Page 55 of Coming Up Aces

“I don’t want to go back to the clinic.”

“Then Lucy’s it is, but I need to get my bags out of my car before it’s towed.” Rayna patted Ace’s leg before closing the doorand heading around to the other side. She removed the weapon from the back of her pants and handed it over to Tamian before climbing in. Once seated, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Ace’s cheek. “You really feel up to this?”

“Yes, ma’am.” And he did. Ace would much rather be with Rayna, enduring a little pain, than sitting in the clinic wondering what she was doing.

Rayna reached over and squeezed Ace’s hand. “I’m glad you’re with me.”

Ace entwined their fingers. He was glad too.

Chapter Eighteen

Ace

Ace was hangingout in an overstuffed armchair in Lucy’s living room while she and Rayna sat side-by-side on the sofa, looking at the information on the thumb drive.

“I emailed copies of everything to Lachlan so he can research the accounts. All except for one. One of the accounts is in little Daisy’s name listing Rhi as the executor until Daisy is twenty-one.”

“Which means Spencer is behind the money. No surprise there,” Rayna said.

“What about the other accounts?” Ace asked.

“They’re in Frederick Hanson’s name. But why kill him if he was also on the take?”

“Maybe he wasn’t. What if he figured out Grissom was in bed with The Ministry? It could be why Hanson was acting cagey and stopped allowing me to interrogate Spencer.”

“Look at this.” Lucy pointed to the screen. Rayna studied whatever Lucy had pointed out. “Do you recognize him?”

“Yes. That’s Chris Perkins. Where is this?”

“The Hotel Marquis. Hang on. Let me rewind it.” After a few seconds, Rayna pointed at the screen. “That’s Hanson, so he obviously didn’t go out of town.” To Ace she described what they were looking at. “This video shows Hanson entering the hotel and less than five minutes later, Perkins walks in. I’d lay odds Perkins killed him.”

Lucy hummed. “But did he take the photos?”

“Maybe someone paid him to kill Hanson and the photos were proof.”

“Then how did Seth end up with them?” Lucy returned her focus to the laptop. “Uh, Rayna? This is a message addressed to you.” She tapped the keyboard, then a male’s voice sounded from the small speaker.

“Agent Bellamy, I hope your time at Haven wasn’t too terrible, but I needed to get you away from the office so you wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. From what I could tell by our time together, you’re a good agent, unlike Grissom.”

Rayna reached over and stopped the message. “Holy shit. That’s Spencer.” She then restarted the message.

“I’m entrusting you with the evidence I’ve collected over the past couple of years in case something happens to me before the GIA can meet with your director. I’ve also sent copies of everything to my boss at the GIA along with my resignation. Being undercover, playing spy for so long, let’s just say I’m tired, Agent Bellamy. Tired of living all the lies. Tired of having my daughter think the worst of me. Tired of pretending to be someone I’m not. I don’t expect you to believe me, not after everything that’s happened, but it’s the truth.

“Ten years is a long time to be undercover. In doing so, I lost myself. The man I was when my wife, Daisy, was alive. When Rhi was my little girl and ran to me with open arms and a smile. I realize now I didn’t handle things with her and the biker as I should have, but she was my last link to her mother, and I didn’t want to lose her. I lost her anyway.

“Hopefully, by the time you find this package, my boss will have spoken with the director, and Grissom will be behind bars where he belongs. If not, this is my way of ensuring someone trustworthy will see to it that Grissom gets what he deserves. I know I don’t have the right, but I have a favor to ask of you.Please tell Rhiannon I’m sorry for everything, and she is now free of me. Take care, Agent Bellamy. You’re a rare breed in this crazy world.”

Rayna stood and began pacing. “This still doesn’t explain where Seth is. He’s the one who hid the evidence in my yard, which means he and Spencer had to have met up at some point.”

“If Agent Sartain wasn’t lying, then Seth had access to Spencer when he was supposed to have transferred him,” Lucy offered.

Rayna stopped beside Ace’s chair and ran her fingers through his hair. “True, but he wouldn’t disappear without a word to Vanessa.”

“Did you ask Grissom where Seth is?” Ace asked.

Rayna smacked her forehead. “No.”

“I’ll tell Tamian to ask him,” Lucy said while typing on her keyboard. Her phone rang, and she put it on speaker. “Go ahead, Lachlan.”

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