Page 13 of Savage Ruin
But she makes me see the world differently, literally question the foundation of acceptance and latitude I’ve approached life with until it feels like it’s turned on its axis. We haven’t spent much time together, but there’s something about her, something I haven’t felt before, a connection. At first, I thought it might have been generated from the adrenaline rush of the car chase or the fact she reminds me of Marcos, but somehow, it’s more.
What does she think of me?Affection, maybe. Chemistry, definitely. The image of her coming apart in my arms at the beach flashes through my mind, and my body throbs in response. It doesn’t help that I’ve been semi-hard since I sat down and breathed in her delicious body wash. With a groan, I adjust myself and try to think of other things.
I don’t know what she feels, but I refuse to stand on the sidelines of my life. Maybe I should do a little research. It couldn’t hurt. We’re a little restricted on the dating options right now, but I’m sure I can think of something.
When Thiago and Grayson walk out on the patio around six p.m., Henley is in my arms fast asleep and I’m mentally making a plan. The programs finished compiling the list an hour ago, but instead of falling into my usual obsessive behavior to chase down additional information, I stayed with her. My fingers glide through her soft hair, loving the feel of the strands against my skin.
“How long has she been asleep?” Thiago asks gruffly.
“Sleeping or sleeping peacefully?” I murmur in reply. “She fell into a restless sleep a couple of hours ago, so I pulled her into my arms. She’s been sleeping peacefully now for a little over an hour.”
“She had nightmares last night, too. Demanded to see the footage from the rescue,” Thiago admits quietly. He meets my questioning glance steadily but gives little away. “She’s going to need some help to get over things, especially with her past.”
I nod my agreement, my fingers sliding through the strands again.
“Did you find any results?” Thiago questions tersely, determined to clean SEI’s house quickly.
Motioning to the pad of paper on the coffee table, I wait for him to pick it up. “It’s not quite as bad as we thought. We found twenty-two people at SEI who’ve taken bribes in the last four years. Most of them were in security and IT, but we did have one person in accounting.” I dart a glance to Grayson, whose lips compress in anger. “Surprisingly, Philip Carlton didn’t turn traitor until last year.”
“They’ve been bribing people for four years, but we didn’t even notice, which tells me they didn’t have the right people in place until Philip Carlton. When did Diego become a traitor?” Thiago asks, his brain sifting through the strategic implications quickly.
“Diego was the first. Most of the security team came on board with him. He managed to recruit a few IT people, but nobody of note until Philip,” I reveal. “Philip must have been the golden goose. If I recall correctly, the timing isn’t coincidental either. Philip pitched new software to us about three months prior to him taking the first bribe. We declined to move forward with it because we were focusing all our resources on the new security upgrade we were planning to launch. I can’t recall much about the pitch, but I’ll look into it.”
Grayson jerks his head toward me. “Actually, I remember this one. It’s the first time I’d ever sat in on a software pitch for SEI, but because it focused on the financial sector and could benefit my clients the most, I attended. The software was intriguing, but not ground-breaking, and unfortunately, it wouldn’t generate the same revenue we were forecasting for the update to our security products, so we declined to move forward. We did tell Philip he could shop it around, or we would broker it for him, but he didn’t want to go those routes.”
I rub the bridge of my nose under my glasses while I think back on the pitch, but I’m still drawing a blank. “I’ll have to pull a copy from the archives.”
Grayson holds up a bag. “I picked up dinner on the way home. I’ll get everything together.” He strides back into the house.
Thiago stretches and follows him out. “I’m going to grab a shower.”
Shifting my attention to the woman sleeping in my arms, I lightly place kisses on her cheeks and lips to wake her up. “Wake up, minha linda. It’s time for dinner.”
Her lashes lift and she turns a sleepy look my way. “Mateo?”
Her head lifts and I help ease her into a sitting position. She tries to subtly wipe her hand across her mouth, and I shake my head.
“You didn’t snore or drool. Quite disappointing, really,” I tease her.
She scoffs, but I see the relief in her eyes. “Did you finish running the lists?”
I nod and give her the same update I gave to Thiago and Grayson.
“I’m sorry,” she offers softly.
With Philip being my personal recruit and a lead in my department, the betrayal hits me hard. “I was hoping we were wrong, but…” My voice trails off. “Come on, slacker. Let’s go eat.” I laugh at her mock fury, needing the moment of light-heartedness.
Philip is a punch in the gut. If there was one person, besides my family, who I’d have staked as loyal, it would have been him. Now, I must figure out a way to set a trap and catch him red-handed in the act. I want him to realize I’ve played him for a fool like he did me. A bittersweet victory, but I’ll take it.
CHAPTER8
HENLEY
Grayson brought Cubano sandwiches home for dinner. Massive concoctions encased in a grilled sweet bread and filled with pork, ham, pickles, Swiss cheese, and mustard. It’s a masterpiece of flavors. I glance over and find him watching me with a satisfied smile. My mouth is full, so I give him a thumbs up.
He reaches across me and grabs the honey off the table. Pouring a spoonful onto my plate, he motions for me to dip my sandwich into it.
When I add the honey to my second bite, I can’t help but moan at the flavors. Tart mustard and sweet honey fuse together in the most utterly delicious combination. I wonder if there’s a Cuban restaurant nearby. If a sandwich is this good, the rest must be out of this world. A big glob of mustard and ham falls on my plate, making me laugh. It’s certainly one of the messiest things I’ve ever eaten.
