Page 16 of They All Own Me

Connor hesitates. "Let's just call Esteban, see what he says."

I pull out my phone and dial him, putting it on speaker. It doesn't ring long before his gravelly voice comes through.

"What is it?"

"Boss, we've got a situation. Senator's wife was taking photos of our cars."

"Interesting." There's a pause, ice clinking in what's probably his usual whiskey. "Maybe you should just keep her, let him squirm, if he reaches out about her whereabouts, we can ask him the whereabouts of my fucking forty grand he owes me."

"That's not a bad idea," Connor adds. "Might give him a little motivation. Her ransom could just happen to be forty grand."

Inside the car, Tatum starts yelling something I can't make out.

"Hold on," I say, reaching over to open the passenger door. "You got something to say?"

"He won't call." Her voice drips with venom. "Thomas couldn't care less if I disappeared."

Dominic's eyes meet mine.

"Is that true, Mrs. Cope?" Esteban's voice carries through the speaker, a note of amusement.

"Call me Tatum please, and trust me," she says, leaning forward despite her bound hands. "If you're waiting for a ransom call, you'll be waiting a long time. Thomas Cope only cares about Thomas Cope."

"Well, well." Esteban chuckles. "I say keep her. We could definitely use her to our advantage somehow, I'm sure. Just keep me posted. I'm leaving the ball in your court."

I end the call, studying our captive with new interest. The woman who should be terrified is instead sitting there looking like we've just rescued her from a boring dinner party.

We all gather back inside the car.

"So, let's have a chat." I say, as Dom pulls away from the parking lot.

She shrugs, the movement elegant despite her bonds. "As long as it isn't about politics or fucking Armani suits I'm all ears."

I lean back into the back seat and remove her zip ties. Because I know firsthand those things are uncomfortable as fuck.

"So, let me get this straight, you were following us because..." I lean forward, studying her face for any sign of deception.

She smooths her designer dress. "Because I need leverage. Thomas thinks he's untouchable, but everyone has secrets."

"And what makes you think we give a shit about your marital problems?"

"Because you clearly want something from him. And I want out. I've bid my time, I never agreed to marry him in the first place." She meets my gaze steadily.

"Keep talking," I say, sliding into the chair across from her. "So this was a marriage of convenience?"

She straightens her spine, hands folded neatly on her thighs. "Pretty much. Richard Matthews ring any bells?"

"The real estate developer?" Connor's eyebrows shoot up. "The one who got caught in that money laundering scheme last year?"

"Daddy dearest himself." Her lips twist. "He needed Thomas's family connections back then. I was the bargaining chip."

Dominic shifts against the wall. "Matthews did always strike me as the type to sell his own mother."

"His daughter wasn't much different." She traces a pattern on the inside of her palm. "Sign here, smile there, be a good girl and don't make waves. The perfect political wife at seventeen."

"Fuck, seventeen…" Connor says, "That's like…"

"Illegal? Yeah… but that doesn't mean shit when you've got money and the judicial system in your pocket."

---