Page 5 of Corrupt Game

My brother was dead. I still couldn’t believe it. Four weeks later, and it still hit me as fresh as it had the day Ingrid arrived at my door. Murdered.

Fuming in the silence of my car in front of the post office, retracing each step I’d taken that had brought me to this moment, I pushed play on a video on my phone. A shot of the security feed from outside Holdt Technology appeared. On the screen, Andy shook hands with Ian Holdt before getting into the back of an SUV. That was the last moment anyone had seen him before he was found murdered in Ireland. What the fuck had he been doing?

My brother had meant the world to me, and yet I’d known nothing about what was happening in his life. Despite how often we’d chatted, I didn’t know who he called friend or foe. I had nobody to ask my questions to. It was all a blank slate. He’d kept me in the dark.

They’d shipped Andy’s body back from Ireland for burial after the autopsy was complete. I had to be there to see him.

When Ingrid Bench had showed up looking for answers, I’d found a purpose. She’d been able to share more information with me then, but she had twice as many questions.

I couldn’t answer her, but I’d vowed to find them and find Andy’s killer. They had to pay for their actions.

I still didn’t know what had drawn my brother to Ireland only to have someone put a bullet in his forehead. Andy had always been willing to work for anyone that paid cash, no matter if it was legit or not. He’d never asked questions, and this time it had gotten him killed.

Ingrid had done a trace on any overseas connections with Holdt Tech, we had this video, the most incriminating evidence we had, but it wasn’t enough to prove that Ian had my brother killed.

I re-watched the scene several more times, hoping for more information to magically appear about the night Andy had disappeared.

If only there was more to go on.I sighed and looked up to see Ian Holdt walking into Holdt Technologies.

“Damn,” I muttered in frustration, dropping my phone into the envelope in my lap. The burner phone was ready to go, just in case they took my phone.

That bastard could walk around freely while there wasn’t a single lead on Andy’s killer’s motive or their whereabouts.

The palm of my hand hit the steering wheel, just shy of the horn, hard. That man had something to do with Andy’s death. I knew it in my bones. Proving it was going to be a much harder task.

The last thing I needed to do was to draw attention to myself. I had to be careful that Holdt didn’t find out I’d been watching him. Holdt held enough sway with the local authorities to have me arrested and false charges used against me. I had nothing to pay a great lawyer to help me out of any jam. Fuck, I didn’t have anything for a decent lawyer either, or even a kinda-good one. I’d be stuck with a public defender, and fuck all knew, I wouldn’t be a top priority for them. If I ended up behind bars, then Andy would never get the justice he deserved.

I dropped my phone in the mailbox and turned down the road to Holdt Technologies.

It was time to get proactive. I was confronting Ian Holdt. He would give me the answers I was looking for or I would makehis life a living hell. Andy did say that I could be a pitbull with a bone. I’d prove him right.

Once I found a parking spot in front of the building, I was ready to move.

Going inside. It’s time that Mr. Holdt gives me some answers face-to-face. Wish me luck.

I sent the text to Ingrid, turned the burner phone off and slid it into the lining under my seat.

It was now or never. I opened the door and crossed the street to the main entrance of Holdt Technologies.

Determined to find out the truth, I didn’t stop to admire the large entry with glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The building’s opulence screamed that Holdt Tech was a flourishing company, but it didn’t matter how well the company was doing when the person in charge was pure evil.

The need for answers fueled my momentum right into the executive elevator.

A solid chest met my face as I ran headlong into a man that smelled like cedar and pine. A fragrance I’d always associated with Christmas. Any man whose personal aroma smelled like that was delicious. The combination of scents made drool form on my lip.

I apologized before stepping to the side out of his way.

His chuckle was a deep timbre, which sent shivers up and down my arms. It also did things to my lower regions that had seen no action in quite a while.

I glanced up to find Ian Holdt’s gaze on me.

My emotions, as well as my expression, went blank. I couldn’t let him know how he’d affected me. I had to be a professional if I was going to get the answers I desperately needed.

“Um, I’m terribly sorry about that.” I moved over another foot, desperate to get out of his personal space.

His smirk didn’t change as he continued to look me up and down. His assessment made me hold my breath. My instantaneous attraction toward him burned me from the inside out. If he’d stopped the elevator and asked me to strip off my clothes, I would have done so without question.

That thought stopped me short. A feeling of revulsion passed through me, and I gave a slight shudder. What was wrong with me? This man was akiller. He’d taken my brother’s life, or at least had a hand in it, and I was going to make him pay for it. Not jump his damn bones in an elevator in wanton pleasure. I shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny, wanting to cross my legs. I wouldnotfind him attractive.

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