Page 56 of Emma's Element

Yeah, look around you, Emma. Of course, something distressed him.She recognized the sense of guilt he carried because of her troubles. She could hear it in the pained breaths he took every time he’d had to dump another piece of damaged furniture. She could see it in his haunted aquamarine eyes every time he’d watched another plant that was beyond saving tossed out the window into the dumpster. But this was different.

There was guilt and anger in his expressions while he dealt with her problems, as well as a dose of fear for her safety. But before he’d shuttered his features, she’d seen something else to his worry and frustration. Something that went beyond what they were currently dealing with. And Emma was sure whatever was causing him that type of anxiety was now in Maddie’s pocket.

Chapter twenty

Emmahadbeenbackin her apartment for three months, grateful for all her friends had done to restore her home. Her biggest purchase had been a new mattress since the old one had been shredded. She could only fit a queen in her bedroom, but she didn’t mind, especially because when Marcus visited, they slept wrapped in each other’s arms. She’d found a decent couch, coffee and end tables, and lamps at a thrift store that suited her needs. Her plants, the ones they could save, were doing remarkably well considering the trauma, including her precious lemon tree.

Her Nighthawk teammate Evan had moved into the apartment across the hall, allowing her to feel more secure when Marcus was away. Since Colleen was on the run, there hadn’t been any more threats, but Emma was still doing what she could to chase her down electronically.

Her jet-setting boyfriend visited when he could. She enjoyed following his travel itinerary to each exotic country on the press tour for the third Titan movie. She knew he hated the distance when he had to work, but they called, texted, and Facetimed, whenever they could. And he would fly out to see her at least once a month. Once the movie was released, his schedule would allow for more free time, which he’d assured her he planned to spend with her.

The press, for the most part, had left them alone. And that was in part due to the new publicist he’d hired. Marcus had been wary of hiring a new person, but after working with him for a few weeks, Emma could tell he was pleased. And Marcus was thriving with his newfound freedom from the paparazzi. Since Colleen wasn’t around to set the vultures on him anymore, he’d branched out, participating in more public outings, unafraid the paparazzi would swarm. And that pleased Emma since her favorite times with him were when they were doing something outdoors. They’d gone on numerous hikes, romantic walks on the beach, and she’d even talked him into going climbing with her. He’d never done the real thing before and took to it like a cat to catnip. She couldn’t wait for their next climbing adventure together.

Emma had just sat down with her e-reader to lose herself for a couple of hours in a sexy romance when there was a knock on her door. Being safety conscious since she hadn’t been expecting anyone, she peeked through the peephole before opening the door to Maddie. She invited the stylish blonde in, offering her something to drink, which Maddie declined. Emma studied her friend. She was dressed, as always, in business chic, a pair of navy blue wide-legged slacks topped with a cream silk blouse. But there was something in her demeanor that had Emma worried. She stood just inside the door, wringing her hands together.

“Come on in and have a seat, Maddie,” Emma prompted. Maddie finally propelled herself deeper into the apartment and sat on the couch next to her. “Is there something wrong?”

Maddie bit her lip before responding. “I promised I wouldn’t involve you, but I’m stuck. I need some of your special expertise.”

“Okay.” Emma drew out the word waiting for more information from the reluctant woman.

“A few months ago, I was hired for a forensic accounting job. The person who hired me suspected something dirty was happening to several accounts he had. Turns out he had reason to be suspicious. I’ve seen what is happening to the accounts, but I’m having issues tracing the who. I was hoping you could help me without telling the person who hired me you are.”

“What accounts did Marcus want you to look at?” She asked, aware of exactly who had hired her and why he didn’t want her involved. He probably figured she’d done enough to help him by uncovering Colleen’s betrayals and didn’t want to embroil her in any more of his troubles.

“It’s his charities.”

“Mother-fudger, not his charities again.” Anger churned in her chest. Why couldn’t people leave Marcus alone? It seemed like every way he turned, someone was out to hurt him. Frankly, she was astounded he’d let himself trust her enough to open up to her. That either spoke to the type of person he was . . . or who she was.

Maddie reached into her pocket and pulled out a thumb drive, which Emma assumed was the thing Marcus had handed her the day they cleaned up her apartment. “Everything is on here.”

Emma perched on the edge of the couch to reach her laptop on the coffee table. Once it booted up, she inserted the thumb drive and opened the files. Maddie helped her make sense of the accounts by showing just what was happening with the money. Once she could wrap her head around the spreadsheets, she noticed similarities between this and Colleen’s accounts. Money was being moved through the different charities, passing from one to the other, but not all the money made it where it was supposed to. Someone was siphoning off funds, thinking no one would notice.

Not on my watch, you son of a jack weasel.Cracking her fingers, Emma got to work tracing where the money was disappearing to. She’d completely lost herself in the work. After an hour, she blinked the world back into focus when Maddie handed her a bottle of water.

“I can see this is going to take some time,” Maddie remarked.

“Yeah, sorry. I tend to lose myself in it. It just makes me so angry that people are always trying to take advantage of Marcus. He’s such a good man and does so many great things that the public has no clue about. I hate to see some dung nugget exploiting it.”

“Me too, but I have a feeling you won’t stop until you uncover this dung nugget,” Maddie teased, throwing Emma’s silly curse words back at her. They shared a laugh before Maddie got serious again. “Just be careful. He didn’t want you involved for a reason. I just hope I didn’t do the wrong thing by including you in this.”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. Nobody will ever know I’m digging.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She walked slowly to the door; a worried expression still marred her face.

Following her to the door, Emma lay a hand on her arm to reassure her. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. If I feel like anything is off, I’ll get help.”

Maddie nodded, still biting her lip. They hugged goodbye then Emma lost herself in the hack. When her phone brought her out of a deep concentration, she was startled to see several hours had passed. She smiled when Marcus’ name flashed in the caller ID, the giddy flutters she always felt when he called stirred in her stomach.

MarcuseagerlyanticipatedhearingEmma’s voice in his ear as he waited for her to answer his call. He couldn’t wait to talk to her. It had been an exceptionally long day, and it wasn’t even over yet. He needed to hear her voice which always steadied him.

Finally, her voice was in his ear. “Hi,” she said, sounding pleased to hear from him.

“Hey, Sweetheart. How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you? How’s London?” He liked that she followed his itinerary. It made him feel less isolated, knowing someone he cared about was following his movements.

“Lonely without you.”

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