Page 70 of Diamonds & Deception

I hate the way I talked to her. Hell, I’ve never even talked to any of my men that way. I’ve never been as angry or hurt as I was when I learned of her betrayal. But now, there’s a bigger issue at hand. I must put my hurt feelings aside and make Nora’s safety a number one priority.

I hear conversation and laughter outside my office. The door opens and Ryder walks in. I’m glad he’s able to bring a smile to Nancy’s face. As soon as he sees me, his smile drops.

“This meeting is about more than a broken heart, isn’t it?”

Nolan and Trey enter behind him. I head to my desk and sit behind it. We never meet this way. I’ve always wanted us to feel equal in our partnership. The gravity of the situation sets in, and Ryder and Nolan take the two seats across from my desk while Trey pulls over a chair from the conference table.

They don’t crack jokes, not even Ryder, and wait for me to start.

“I know who killed Lenora Sumner and Carly Gould.” I take a deep breath and say the words that have been weighing on me since yesterday morning. “It’s my fault. I’m the reason they’re dead.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“The fuck you say?”Ryder jumps to his feet.

“Man. You can’t say shit like that.” Nolan shifts in his chair. “What happened?”

I loosen my tie and tell them about my meeting with Eddie the other day. “His parting words didn’t mean anything then. I have no doubt he killed Lenora to get back at me for kicking him out of the casino. He’d never seen Nora, and Lenora kept her face off social media. He went to her apartment, and thank fuck Nora wasn’t there, and killed her.”

“I’m the one who hauled his ass out of here,” Nolan says.

“On my orders. You three are silent partners. He thinks I pull all the weight around here.”

“Fuck.” Nolan covers his head with both his hands and squeezes. “Does he know about Nora?”

“I hope the fuck not.”

“I get the security now. It’s not the obsessive boyfriend we teased you about. Sorry, man.”

“I wasn’t aware you assholes were having fun behind my back. Thanks for that.” I try to smirk, but humor is hard to come by right now. I don’t want Nolan to feel responsible for Lenora’s death.

“You think he killed the Carly girl? Nora’s sister?” Trey asks. “What’s the connection there, and what the hell does it have to do with you? You hadn’t even met Nora yet.”

“She was dating Owen Donahue.”

“No shit.” Ryder shakes his head. “That’s why he put off openingThe Localthis past May? He was mourning the loss of his girlfriend.”

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