Page 195 of Bossy Hero

“I just want to know who they are. Or, in her grandfather’s case, who he was.”

She studies me carefully for a few seconds. Suddenly, she gives me a sharp nod and bolts to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”

Before I can react, she’s out the door, dashing away like a little pixie. While I sit there stone-faced, wondering where the hell she just went in the middle of our discussion.

A potential reason for her unusual departure crosses my mind, causing my stomach to flip-flop. What if she had to run to the restroom?

I fucking hope I’m wrong about this because I can’t take another pregnant female in this confined space. We’ve got a few more months before we can revert to normal life, where we aren’t cooped up and tripping over one another.

Her heels rapidly click-clack down the hall, the sound growing nearer. Once inside my office, she closes the door and scurries over to my desk.

Click.

This time, it isn’t her high heels making that sound. Rather, it’s the sound of a jump drive being set on my desk.

I grab the device, twirling it between my fingers. “What’s this?”

She shrugs casually. “It’s what you asked for.”

“Already?”

I knew she was good, but come on.

“Already,” she confirms, her smile reaching her eyes.

A laugh gets caught in the back of my throat. “Have you had this the whole time?”

“No. I only uncovered the bare minimum about them after I learned Lettie was your daughter.” She points at the jump drive. “This is everything I found out since the night we rescued her from the prep house.”

“Why then?”

Her throat bobs with a forced swallow. “The night when you first met her in the lair, I saw no recognition in your expression. None on hers either. And it struck me as particularly tragic how neither of you knew the other existed. Even when you came face to face, you might as well have been strangers. It was sad and enraging at the same time.”

Her gaze falls to the floor, and her chin wobbles.

I feel my emotions rising as well. More of that bitterness and resentment, along with grief over what I lost.

Mia blinks free of her sadness. “What they did was brutally unfair to you both. From what I knew about Lettie, she didn’t deserve it. And you dammed sure didn’t either. It made me curious about who these people were who raised her under false pretenses. How could they look themselves in the mirror? How could they pretend to love her while lying to her every single day of her life? Who were these people who sent her out into the world believing her father was dead when he’d been here all along? I needed to know.”

My fingers wrap tightly around the cold plastic covering the drive.

I’m unsure whether she realizes it or not, but Mia has articulated my motivations so succinctly. It’s as if she peeled open my mind and read what was hidden there, revealing my truth to us both.

“I haven’t had a ton of time to devote to it, given the mountain of other tasks. Fortunately, they aren’t very complicated people. I’m confident anything I could ever learn from here is on that drive.”

“Thank you, Mia.” The lines on my forehead deepen as I stifle my biting rancor. “I appreciate this.”

“You’re welcome, Boss.”

Her eyes dart to the side, and she bites her lip like she’s holding back her words again. Suddenly, they break free in a rush. “And I have more of these on other people if you ever want them.”

My chest shakes with a raucous laugh, and I wave her off with my open palm. “As long as whatever you’ve found doesn’t endanger anyone, then leave it alone for now. We can talk about that shit after we stop Lenkov, okay?”

Nodding eagerly, she says, “Excellent plan, Boss. I’m very much looking forward to that sweet day.”

Me too, Mia. Me fucking too.

Chapter35

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