Page 57 of Charming But Reckless

"Do we go to the authorities with this?" Sinclair asked.

Tank pulled out his phone. “Sadly, we have to. He's not on our list to take out, and I don't want to go around becoming some vigilante for every single asshole there is. It would be too much work.”

Ronan added in, “Besides, he deserves prison time. Let all those charges become public so people don't think he was some type of victim himself. They need to see beneath his mask.”

Sinclair nodded, and Damari perked up. “They should all know that he's bad. Everyone should know when someone is bad.”

He snuggled back into Ronan's side, and the other man kissed the top of his head.

I watched the pair, wishing I had Arick in my arms. I knew he was doing good work for the team, and he loved his new role. There was no chance I would take that from him, no matter how badly I ached to keep him close.

This family worked because we all knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. It worked because we were all able to take care of one another.

For Arick, taking care of him sometimes looked like letting him dig deeper into this case. It looked like letting him go to the park to help convince a woman to take down her father's evil plans. It looked like helping him get revenge on the man who tried to buy his son.

Sometimes it looked like lying, because no matter what Tank said, I knew that Jackie Varr was a dead man. No one got to live after hurting my family.

CHAPTER 19

ARICK

Forty-eight hoursafter the dinner party at Varr's house, all hell broke loose.

We were working on Gilded Ones stuff when Tank strolled into the office with a smug grin. “Pull up the news. Local, Big wall.”

Since it was a simple task, I did what he asked without waiting for anyone else to point me out. Memphis was too deep in whatever was on his screen to pay attention to our boss.

It still felt weird to think of Tank that way. Before, he'd been the man who helped me find my son. He’d coordinated me getting to Orion on the ranch. Now he was the person who made sure I got paid.

He was also a bit of a pain in the ass.

I could see why everyone made jokes about him when he wasn't around. The guy was a mess. Still, he was a mess who gave me a chance.

I was going to provide a better life for my son, and to sweeten the deal, I got to have Orion by my side the entire time. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

When I got the news up on the screen, we all turned to see what had caught Tank’s attention. A reporter was going overinformation that seemed mundane — local politics, mostly a discussion of the upcoming mayoral election.

The candidates, who admittedly were both handsome men, held quite different political views.

One was prepared to bring us into a new era of growth as a city. He spouted information about change and how we could be the next big thing like New York City or San Francisco. He wanted tourists and locals alike to flourish.

The other man had a more closed mindset. It wasn't exactly radical in the other direction, but he seemed to believe that we should have tighter restrictions in place.

I had to admit that the one who was a bit more restrictive irked me. Though he was handsome by society's standards, his smile and his photo gave me the creeps. Maybe it was the way his eyes looked so empty like he was dead inside.

I shivered right as the screen cut to a breaking news bulletin. The reporter on the screen began to speak, and the room went silent.

“We have breaking news just in from the DA's office. Businessman and city favorite Jackie Varr has been arrested on several counts of,” the woman took a sharp breath, “on several counts, including child pornography, human trafficking, fraud, embezzlement, and more. Varr was arrested at his home just now. His assets have been frozen, and he will be held without bail.”

The screen cut to a video of Jackie being dragged from his big ass house in pajamas. A snort escaped me seeing how he was not at all put together like he usually portrayed himself to be. This was a man who had fallen from grace.

The people would be furious whether the charge is stuck or not. Especially considering Varr had not realized there were cameras around. He ranted about how he owned this city andhow these cops would lose their jobs. To shut him up, the officer shoved him into the back of the car and slammed the door.

The video went back to the broadcaster. “This breaking news will continue as we get more updates. I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I might have to change where I shop. Varr Industries won’t get a dime of my money.”

The last part was clearly off script. The camera cut away from her and went to some weatherman who was clearly not ready, if the way he dropped his note cards and had to straighten his tie were any indication.

I cut the footage, then focused on the men around the room. I was trying to keep my cool, to keep a level head. For as much as I wanted this man arrested, I also wanted him to suffer.

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