Page 37 of My Temptation

When he was alive, Daniel Sullivan had a stable of prostitutes that Beth looked after. He controlled them by providing the drugs they were addicted to and somehow convinced Beth to take care of them. Her father had abused her, and after he passed away, Daniel took over. She never felt like she could escape until given an opportunity. Lately, I’d been wondering how Max Skinner became Daniel’s right-hand man, second only to Beth, strangely enough. The more this case unraveled, the more confusing it became.

“He unsnapped and unzipped his jeans, but I kept talking while he did. I told him I’d bite him, and he told me he’d rip my teeth out.” She shrugged. “I had a feeling I wasn’t going to survive and felt like I wanted him to know he wasn’t beating me. I told him Danny was using him as a puppet and pulling the strings even from his grave. Also, I doubted there was any money for him at all, and he was just a lackey like I’d been. He seemed to break after that because he wrapped his hand around my throat and began choking me. I struggled for a moment but then decided I didn’t want my last moments to be lost on him or the last thing I saw to be of a man I hated, so I closed my eyes.” She dropped her head. “I forced my mind to think about good things. I thought I died when I heard my name called out, but when I hit the wall and opened my eyes, Striker was there, and they were fighting.” She leaned against his arm. “It was hard to breathe, and everything was fuzzy, but then Max pulled out his gun and shot.”

Jax sighed when she finished speaking and faced Cam. “We need to find out what safe deposit box he’s talking about, considering we have another player in this game.”

Cam leaned back in his chair. “If this money exists, I think the man who wants it more is still alive.”

Brody shifted his attention toward Beth. “I was hoping you were jerking him around.”

“I wasn’t.” She lifted her shoulders. “I have no idea what he’s talking about. Danny left me the house, which I sold and gave the profits to shelters for abused women and children. The actual money he left me was from our father, according to the will, which is what I’ve been living off for the past four years.”

“Did he leave you any of his own money?” Jax asked.

“I’m not sure. The will stated that the money was to be left to me, but I thought that money was only from our father.”

“Did it say that specifically?”

She rolled her lips together. “I don’t remember, but I have a copy at home.”

“Do you mind if we look at it?” Brody asked.

She shrugged. “No, I don’t mind.”

“Can’t you get it?” Striker asked Kyle.

“Tried.” He looked around me and grinned sheepishly at Beth for prying into her personal information. “Can’t find any trace of it.”

That was odd. Since that will existed, it had to have been filed, which meant Kyle shouldn’t have any problems finding it. The fact that the attorney who wrote the will was dead only added to the mystery. I had a feeling this case was far from over.

“Did the will say why Sullivan left his house to you?” Mila asked.

“No.” Beth frowned. “But I’ve always wondered.”

“It doesn’t add up.” Mila looked around the table. “He treated her terribly for years, used her as an unpaid servant, and then leaves her everything.”

“I agree,” Jax concurred and focused back on Kyle. “You find any records of a safe deposit box in his name?”

“Nope, and I spent most of the day looking.” Kyle set all four chair legs back on the ground. “If there is one, it’s not in North Carolina.”

Striker glanced at Beth. “Did your family ever live anywhere else?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment and then sat up straighter. “When my father was drinking, he sometimes talked about the house he grew up in. I never lived there or even visited. I’m not sure if Danny did, though.”

“Where was it?”

“I don’t remember the town name, but it was odd. I always thought it wouldn’t be a place I’d want to go because it sounded scary. I do remember he said it was in North Dakota.”

Striker’s head snapped up, and the rest of us knew why. “Was it Devil’s Lake?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “That was it.” She tilted her head to the side. “Wait, how do you know about that place?”

“Because I tracked someone there who had been looking into you.”

“Who was it?”

“The friend of Skinner’s who your brother didn’t like. Kevin Samson.” He looked out around her at Jax and Brody. “I can leave tomorrow.”

“You’re not taking this one,” Brody answered before Jax could, but it was obvious he agreed.

---