Page 16 of Dauntless

I took in a breath to calm myself as my pulse sped up. “I love living in Washington too. My dad’s in Palm Springs. I don’t get to see him as often as I’d like and would have wished him closer, but he loves living there. I’m a short flight away too…listen to me trying to make leaving him there without seeing him often seem okay when it’s not.”

“It is for him, and that makes it great,” he said to me.

A small smile formed on my lips at his encouragement. I needed that.

He then put my bag under his arm and had me follow him upstairs to a bedroom, I did a quick sweep and tried to push away my delight at finding a jacket of his on a chair. He had brought me to his bedroom. It was spacious and stylish of mostly dark browns, steel, and grey. His bed was a custom one, big enough for more than a few people and that was just about where I wanted to end that train of thought.

“I don’t bring anyone here,” he called over. “I had thought to use it but didn’t need to. Most mixers were at elite members’ homes.”

I nodded then picked up a worn book set aside from the pristine ones on the bookshelf, then a photo fell out. It was of him standing with a beautiful girl, who was smiling in a graduation gown. They looked a lot alike—the same square shaped face, pale blue eyes, and smile. “Is this your sister?”

He beamed with pride. “Yeah, Isabelle, she’s older than that now, but that was one of her best days, and I like to think of her doing good since I don’t get to see her when I’m working all over.”

I smiled down at it and set it back. “Where is she?”

“He went to a closet and showed me a place to hang up my garment bag. “Ithaca, New York. She loves it there. It’s near Cornell University where she went to college and works,” he said in a proud tone. “I like visiting her, but I’ve still got some big city living left in me.”

I licked my lips. “Me too.” I glimpsed him and found him staring intently at me, and a ripple of excitement went through me. I broke the connection by turning my head away from him.

“I’ll need to talk to my team.” He moved toward the door. “Call Dane. He’ll make you feel better.”

“You make me feel better,” I whispered to his back. He paused with his back to me before leaving the room.

I took a deep breath and sat down on the chair, then I called Dane. He answered on the first ring.

“Glad to hear from you, but I expected you’d be in bed since you’re just out of the hospital,” he scolded, and I smiled. He would have fussed over me if he’d been here and I was sure of it. Tonight, I’d have taken it.

“Did something happen?” he asked.

I told him everything, and when I finished, he let out a curse.

“I should’ve never trusted Vincent or any of them,” he said furiously. “I tried to keep you masked, and I wish I could assure you that they don’t have anything else, but I honestly don’t know. I didn’t think they would film their members. I’m sorry.”

“I know,” I replied and sighed heavily into the phone. “What’s your take on it?”

“My take is The Agency is under investigation and dealing with the bad press and PR. Their members are probably leaving, and they want this all to go away before they get charged with something. So, they want you to go away, but…”

“But what?” I asked.

“This man who taunted you seems impulsive and frantic in an already troubling situation. Maybe they have more than one ‘rogue’ members, as they like to call it. Someone that is arrogant and thinks he’s above reproach. He’s not though. If enough people are after you, you lose.”

My chest loosened. That was what I was counting on.

“Anyway, let’s focus on now. What’s your plan?” he asked.

I slumped in the chair. “I don’t know what I can do.” Dane didn’t accept that. He told me, “You most certainly do. You’re the quickest thinking woman I’ve ever known. You came straight to me when you found out your ex-husband had sold off your company and devised a way to take it back. Have you thought of any possible way out of this? You can trust me. Whatever you decide, I won’t judge you. Now, tell me what’s on your mind.”

I appreciated how well he put me at ease. “I’m thinking the image will ruin my father’s legacy and stellar reputation. I know he has dementia, but I don’t want to jeopardize the hard-earned respect he and my ancestors had managed to build over the years. I’m also thinking about the damage to the Perfetto brand and the three hundred employees throughout the world that might end up losing their jobs should we lose more money. We already have a thieving accountant to contend with. I’m thinking of my friends that work for me and my social standing. Patrick has already threatened to sue and will if it comes out. I’m also thinking about… me.”

“You mentioned yourself last,” he said despondently. “I’d put you first.”

“Dane,” I said my heart skipped a beat. He was ever the charmer, but jokes aside, I believed he would. “Seriously, I believe they will leak the video, and I won’t be of any use to Elliott or the Feds and I’m sure Elliott wants the case more than he cares about me.”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Dane cut me off. “Elliott cares about you, but he’s a cop too. I didn’t like all the decisions he made when I worked with him either, but he promised me he’d get Angel back, and he did. He delivers. If he thought he could save you by not turning the picture over, he would have.”

I blew out a breath. “Fine, but he also knows that people will judge me.” My voice thickened. “They will think I deserved what happened to me, especially when The Agency releases whatever they have on me.”

“Not everyone,” Dane replied firmly. “But are you considering not trying to work to stop and block the release, and allowing the photo or video to come out?” I could hear the pleasure in his voice. “That’s a bold and brave move.”

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