Page 19 of Ignite: Tony's Story
I push a chair with my foot, scooting it over to her so she can sit down and get more comfortable. She just stares at it.
“I looked deeper into their financials, any files I could find in storage. All I could find back then was the bank records that they’d received payments from BioCere, Inc.”
Mara sits, tapping her finger on the edge of the table.
“I learned to program because no one would release more information to me. I dedicated my life to finding out what happened to them. The deeper I got, the more it became obvious that BioCere, Inc. paid off my parents to keep them quiet. They did an experimental fertility study after draining their life savings. Whatever the medication was, it worked. But my mother, according to her medical files, was having complications. Not just with her pregnancy, but with terrible headaches.”
A tear trails down Mara’s cheek. “There was a tumor in her brain. She likely would have died within six months of giving birth to my brother.” She wipes the tear away, stiffening her posture, eyes flashing with anger. “I found records from the fertility study. They’d signed away their rights to see a doctor or make any reports about the treatment they’d received, even if there were side effects. My parents had broken the contracts by seeing a doctor outside of the prescribed list of BioCere, Inc. physicians.”
Tony pulls a chair over near us, sitting down next to Mara and placing a hand on her shoulder. I’m bent forward with my hand on her knee. We give her a moment to collect herself as she fiddles with a silver lighter that I’m pretty sure she stole from my apartment. Not that I mind.
“Everything I can find, from financial records to medical records, to a bullshit ME report from the hospital the night they died− it all points to my parents being murdered, and BioCere doing a rather sloppy job of covering it up. But no one cared. They’re above the law.”
Some things aren’t adding up for me. “How could a shitty warehouse be producing anything interesting enough to make that much money, or have that much power?”
“The warehouse is a cover. There’s likely a medical facility in there with that much security, and Bennet’s PI saw some white coats and scrubs coming in and out of the building.” Tony explains.
“There’s also a BioCere, Inc. facility in Atlanta, but it seems to be legit, at least from any preliminary searching I’ve done. Other than the name, there’s nothing that ties the two businesses together. I bet there’s sketchy shit going on in that warehouse.” Mara scowls.
“Well, it sounds to me like we’ve got some work to do,” I say. “Why don’t we get this work space set up and get some dinner, and we’ll dive into decrypting the rest of the files.”
Mara
“Why didn’t you say anything before, about your parents?” Tony asks me as I set up my new workspace the way I like it.
“It’s not that I was trying to keep it from anyone. I’m just not a big sharer, and we hadn’t gotten to that point yet.”We were too busy getting each other off.
Ugh, why did my brain have to go there?Down, Mara. We have work to do.
“I feel like this is it. This is going to be our big break, Tony.” I feel it in my bones. I’m so full of excitement and energy, it’s hard not to jump into his arms.
“It’s all you, Mara, seriously. Bennet and I have been working to get a lead strong enough to take Adley down for years. I meet you and suddenly all the doors are opening. I know Bennet is going to want to thank you−”
“I don’t want my name anywhere. You and Quinn are and will be the only people that know I’m involved at all. It’s important to me.”
“Why wouldn’t you want recognition from the one person who has more reason than any of us to see Jackson Adley fall?”
Because I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I was going to burn his shit to the ground. And I don’t want you, or Quinn, or anyone tied to me if I get caught. And I don’t want his heir trying to stop me.
My hand reaches into my pocket, running my fingers over the cool, smooth metal of the lighter I accidentally claimed as my own. I shake my head. “I don’t want recognition.”
“I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to, of course. But I’m uncomfortable taking credit for someone else’s hard work.”
“The credit isn’t what’s important to me.”
“Well− Bennet owes you. I owe you.”
Changing the subject to an equally, if not more, uncomfortable topic… “How do you feel about being involved with this project, with me, after what I told you last night?”
“It threw me off a little,” he admits. “But I get it.”
I bite my lip, wanting to ask him if what wedidlast night affects our project.
Quinn and Tony have been on my mind all day, almost just as much as BioCere and Jackson Adley have been on my mind for the past fourteen years since I started on this path. I’ve been at war with myself about whether I should pursue whatever this could be between the three of us.
If it’s just sex, it shouldn’t distract us too much, right?
Do Iwantit to be just sex? When I really think about what I want−
