Page 30 of Jack's Devotion

"Does her father know?" He paces around like we're stressing him out. How us fucking is giving him stress, I don't know. Maybe he needs some business of his own.

"Fuck no," I snap. "And you aren't telling him."

"Then I suggest one of you tell me what the fuck is going on here. Because seven years is a long goddamn time for someone to disappear." His gaze shifts to Madison before softening slightly. "What happened, sweetheart? Where have you been?"

She glances at me, anxiety written all over her face.

"Gerald Laurent was planning to have her killed to seize ownership of her company and to gain control of her trust fund," I answer for her, reaching for her hand. She clings to my fingers like I'm a lifeline. "She heard him hiring someone to run her off the road, so she packed her shit, cleaned out the safe, and disappeared. Her birthday is on the 3rd, at which point she gains control of the company and her inheritance. He's trying to have her declared dead on that date so both fall into his control. She came back to stop him."

He rocks back on his heels, staring at Madison. "Is this true?"

"Yes." She licks her lips. "And before you ask if I'm sure I heard what I heard, the answer is yes. I very plainly heard him telling whoever he was talking to that he needed me dead, and he needed it to look like an accident. He wanted him to run me off the road by the cliffs so my car would flip over the edge and I'd…" She swallows, her throat working convulsively. "Well, you know what happens to people who crash there."

"Jesus," Dillon mutters, yanking his hat off his head to scrub his hand through his dark hair. "Did you confront him about what you heard?"

"Absolutely not. It was the week before my birthday. As soon as I turned eighteen, I ran. I've been living in Los Angeles." She glances down at her feet. "Under an assumed name so he couldn't find me."

"Do you have any proof, sweetheart?"

"That he wanted to kill me? No. But I have evidence that he's been embezzling from the company. I also have proof that he's been involved in a few other unsavory financial practices."

"Do I want to know how you got your evidence?"

"I struck up a friendship with Lydia in finance." She shrugs. "She thinks I'm a grad student doing my thesis on the marketability of perfume.Bellangeuses ethically sourced materials in every step of production, so I gushed over how they were a natural choice for a paper like mine. She sent me all kinds of records she probably shouldn't have sent."

Dillon closes his eyes, muttering to himself.

"She didn't technically break any laws," I point out. "The company is hers, so any records from the company are legally hers as well."

"Yeah, I know," he mutters. "I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to explain this shit to a judge."

"You aren't."

He cracks an eye open, looking at me.

"At least, not yet."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because we're holding a press conference at the end of the week to tell the world she's still alive. And we want her father there when it happens. She has a few things to get off her chest before you lock him up and throw away the key."

"Like what?" Dillon growls, his eyes narrowed on her.

"I just think the world should know why he's in such a rush to have me declared dead. That's all," she says, shrugging innocently. "And since he intended to ambush me with mymurder, I don't see why I shouldn't ambush him with the fact that I heard everything."

"Was this your idea?" He glares at me.

"Why do you think every bad idea is automatically my idea?"

"Because I know you." He sighs. "At least you admit it's a bad idea."

"Oh, it's a fucking terrible idea. It'll be a shitshow, for sure. And that's exactly why it needs to happen. He can't squirm his way out of it in front of the press. He won't admit to a damn thing. But he won't be able to deny that she's alive and well and clearly of sound mind. There will be no snatching her company from her or trying to have her declared dead or whatever other bullshit he might attempt. He'll realize he lost in the most public way possible." I grin. "You can lock him up and throw away the key afterward."

He snorts, shaking his head. "Just like that, huh?"

"Not exactly. We need you to figure out who he tried to hire to kill her so you can lock his ass up, too. Can you run the phone records?"

"From seven years ago? Hell no. I'm a cop. Not a wizard."

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