room. “Lacey Ward Wolfe?”
Lacey’s face went pale. “Yes?”
“You’re under arrest for the murder of Derek Wolfe.” One of the officers entered and grabbed Lacey out of her chair.
Rock stood. “Hands off my wife, asshole.”
Lacey’s eyes were wide with fear. “Rock, please… You’ll just get yourself in trouble.”
The officer cuffed Lacey’s hands behind her back.
“Come on,” I said. “You’re really going to parade her out of here in cuffs? The wife of our CEO?”
“I’m only following orders, sir,” the blue said.
“You have the right to remain silent,” the other officer began. “Anything you say can and will be held against you. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”
“She’ll have the best fucking attorney,” Rock said. “What is the basis for this arrest?”
“Detective Morgan has determined probable cause and the DA agrees,” the blue who cuffed Lacey offered. “That’s all we know.”
I glared at Terrence.
I didn’t know for sure if he had anything to do with this, but somehow my father had gotten into my office to make that phone call to Rock.
“I’m going with her,” Rock said. “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t rest until you’re cleared.”
“I’m innocent,” Lacey said softly.
“We know,” I said. “We’ll prove it.”
Even as I said the words, though, I knew how difficult proving her innocence would be. Dad had put this whole thing in motion, but somewhere along the way, his plan had been derailed.
His original plan must have been to fake his death to implicate Rock and me. Riley would be implicated simply because of her past with Dad, and Roy because he had seen Dad’s hunting antics with his own eyes. Derek had all of us.
Whoever got wind of it and had him killed for real had found it easiest to implicate Lacey.
The tape of her entering and leaving her place the night of the murder had disappeared. Items of hers were found in strange places.
And she was Rock’s wife now, so Rock was still being punished.
Someone had thought this out very well.
Someone with a brilliant criminal mind.
Someone who was able to outsmart Derek Wolfe.
I looked around the room as the cops led Lacey out and Rock followed.
The guilty party was not here. Call it instinct, but I was sure of it.
No. Our mastermind was out there, and he was still calculating.
Which meant, even though a suspect was in custody, none of us were safe.
49
Zee
I’d showered and dressed, drunk two cups of coffee, and was sitting in Reid’s master suite alcove, when someone knocked on the door.
“Ms. Jones?”
I walked to the door and opened it. Lydia stood there.
“Yes?”
She fidgeted nervously. “I’m sorry, Ms. Jones, but there’s a police officer here to escort you to the precinct for questioning.”
My skin went numb. “What? Did you call Reid?”
“I didn’t.”
I grabbed my phone an
d called Reid quickly.
“Zee?” he said breathlessly.
“Reid, I need you. Lydia says there’s an officer here to take me in for questioning.”
“Fuck. This too?”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ve just arrested Lacey.”
My heart dropped. “Lacey? You said she had no motive.”
“She doesn’t. But someone thinks she does. Or rather, someone wants the police to think she does. But don’t worry about that. Do not leave. I’m coming up.”
I nodded, though of course he couldn’t hear me through the phone. “Okay.” But the call had dropped already.
“Reid’s coming up.”
Lydia nodded. “The officer said you should come out.”
I shook my head vehemently. “Not until Reid gets here.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He said he’s coming up, so he’s probably just in the office.”
God, I hoped I was right. I couldn’t do this without Reid. I just couldn’t.
Relax, I told myself. You’re not a suspect. You have an alibi.
Lydia nodded and left me in Reid’s bedroom. I trembled, and my bowels churned. Shit. Literally. I ran to the bathroom and took care of that necessity, and then I washed my hands and ran a comb through my hair.
“Why do I care what my hair looks like?” I said aloud.
I set the comb down, my hands shaking so badly that it fell to the bathroom floor with a clink.
“Zee?”
Thank God. Reid was here. Everything would be okay now. Right? I ran out of the bathroom and into his arms.
“It’s okay, baby.” He kissed my forehead. “It’s all going to be okay.”
“But Lacey…”
“She’ll be fine. We won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Why do they want to question me again? I already told that detective everything.”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. The endearment coated me in warmth like a blanket on a brisk day.
“You’re not going alone. Zach is waiting downstairs to go with you.”
“Zach? I want Moira.”
“I understand, but when you found that handkerchief and those business cards of Lacey’s in Moira’s office—”
“Not Moira!”
“I don’t think so either, but we can’t take the chance. I had my people sweep all the attorneys’ offices during the night. Zach’s was clean.”
“But that doesn’t mean—”
“Baby, I’m not sure who to trust right now. But Zach’s a good man. He’s been with the company for three years, and I hired him myself.”
“Moira told me the head of legal hired her.”
“He did. Zach is kind of my attorney on the inside, and that’s who I want representing you.”
I nodded into his shoulder.
I had to trust Reid.
I had no other choice.
Reid wasn’t allowed in the room where Detective Morgan questioned me, but Zach sat next to me. His presence reassured me. Sort of. I’d have been much more comfortable with Moira.
“Tell me,” Morgan began, “about your relationship with Reid Wolfe.”
My mouth dropped open.
“Don’t answer that,” Zach said. “It has nothing to do with this case.”
“I beg to differ, counsel,” Morgan said. “Reid Wolfe is a suspect in this case.”
“You’ve already arrested Lacey Wolfe,” Zach replied.
“Doesn’t mean there isn’t more than one suspect. We have evidence, Mr. Hayes, implicating all the Wolfes.”
“Then why not arrest all of them?” Zach asked angrily.
“You know the system as well as I do.”
“Don’t answer,” Zach said to me again.
“I can compel her to answer.”
“Not without a subpoena.”
“So I’ll get a subpoena.”
“Get it, then.” He stood. “This is over.”
“Sit down, Mr. Hayes,” Morgan said. “I assure you this is far from over.”
“With all due respect,” I interjected. “I have nothing more to tell you. You got my whole story yesterday.”
“Are you sure?” Morgan asked.
“Of course, I’m sure. I told you everything so I wouldn’t have to talk to you again.”
“You did know you’d probably be called as a witness in the trial,” Morgan said.
I hadn’t thought of that. “I live day by day, Mr. Morgan,” I said.
“That’s Detective Morgan.” He glanced down at the papers in front of him.
“Do you have anything new for Ms. Jones?” Zach asked.
Morgan continued reading his notes for a moment before he looked up. “This case will go to trial, Mr. Hayes,” he said. “It’s just a matter of how many defendants and how many trials.”
“You know Ms. Jones is not a suspect. She has an alibi.”
“Does she?”
Morgan’s words stopped me cold. I wanted to stand and yell and defend myself, but I was frozen. Frozen to the chair.
“That’s already been determined, as you know,” Zach said.
“Her relationship with Reid Wolfe changes things.”
“There is no relationship with Reid Wolfe,” Zach said.
My eyes shifted. He was lying. Zach was lying to the detective, which wasn’t right, but he was my attorney. He knew what he was doing.
Right?
“Then why did Ms. Jones spend the night at Reid Wolfe’s residence last night?”
“She’s staying with him,” Zach replied, “while she’s in town.”
“Staying in his bedroom?”
I gasped.
Zach gave me a side-eye. “It’s irrelevant where she’s staying.”
“It’s far from irrelevant, and you know it. She has access to Reid Wolfe’s apartment, which means she has access to his files. His bedroom.”
“I’d never look at his files!” I exclaimed.
“Mr. Wolfe doesn’t keep business files in his home,” Zach said. “If you want files, you’ll have to subpoena them, not rely on hearsay from Ms. Jones.” He stood for the second time. “This is over. Let’s go, Zee.”
I stood, still trembling, and allowed Zach to lead me out of the room.
“This isn’t over,” came Morgan’s voice.
Reid was waiting outside. “Everything okay?”
“We need to talk,” Zach said. “Now.”
“What is it?”
“Not here,” he said. “The coffee shop around the corner.”
We walked out of the precinct and then a little less than a block to the coffee shop. We took an outdoor table.
“They’re not done,” Zach said. “I think Lacey’s arrest is a ruse to make the rest of you a little more lax. They want you to trip up.”
“Fuck,” Reid said.
“All Morgan wanted to ask Zee about was you. About your relationship.”
“There isn’t a relationship.”
Though Reid’s words cut through my heart like a sharp blade, I showed no bodily reaction. I was still numb, though tears were flowing inside me.
There isn’t a relationship.
After last night… All we’d shared…
But this was Reid Wolfe. Known rake. The Wolfe of Manhattan.
Of course there was no relationship.
“That’s not what Morgan thinks,” Zach said. “Apparently he knows she spent last night in your bedroom.”
Reid dropped his gaze to the table, but only for a split second. “That’s not his business.”
“Of course it’s not, and I told him that. But if this woman means something to you, he’s going to try to get to you through her.”
This woman? I huffed. “I’m sitting right here. I have a name. Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
I waited then. Waited for Reid to say I meant nothing to him. That I was just his current bed warmer and I’d
be heading back home to Las Vegas soon. After all, I had a job—a job a lot of dancers in Vegas would kill for. I couldn’t be gone forever or I’d risk losing it.
But Reid stayed silent.
“Reid…” Zach prodded. “I need to know. I can’t help you protect her if I don’t.”
Reid inhaled slowly. “She means something to me.”
I gasped, my body still numb but warm numb this time. It wasn’t confession of love, but it was a start.
Or did he just not want to say the opposite in front of me?
Surely he wouldn’t lie to his attorney.
“Is that the truth?” Zach asked.
Reid looked at me, his rigid jawline softening. “It’s the truth. If it weren’t, I’d have asked to speak to you alone to tell you. I wouldn’t hurt Zee in front of you.”
Zach nodded. “Then I have a solution.”
“What’s that?”
“You two need to get married.”
50
Reid
Get married? Had I heard Zach correctly?
I must have looked confused, because Zach started talking again.
“You’re aware of spousal privilege, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of it.”
“It means they can’t compel Zee to testify against you in court. Or anywhere.”
I rubbed my jaw. Man, I was tired. So tired. “But I haven’t done anything.”
“I know that, but they’re trying to implicate you, and they’re willing to put Zee through the wringer to do it. You can protect both of you by getting married.”
I cocked my head. The idea was far from distasteful. I’d already fallen in love with Zee. But this wasn’t how I wanted it to go. I wanted to woo her. Court her. Ask her when we were both ready. Get down on one knee and all that.
My thoughts surprised me. Perhaps I was a romantic at heart. Perhaps I’d just never met the right woman.
Was it even possible to meet the right woman when I was in the middle of dealing with my father’s murder and its fallout?
Sure it was. Obviously. It had happened for all my siblings.
Still, a marriage of convenience wasn’t what I was after.
