Page 133 of Chasing Simone

I close my eyes and give him one last chance to make the right choice. “Trent, you need to hand the Oldani funds over to the feds. It’s blood money.”

“If I do that, Simone, I’m a sitting duck for the mob. The FBI may think Cynthia has hidden it away somewhere, but I have no clue who Luca or Lorenzo told about me overseeing the account. For all I know, there’s a target on my back. Starting a new life away from here is my only safe bet.”

A part of me wants to believe there’s good inside of Trent, but I see he’s lost in greed. “Then why did you wait? Why not take the money and run long ago?”

“Because I was waiting for you,” he rasps, his voice thick with emotion, almost desperate in its intent. “I stayed for you, hoping you’d return on your own once you calmed down. All my months of planning for this evacuation, I didn’t do it without factoring you into the equation. I wasn’t going to leave without you. You returning to audit the firm was the day Heaven answered my prayers.”

His brows pull together, and his tanned skin grows dark. He grips my hand too tight for comfort. Resentment permeates from him as he says, “But you showed up withhim.”

I tug on my hand, but he won’t let go, rooting me to the spot.

“A fucking grease-stained biker.” His lips curl over his teeth. “Did you love him? Did you mean what you said in the conference room when you said he gave you everything you wanted and more?”

Again, I try to free myself from his hold. Fear spikes in my nerves. “Let go of me, Trent.”

“No. Answer me, Simone.”

“I’ll answer honestly if you answer one last question,” I reason.

“Then ask it,” he spits through his teeth. “But then you answer my question. If your answer is no, good—I hope it is. And if the answer is yes, you will come back to our condo, where I will fuck you on the table like I watched him fuck you at the firm, until you forget his name.”

My mouth falls open, horrified.

How does he know about that?

My stomach clenches, recalling the events that night after Chase and I had sex in the conference room. The door I heard swinging closed afterward had to be Trent leaving after he watched us together.

Queasy, I cover my mouth with my free hand. My skin crawls knowing my ex witnessed me exposed and claimed by my lover.

His lips curl into a cruel smirk. “Yeah, I saw what you let that piece of shit do to you. Things you never did with me. You have no idea how badly I wanted to pull my gun on him and end his sorry existence. I had my firearm on me. Had it pointed right at his ugly head as you let him plow your throat like a cheap whore.”

Oh. My. God.

He sits back in his chair, completely blasé about contemplating murder. “Instead, I unleashed a virus into the computer servers to buy myself more time to win you back and set about finishing off Cynthia for good. Gave her the gun and watched her slowly unravel.”

I shake my head, tears springing to my eyes. He wanted to kill Chase. He was responsible for the Trojan malware being set loose. And he gave Cynthia the weapon she pulled on me.

Cold fear washes over me. The confidence I had at the beginning of this interrogation is long gone. In its place is uncertainty.

“Ask. Your. Question,” he snarls in a low tone, spittle flying from his mouth like a wild animal.

Something about Trent’s demand pushes my panic aside. I’m sick of being placed in shitty situations by shittier people. First, Luca threatening to rape me. Then, Cynthia pointing a gun at my head. And now, my ex-boyfriend thinking he can force his way back into my life, where he isn’t wanted.

Enough already. I am stronger than this. Nobody has control over me but me.

My voice shakes as I fight through my nerves, determined to end this. “Did you mean to kill Cynthia, or were you trying to protect me?”

Trent’s eyes oddly soften, but his smile is evil incarnate. “There’s no way I was going to let her take you away from me again. Killing her was bound to happen at some point. She just gave me a good excuse and cover to end her sooner.”

Got you, you sonofabitch!

Bolder than ever, I flip over my phone and see the FBI agent has stayed on the line. I turn up the volume and hit the speaker button. “Did you get all that?”

“Yes, I did. Trent Grills, please remain where you are. FBI agents have been dispatched. Surrender, and you won’t be harmed.”

Trent stares wide-eyed in horror at my cell. He lifts his hazel eyes to mine, locking gazes.

Empowered, I lift my chin. “To answer your question, yes, I love Chase. And I meant every damn word about him being the one for me.”

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