Page 80 of Savage Ruin
Henley taps a finger on the table. “I wondered how college students could buy a large company like Angel Consultancy.”
“About five years after we took over, the company reported a hundred million in revenue for the year. Ten years later, we posted our first billion. Somewhere in between those two, maybe year seven or eight, Harold Ross, the father, tried to stake a claim on SEI.
“He produced documentation, allegedly signed by Burnett, selling Baybrooke Enterprises his half of Angel Consultancy. When we originally bought the company from Marcos, we gave him a percentage of SEI shares as part of the purchase. Baybrooke was trying to get the equivalent,” Thiago snarls.
“What did you do?” Henley asks hesitantly.
“He’d made a lot of bad deals over the years. Unfortunately, he’d leveraged all his business and personal assets to cover the losses. We bought all his markers and called them in. He went bankrupt. Lost everything,” Thiago states softly, satisfaction resonating in his tone. “Except his house. I made him an offer. If he renounced his claim on SEI, he could keep his house. He signed the papers.”
“And now his son is out for revenge. With Diego out of the way, we know three of the main players—Philip Carlton, David Perry, and Harrison Langford. The only unknown is the woman. Is there anyone you put out of business who might have a wife or a daughter out for blood?” She pauses to let us reflect on the question.
Thiago lifts a shoulder. “Probably. We offer fair deals unless you come after us. Then all bets are off.”
“Who came first is the big question. My bet is the woman,” I interject. “You found evidence of bribes going back four years, right?” Henley and Mateo nod. “We didn’t even notice, which means she didn’t have the right players. Diego’s knowledge of SEI’s inner workings stopped at the security door.”
“Did we ever find out anything about the bank account in Houston?”
Mateo looks at Thiago, who grimaces. “I forgot to tell Zane and his team.”
“Can you send Sterling… Wait, he’s in Mexico with Cruz. Can you send Zane a note and ask him to check into it?” Mateo asks, looking at me.
I jump up, take my plate to the kitchen, and grab my phone on the way back. Sitting down, I shoot off a text to Zane.
He replies with an interesting message. “Zane says banks are required to keep records of customer accounts for five years. The tricky part will be getting into the archives. It’s typically a different system.”
Henley bites her lip. “Once the demonstration is over, I could try looking for the other system. If it’s accessible from the bank, I should be able to locate it.”
“I guess we keep playing the game,” I drawl. “Is everything set up for the demonstration tomorrow? Did you let it slip to Philip?”
“It’s ready. Even better, I let the low-level IT person on their payroll overhear me in the elevator. It worked. I saw them enter Philip’s office as I was leaving this evening,” Mateo retorts.
One way or another, we’re going to catch somebody this week. “The yacht is ready. Are we good to schedule the food and send out the invitations for two nights from now?”
“Let me confirm the security team is ready,” Thiago replies. He sends a quick text to ask.
“I’m glad some of the research I did paid off. If I could only find a picture of him,” she says with a sigh.
My mouth twitches. “What about his driver’s license or passport?”
Dumbfounded, she stares at me with her mouth open. “Mother trucker! I’m so used to dealing in fake IDs, I didn’t even think about it.” She jumps up and runs out of the room. A few seconds later, she returns, plants a kiss on me, then scrambles away again.
“I’m guessing you patched things up?” Mateo speculates. “She was devastated this morning.”
Thiago looks up from his phone, waiting for my answer.
“We did. Henley and I don’t flow smoothly like you do with her,” I remark with a frustrated sigh.
Thiago leans forward. “First, take it easy on yourself. The past isn’t going to go away overnight. It’s going to take time. This is the first woman you’ve fallen for since Kira. It’s easier for Mateo and me because we’re our own worst enemy.”
He lifts a hand. “Commit to her. One hundred percent. Right now, you’re trying to keep one foot in and one foot out. It’s like skydiving. You just leap. When jealousy bites me in the ass, I deal with it, because there’s no way in hell I’m walking away.”
Mateo nods his agreement. “I made up my mind to go all in. Even if I had to change my life to do it. Which is ironic to me now because she doesn’t mind if I work late or fall into a rabbit hole. I’m the one who minds.”
“I thought I had committed, but if I’m still questioning…” My voice trails off. Man, why can’t I throw off the past?
“Got it,” Henley shouts, waving a piece of paper. She slams it face up on the table where we can all see the bastard stalking her.
I tap the image. “Look at his stare. It’s like he’s empty inside. There’s not an ounce of emotion in his face. At six foot three, he’s tall, but the rest of him is average. Medium brown hair and eyes. You wouldn’t notice him in a crowd unless you caught his gaze.”
