Page 83 of Exposed

“More than great,” Micah one-ups him. “You’re doing the right thing.”

“I know I am,” Goldie speaks to Micah like he’s a toddler.

And fuck me, I realize it’s the way I was talking to her.

At least it’s not just me. The prim and proper Goldie has a streak inside her I won’t soon forget as she goes on. “Why do youthink I’m here? I’m not just doing you a favor. I want Dex and everyone who works for him to be put away forever.”

There’s so much there. I decide to leave the personal shit for later and treat her like I would any informant. “Let’s back up to Anderson Marshall?”

She tucks her hair behind her ear and picks up the Diet Coke she insisted on stopping for on the way here. “What about him? I told you, he’s different. Not at all like the others.”

“But you said he’s been elevated,” Brax confirms.

“Yes,” she says, like she’s answered the question ten times instead of once.

I lean to pick up the picture of Marshall and study him. He’s probably in his late twenties and isn’t a big guy. He’s definitely not muscle for Dex. “He wasn’t there the other night.”

“I told you, he’s not the gun-wielding type. He was always on his phone or tablet. But I’m telling you, Dex likes him. Not just likes him. He trusts him. And I don’t think Dex trusts many people. Not even Rand. He likes having him around to do his dirty work, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t throw him under a bus if it benefited him. Dex would do that to almost anyone. But, like I said, I think Anderson is different.”

“Accountant?” Micah asks.

I shake my head. “The accountant is a woman—almost as old as Trippy.”

“Amelia,” Goldie adds. “She’s the grumpiest woman ever. I hated working with her.”

“She’s also the one moving money in and out of the accounts with your name on them,” Brax adds.

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t like her,” Goldie mutters.

“Is Marshall tech?” I ask.

Goldie takes another sip of her drink until it gurgles through the straw before answering, “If he’s tech, he didn’t manage the website. Dex contracts for that outside of The Pink.”

“The wire went live this morning,” I say. “If Anderson is that important to Dex’s business, we’ll hear from him soon.”

Goldie massages her temples. “I hope that means this will be over soon. I’m not cut out for this.”

I nudge her foot under the table with mine. “With what you told us, we’re a hell of a lot closer than we were last week.”

Brax scoots his chair back to stand and Micah starts stacking paper when Goldie’s phone vibrates with a call on the table in front of her.

“It’s him,” she whispers. Her gaze zips from the screen to me. “It’s Dex. What do I do?”

“Answer it,” I clip. “Put it on speaker.”

The air in the room turns electric, anxious to see what he wants. Brax and Micah both retake their seats, leaning in as if they’ll be able to hear better.

She pulls in a deep breath and touches the screen twice before answering. “Dex. This is a surprise.”

“Really?” Dex clips. “After you showed up engaged and pregnant at The Pink last night, this is a surprise?”

Goldie looks up at me with big pleading eyes. I motion for her to talk. I know she can get through this.

“I…” Her words trail off. “I don’t know what to say other than I can’t help who I fall in love with.”

My gut wants to smile, but I don’t dare. Not with the cameras recording every second.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, little sister.” Dex hisses those last two words like they’re sour on his tongue. “It’s an interesting development.”

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