Page 30 of Exposed

The men don’t stand, but Brax does make a move. He flips a paper out of the file and slides it across the table. “These are copies of bank accounts. Hundreds of thousands of dollars move in and out of them every week.”

She huffs a frustrated laugh that isn’t at all humorous. “Well, I can promise they’re not mine. I have no money. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Brax leans forward and points to the top of the bank statements that put Marigold Carter on our radar in the first place. “That’s interesting since your name is the only one on the accounts—six of them, to be exact.”

Her purse falls from her shoulder when she reaches down to snag the paper off the table. “You have to be mistaken.”

“These accounts are connected to The Pink and were opened the day you started working there.”

“There’s no way,” she whispers and her ass returns to the chair. “Where did you find this?”

“We prefer to do things thelegalway,” Micah quips and reverts back to his first language—sarcasm. “You know, awarrant.”

Brax continues to be no nonsense and presents her with the rest of the file. “Your signatures are on all the accounts.”

She picks up the papers and studies them. Moments pass, and the guys give her time to process the evidence in front of her. She flips through the papers, quicker as she gets to the bottom, like she’s trying to figure out what’s happening, but reality isn’t sinking in.

“These aren’t mine. I haven’t been at The Pink for months,” she whispers. “I left. I had to beg Dex to let me leave. I gave up everything, but I left. Whatever this is—” she drops the papers to the table. Her glassy, beseeching eyes shift between Brax and Micah. “It’s not me. I have nothing to do with these accounts—not now and not when I was at The Pink.”

“That’s why you’re here. We want to figure out what’s going on,” Brax says.

She sits back in her chair. “I left The Pink because I didn’t want to work with my brother. I wanted nothing to do with what was going on there. I don’t know how any of this is happening.”

“You worked there as a wedding planner?” Brax asks.

She shrugs. “Event coordinator was my day-to-day role, but Iguess you can say wedding planner since that’s most of their events. Other than the ones Dex throws for himself.”

Like the one last night that she had to sneak us into.

“And Dex invited you to Miami to work at The Pink?” Micah asks.

“Hardly. Dex wanted nothing to do with me, and he really didn’t want me to have anything to do with The Pink.”

Brax sits back and cocks his head to the side. “Then how did you make your way in?”

“If you think you have something on me, you would’ve come to my house with an arrest warrant this morning. I’m not an idiot. Don’t sit here and act like you’re doing me a favor.” She stands and moves for the door.

Shit, she’s leaving.

Brax and Micah stand, and Micah tries to convince her to stay. “We didn’t ask you to come here to trick you. We want to know how you’re connected to The Pink.”

If she were any normal human, she’d probably flip him off. But from everything I’ve gathered about Marigold Carter, she’d never do that. “Anything you want to figure out about The Pink, you can do it without me. I left for a reason. I’m done being taken advantage of by men who want nothing more than to use me—in more ways than one.”

Brax glances back at me with a glare.

I fucked up.

I thought using Goldie Carter as a stepping stone would be no big deal.

My plan was to use her to get me in and then cut her loose.

There’s no way that can happen now. Because of me, she’s gained the attention of the Carter Cartel.

Again.

After she did everything she could to escape it, I threw her back to the wolves.

Goldie is right. The guys can’t do anything outside of arresting her to keep her here. She swings the door open, and it’s Brax’s turn to try this time. “Goldie, wait.”

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