Page 127 of Falling for the Boss's Son

“Okay,” Blake said, releasing a sigh. “Let’s get this over with.” He picked up the yellow envelope and tore it open.

Everyone waited for him to read the contents of the letter out loud, but he didn’t. Instead, he ran a hand over his face, set the papers on the table, and walked to the liquor cabinet in the corner of the room.

Their mom picked up the discarded papers. Color drained from her face as she read them.

She returned the papers to the table, stood, and walked out of the room.

“I guess we know what the results were.” No one disputed Cole’s assessment.

The room grew quiet for several long moments. Beks was the one to break the silence. “What happens now?”

His dad downed a shot of whiskey. Blake Masters was in a difficult position. Grayson and Crystal, with Sandy’s help, had stolen from his company. He couldn’t let that go. Yet, Crystal was his flesh and blood. He knew his father well enough to know Blake would feel a debt to Crystal. Maybe even more so than he did to Jesse and Beks.

“Craig.”

His dad’s head of security came to attention. “Yes, sir?”

Blake set his glass down with too much force. “Does she still need to be bonded out?”

“Yes.”

Jesse knew what was coming before his dad said the words. “Pay her bail. Today. And see if the prosecutor will drop the charges.”

“You can’t just have her roaming around free. We don’t know anything about her.” Jesse had been doing research on Crystal, but he hadn’t found much outside of her work history and an associate’s degree she’d gotten at a community college.

Craig took a step forward. “I must agree.”

Jesse was glad he and Craig were on the same page.

“The information we have on her is limited,” Craig said.

“So what do you suggest?” Cole seemed to be the voice of reason in this.

“Let me assign one of my men as her bodyguard.”

“You think she’s going to agree to a man following her around twenty-four seven?” Beks’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Craig nodded in agreement. “We can make it a condition of bonding her out.”

“We’re blackmailing her?”

Jesse had to agree with Beks on this one. It did sound a lot like blackmail.

“Call it what you want, but it’s my job to protect this family. If she’s now part of it, then she’s going to have to get used to everything that comes with it.” Craig’s tone was matter-of-fact. The man was still beating himself up over what happened.

After a lot of detective work, Craig had found an access tunnel that allowed Crystal to move through the building without using the main hallways. He’d gone over hundreds of hours of footage and had only had her show up a handful of times after she’d been let go from the company. Even then, the sightings were brief.

“Who are you thinking?” Cassie asked, speaking up for the first time.

“Adian. He’s been involved in the investigation from the beginning.”

“Your computer guy?” He would have been the last person on Craig’s team Jesse would have chosen.

“He’s a computer whiz, yes, but he also spent a fair amount of time on the front lines. There isn’t anything she can dish out he can’t handle.”

“It’s settled then.” His dad walked out of the room, effectively dismissing everyone.

Craig left out through the same door he entered, and Cole followed Blake.

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