Page 63 of Beautiful Betrayal

“Becky was naked and pressed against me, dad. No words erase that.”

He turns away from me and presses a hand on the rear of the cart. “Fuck.” He fists his hand on his chest. “I don’t—feel right, son.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I can’t seem to breathe. Call—”

He falls to his knees and I go down with him. “Dad. Fuck.” I dial 911 and then it’s like a tunnel consumes me. I have random moments of clarity. Me pumping my father’s chest. Me shouting for help. The emergency crew. The ambulance and me riding beside my father, holding his hand. And then his final words, “Son, protect what was mine and what is yours. Do not let anyone take what is yours. Don’t let anyone take who you love.”

And then he’d shut his eyes and never opened them again.

“Sorry about that,” Blake says, drawing me back to the present. “But, fuck. My man is in some heat right now, but then so are you. The most important thing right now is proving you’re innocent. Once we get that proof, and that could be a few keystrokes from happening, then we ensure Ri pays, and that Rosemond doesn’t come at you.”

“You turn them on each other,” I supply since that’s where we’re going with this conversation.

“Yes. I can make Rosemond believe Ri is setting him up even if he’s not. That gets Ri fighting for his life, not trying to take yours. I’ll then have a friend at the FBI offer him protection to turn evidence on Rosemond. That means Ri is out of the picture andin witness protection. But there are risks. Ri could end up dead and I need to know you know that. I’ll do my best to ensure that doesn’t happen. This protects you and Mia. That’s my priority.”

Ri could end up dead.

This protects Mia.

My father’s words come back to me:Son, protect what was mine and what is yours. Do not let anyone take what is yours. Don’t let anyone take who you love.

“Do it,” I say and I feel no remorse. Mia is my first priority. My company and my employees are my second priority. Ri is nothing and I do believe that even my father, with his strict moral compass, would want him to know it.

Blake pulls us up to the high-rise where Ri’s offices are and into a parking garage. A few minutes later, I’m sitting in a surveillance van watching Mia on a camera as she joins a staff meeting. Ri enters the room and instead of looking around the room and communicating to the room of twenty, his gaze lands on Mia. He can’t take his eyes off her and if I sit here, watching this much longer, Rosemond might not need to kill Ri. I will. For forty-five minutes, he lectures the team about production and projections that aren’t where he wants them to be. For forty-five minutes, the entire room has to know he can’t keep his eyes off fucking Mia. It’s almost like he knows I’m watching.

The meeting ends and Mia, like the rest of the group, stands, only when she would escape, Ri calls out her name, “Mia, my office before you leave.”

That’s a mistake. He has no idea what a mistake he just made because if he touches her again, I’m not staying in this van.

Chapter forty

Mia

After ordering me to his office, Ri heads out of the conference room. My mind races and I know I’m headed into dangerous territory with him. I sense it. “Mia?” Kevin asks. “Do you need help?”

“No. Thanks. Goodnight.” I rush toward the door and spy Ri already headed down the hallway. “Ri!”

He stops and turns. “My office.”

“I’m running to the bathroom first,” I say, needing an excuse to talk to Kara who is no longer at her desk but it’s her I need. “I’ll be there in three minutes.”

“Make it two,” he snaps, his jaw set hard, anger radiating off of him the way it had the entire meeting which was generally miserable, as he kept staring me down. In turn, Kevin scowled at him, and everyone knew it was about me.

I rush down the hallway to a bathroom nearby, step inside and enter the stall and since I don’t know if this room is being recorded, I pull out my phone and text Kara:I’m going to be in his office. Create a distraction. Get him out of there long enough for me to get the number off that phone in case he takes it hometonight. And yes, I know Grayson won’t approve which is why I’m texting only you.

Kara calls me and I answer. “You’re safe to talk where you’re at and no, Grayson won’t approve, but you have to do it. I’ll get him out of there and I’ll warn you by phone when he’s returning. The risk is minimal as the office is all but empty. Just get the number and get clear of the desk. Text it to us right away.”

“Got it.”

“Go. Now.”

I hang up and I know I have to do this. I can’t keep coming here. Grayson won’t be able to take it. I feel it. I know it. I have to help where I can and be prepared not to come back. I stick my phone in my pocket and exit the bathroom. My path back to Ri’s office is swift. Once I’m there I find Tabitha gone and the door open. I step inside. “Shut the door,” he orders from behind his desk where he stands leaning on the hard surface.

“No one is out there.”

“Shut the fucking door, Mia.”

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