Page 23 of Hunted Innocence

I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting and staring at the screens in silence, but when the door opens, I shift my eyes to the side, watching in my peripheral as Nadine slips into the room and closes the door behind her.

“Lock it,” I demand.

The door is locked into place, and only then do I turn around to face her, spinning in my seat. Leaning back slightly, I lift my chin as I look up at her. She’s standing with her back against the door, her hands wringing together in front of her.

“What is Landon looking for in your apartment?”

NADINE

I knowthat all the color drains from my face at Grayson’s question. I’m not quite sure how to respond to that. Staring blankly isn’t going to work. I’m in this little room with him, his gaze boring into mine, and he’s not letting me out of here until he knows everything.

Everything,everything.

“I have something he wants,” I state.

Grayson smirks. “I have no doubt that you have a few things he wants, but let’s start with the one he’s looking for in your apartment, and why would he want it now versus five years ago?”

I’m not sure there is a lie I could come up with fast enough that Grayson would believe. So, instead of trying to think of something outlandish or stupid, I decide to go with the truth. Because sometimes, the truth is unbelievable in itself. You don’t need to try to make up anything else.

“It’s a thumb drive,” I state.

That is the truth. It is a thumb drive, but it’s more than just a simple thumb drive. It’s got pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I’ve never been able to stomach looking at them all, but they were Landon’s insurance. Which in turn became my insurance and the whole reason I took them.

Grayson watches me, wordlessly waiting for me to go into depth. I don’t want to, but I have a feeling he won’t let me get out of it. Not this time. I’ve evaded and omitted enough from him. I need to come clean with it all. So I decide to just say it all, lay it out on the table.

“I only looked at a couple of the pictures before I couldn’t stomach any more of them. They’re images of people high in the government and also people in the underbelly of society engaging in nonconsensual sex. They are Landon’s insurance policy.”

“And the reason he didn’t come for it five years ago?” he asks.

Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times. “Probably because he didn’t know I had it.”

“Expand,” Grayson demands.

The last thing I want to do isexpandon any of this. I press my lips together in an attempt to delay the inevitable. But I know it won’t work. Grayson and the rest of the men here won’t stop until Landon is gone.

“I took it from an envelope in his safe, replacing it with a brand-new empty drive, knowing he wouldn’t look at it until he needed it and hoping I would be long gone and vanished by that time.”

“And you were banking on his never needing it.”

Shrugging a shoulder, I look down at my feet, then slowly lift my gaze back up to meet his. “I figured either he would need it and try to come find me, or he would come and get me for whatever other reason he had. But with that drive, I could hold it over his head in an attempt to save my life.”

“Is it the blackmail we need to get him to disappear?” Grayson asks.

Rolling my lips, I inhale through my nose and let my breath out slowly. “It is,” I confirm. “But it’s worth a lot more than just him walking away. If he’s this frantic looking for it, then he needs it, and he won’t just walk away.”

“Where is it?” Grayson growls, his demand clear in his tone. “Please don’t tell me it’s with the money.”

Laughing softly, I shake my head. “It’s not with the money,” I say. “It’s in my wallet.”

His eyes widen, then he stands from his seat, lifting his hands to his head and running his fingers through his hair. I watch as he tugs on the ends in frustration. I’m annoying him, pissing him off even, and definitely the bane of his existence right now.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he asks.

I expected him to be upset, maybe even yell at me, but he hasn’t even raised his voice. “That shit has been with you, on you, the whole time?”

Nodding, I don’t verbalize my answer, mainly because I don’t think I need to, and also, I feel really freaking stupid right now, and I don’t want to. Grayson releases his grasp on his hair and moves toward me.

He’s so close to me that I can smell him. Then he cups my cheek. My breath hitches at the touch of his fingers against my flesh. It almost feels as if my body has been starving for his touch.

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