Chapter 7 - THE PRICE OF PROTECTION|
I moved Jenna into my penthouse that night.
She protested for twenty minutes, mostly because she believed she could protect herself better in her own apartment.
I listened until she ran out of arguments.
Then I told her the truth.
"Someone has placed your name on a target list. If you go home, you'll be walking into a situation we don't understand."
She crossed her arms.
"And if I stay here, I'm safe?"
"No."
The answer surprised her.
I continued.
"I can give you security, surveillance, and a team of people who know how to respond to threats. But I won't lie and tell you danger disappears because you're standing beside me."
Her expression softened.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not pretending you can control everything."
I almost laughed.
If only she knew how much of my life was built around that illusion.
She settled into the guest suite while I reviewed the files with Marcus. At three in the morning, I found a discrepancy in the financial records.
The money stolen from my father's account had not been sent to Ryan alone.
A portion had gone to a company registered in Colorado.
The company was owned by someone close to me.
Someone who had access to every security report, every private meeting, and every movement Jenna and I made.
Marcus stared at the screen.
"That's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible when someone has been lying long enough."
I pulled up the ownership record.
The name appeared.
MARCUS REED.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Marcus stepped away from the desk.
"Boss, I can explain."
I drew my weapon.
"Start."
He lifted both hands.
"I've never taken money from Voss. That company was registered using my identity. I discovered it three days ago and was trying to trace the owner."
"You didn't tell me."
"Because I didn't have proof."
"You should have told me anyway."
He swallowed.
"You're right."
I studied him. Marcus had saved my life twice. He had stood beside me when my organization was fractured and half my men were ready to abandon me.
If he had betrayed me, I wanted to believe there was a reason.
But belief was not evidence.
"You're suspended from security operations until this is resolved."
He nodded once.
"Understood."
When I returned to the living room, Jenna was sitting on the couch with a blanket around her shoulders.
"You look terrible," she said.
"Thank you."
"Was it bad?"
"Yes."
She patted the cushion beside her.
I sat.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then she took my hand.
"You don't have to tell me everything tonight."
I looked at her.
"You deserve the truth."
"I do. But you also deserve five minutes when you aren't trying to carry the entire world on your shoulders."
Something inside me loosened.
I had spent eleven years believing that weakness was the first step toward losing everything. Jenna had a way of making me question whether that belief had already cost me more than I understood.
She leaned her head against my shoulder.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Why did you agree to be my fake boyfriend?"
I looked down at her.
"Because you asked."
"That's not a real answer."
"It is the only one I have."
She lifted her head.
"Evan, sometimes you look at me as if—"
A sharp crack came from the window.
The glass remained intact, but a small red dot moved across the wall behind her.
A laser sight.
I pulled Jenna to the floor.
The first bullet struck the ceiling.
Security alarms erupted.
I covered her with my body as my men shouted from the corridor.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
May you like
SEND JENNA TO US, OR WE'LL START WITH THE PEOPLE SHE LOVES.
Below it was a photograph of her brother, Matt, leaving his apartment.
