Page 45 of Leading Conviction
The homey scent of sugar, tea, and oranges filled his nostrils and he looked down to see warm-brown eyes glittering up at him.
“Hey there, dove.” He smiled down.
She swallowed and breathed hard against his chest. A tentative grin lifted the corners of her rosy lips.
“Hi.”
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Talking with the women of BlackStone Securities was one of the most empowering moments of Hannah’s life. As a child, she hadn’t fully understood that the way her father looked at her, talked to her… touched her, it was all wrong. It’d taken becoming an adult to fully realize the extent of the damage he’d caused, and becoming a mom to realize what he was capable of.
Out of fear, she hadn’t reported him as a child, but she felt a strength and power doing it now. She didn’t go into detail about what happened in her childhood. That wasn’t necessary for herself or the case. The information she did share, though, would hopefully help take him down once and for all.
Homes, vacation houses, potential buildings in his name, favorite places… Nora even asked what foods he liked best—seafood, from what she remembered. Why that was important, she didn’t know, but Nora said she, Naomi, and Wes were going to try to piece everything together with the information they’d gotten from suspects that had already been apprehended in the trafficking ring.
When they’d finally finished after hours of picking apart everything Hannah knew, Nora had called Wes to come back down. He’d confirmed that Tommy and Hawk were on the roof after eating the peanut-butter-and-jelly pockets for dinner. Although Hannah knew the way, Naomi had still insisted on walking with her, chatting about the team as they went.
Before they exited the elevator to enter the roof stairwell landing, Naomi pressed the “close elevator” button to keep the doors shut and gently grabbed Hannah’s arm.
“Hey… before you go out there, I want to share somethin’.”
Hannah felt her brow furrow with interest. “Okay… go for it.”
Naomi inhaled and exhaled slowly before speaking. “I meant what I said before. You don’t need to feel guilty about not reportin’ him as a child.”
Hannah felt her cheeks heat with the shame lingering in her chest, despite the women’s assurances earlier.
“Thanks, but um, I don’t know how I could possibly just forgive myself for not sayingsomething.”
“I know. I get that, I really do. I was in a situation… with my fiancé—”
“Wes?” Hannah asked, her eyes wide.
“No. God no.” Naomi shook her head quickly. “Wes treats me like a queen. But my fiancé… he didn’t. It took Jules, Ellie, Nora, and Wes to convince me to leave. But before I met them, I’d gone back and forth about whether I wanted to prosecute if I ever did escape him. Honestly, if I had tried it without BlackStone Securities he might’ve found a way to kill me.”
“¡Dios mio!” Hannah’s hand jumped to her mouth as she gasped. “Where is he now? Are you safe?”
“Yeah, I’m safe, now. Let’s just say my ex-fiancé got what was comin’ to him, thanks to Callie. Wes and the guys have all made sure we’re safe inside the facility and the team’s cabin. It was touch and go there for a second after the bombin’—”
“Yeah, tell me about this ‘bombing.’ I keep hearing reference to it, and it’s starting to freak me out.”
“The General had Vlad bomb the place almost three months ago. But they were lookin’ for someone BlackStone had in custody for this case. It’s a long story.” Naomi waved her hand and continued, “Trust me when I say I wouldn’t have Thea here if I didn’t think it was safe. I’ve found this team is pretty damn good at their job.”
“That’s a relief.”
As she said the words out loud, pressure released in Hannah’s chest. She’d been worried ever since thebombingwas hinted at, but another mother thinking it was safe made her feel better about keeping Tommy there. It also made her realize the extent of her father’s reach.
If he’d gotten a one up on BlackStone Securities, she’d been a fool for thinking she could outsmart him all by herself. She’d never had a chance throughout the years. His stalking and her misery had truly been a cat-and-mousegameto him. The reality that he had sent a damn assassin made the decision to stay in a modern fortress that much easier.
A sliver of a memory from yesterday filtered through her mind. It’d all been so chaotic it went by like a blur and it was hard to keep track of the specifics. It already felt like it’d been years—not twenty-four hours—since she’d fought for her life. But there was something the guy had said…
“Everything is different now. Everyone under old boss must be gone.”
Was her father the one who sent the hitman… or was it Vlad?
“Havin’ a big broodin’ leader sleepin’ outside your door can’t hurt, either.” Naomi laughed.
Her words whiplashed Hannah out of her thoughts, and she frowned. “What do you mean?”
