Page 36 of (Un)Rivaled

“I found you,” he chuckled. “That’s a feat in and of itself. A lot of people have been asking about you, querida.”

I bristled at the insinuation, hating that only a few words made me vulnerable. Sucking in a short breath, I tried to keep my nerves together. “And what have you been telling them?”

“Not a damn thing,” my friend chuckled. “I thought you knew me better than that. After all, discretion is a requirement in my line of work.”

“Thank God for that,” I sighed, sitting on the carpet in front of the coffee table. I placed the phone on speaker and started to look over my work in progress. Five years of work covered the surface of the table, five years of tracking down leads and attempting to follow the money. Reports from forensic accountants, private investigators, former disgruntled employees—anything I could think of to prove my stepfather was the monster I knew him to be.

But nothing seemed to turn the tide. At least, not until I bumped into Tomas in the halls of my old firm. We’d worked together on a couple of cases, and I knew he was the right-hand man for many of the partners. When you needed a break on the case but required unconventional methods, Tomas was the one to call. And even though he’d handled some shady dealings, only after a few short months of friendship, I’d divulged my secret side project. He immediately asked to help, all too aware of the risks. But like me, he’d seen the devastation my stepfather left in his wake.

One night, when we’d shared a bottle of wine as we dived into old financial records, Tomas told me one of his first clients was a woman looking for her sister. She’d been an intern at one of David’s sub-companies and had gone missing shortly after filing a sexual harassment report. While there was never any evidence, her sister and Tomasbelieved the problem had been taken care of by one of David’s business partners. Even though he’d never been able to get justice for the woman, he’d held onto that rage and used it to drive his business, hoping he’d get a chance to take down David and his partners once and for all.

It was a lucky break he crossed paths with someone who wanted to see David punished just as badly.

“Did you look over the file I sent you?” he asked through the speaker.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “But I can’t make any sense of the purchases. I can see it’s tied to this town, but that’s all. The names and dates don’t make sense.”

“That’s what I figured,” Tomas sighed. “I’m going to try to hack into their digital records and see what I can find.”

“Good luck with that,” I snorted. “This town is a bit behind the times. They just started using an app so people could pay for metered parking. There’s no way files from thirty years ago are fully digitized.”

I could hear Tomas smile through the phone. “Good thing we’ve got someone on the inside then.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “I’ve avoided this town for years. If I start sniffing around, asking questions, red flags will be raised.”

“Maybe it’s time to call in a favor with your little sister.”

The thought of involving Calla in any of this made my stomach lurch. No, I hadn’t spent years being David’s target only to pull her into his web now.

The only other people who knew David’s dark side were my mother and my older sister, Laurel. My mother was the most obvious choice. She’d been involved in enough of her own shady dealings that she knew which palms to grease. But she’d also just finalized her divorce from David, finally getting the courage to leave after Calla cut herout of her life. Although they were attempting to mend their relationship—we all were—there was still a good amount of strain between us. There would always be a part of me that loved my mother, but I’d be the first to admit I didn’t trust her.

My elder sister was also a stern no. Out of all of us, Laurel was the only one immune to David’s abuse growing up. But then again, she’d welcomed him with open arms, whereas Calla and I never warmed up to him. Laurel became his protégé, eager for any opportunity he offered. Her bond with him had ruined my relationship with her, and I wasn’t about to trust her now.

No, as much as I wished I could get someone else involved, the responsibility laid on my shoulders. For my mother, for my sister, and even for myself—I would see that bastard’s kingdom come crumbling down. No matter the cost. No matter the consequences.

Even if I had to lose myself along the way.

“Querida?” Tomas asked, pulling me out of my daze. “You okay over there?”

“Yeah,” I pushed out quickly, brushing the strands of hair from my face. “I’ll see what I can do on my end. What’s next for you?”

“I have an insider who might be ready to talk. Wants to clear his conscience apparently.”

I chuckled. “And what did you say to that?”

“You already know, Devyn. No man who dirties his soul like that?—”

“Their conscience is never truly clear,” I finished for him, knowing the words by heart. He usually said it more as a warning, trying to keep me from dirtying my hands too much. But he’d stopped saying it months ago, probablyaware there were few lines I wouldn’t cross in the name of justice.

The sound of tires crunching on the snow pulled my attention away from the table. “Shit,” I muttered, dashing over to the window. Gray was climbing out of his truck, his dog, Elsa, in tow. My blood ran cold, looking back at everything covering the table. I scurried back over, shoving all the papers into a pile. Without thinking, I shoved them under the couch, hoping Elsa wouldn’t find them. Otherwise, this evening would be taking a very unpleasant turn.

“Everything good?”

“No,” I huffed. “Gray’s here.”

“The husband?” He swore under his breath. “You decide if you’re going to bring him into this?”

“Absolutely not,” I bit back. “None of this touches Gray.”

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