Page 106 of The Mastermind

Despite what happened between us, I still loved him, even if he didn’t love me back. The heart wasn’t a machine that could be switched on and off that quickly. I couldn’t turn off my emotions for Remi. I tried, but it didn’t work. He had helped me overcome my darkest fear. I found the courage to heal because he walked beside me.

I was okay walking away from this relationship, knowing he was safe. True love was given unconditionally. There was no fine print stating it had to be reciprocated. We could be friends again.Eventually.

Tears blurred my eyes, and I squeezed them shut. I didn’t want Derek and Mallory to know I was conscious, so I didn’t dare move. Not like I could, anyway. I didn’t know how long I’d been out, but given the way my body ached, I had been slouching in this uncomfortable position for a while. The slap on my face still stung. Rage boiled at the memory.

Where was Brian?

“William was a stupid idiot. I shouldn’t have married him,” Mallory said with malice in her tone. “I did everything for him, but he was never the man for me.” She ran a hand down Derek’s cheek. “But you, love,yougave me everything. You also gave me money to pay for Brian’s gambling addiction.”

“You need to get Brian counseling for the gambling and sex addictions. Sooner or later, he’s going to create more trouble for us. If you want to live in Costa Rica peacefully, you need to fix him.”

“I know. I know. I just need time, Derek. He’s my baby.”

“You pamper him too much. His loose lips are the reason we’re in this situation. He owed money to powerful people and told a competitor about our secret business. That goes against the organization’s code. We need to get out of the country before they locate us. Lawrence and Teresa worked for me, and Brian persuaded them to do petty things that got them killed.” Derek’s tone turned cold and impatient.

Mallory twisted her lips. “They just wanted to get back at Remi for firing their asses, so they went after Audri, but only after you told me he cares for her. It wasn’t Brian’s fault they were high and made the situation worse by adding the dead cat.”

“The stupid shit needs to stop. This isn’t some small game, Mallory. Do you know who I work for? They’re a powerful and ruthless organization that will kill me if I’m guilty of anything linking me to them. And they will kill you too.” Derek huffed out a breath. “I can’t believe Brian pushed Audri into oncoming traffic to create a ‘reason’ to blackmail Remi. Then he steals a photograph from my stash after I told him not to touch anything on my desk? That photograph incriminates nothing. If he hadreadthe entire file, he would have known that the woman in the picture was a fucking CIA agent. My fucking God. Do you know how many strings I had to pull—not to mention the money I had to spend—to get those city traffic recordings deleted from the streets around the shopping center?” He cursed again. “I’ve had it with his bullshit. Where is Brian right now?”

Derek’s tense conversation with Mallory triggered a new memory in me. A few days before the fire, Derek had stormed out of my dad’s office, looking so angry, it scared me. I had been sitting quietly in the hallway playing with Mochi.

“I appreciate you protecting him this far.” Mallory’s voice softened as she rubbed a hand down his arm. “If Lawrence and Teresa had been caught, they would have created a colossal mess for the organization. Lawrence was good at recruiting girls for us, and Teresa was amazing at introducing rich men to our sex club.”

A sex club? Lawrence and Teresa worked for Derek and Mallory? My brain ached trying to piece everything together.

“They became liabilities when they went rogue. Members of the club don’t want their identities revealed.” He checked his phone. “Where is Brian? He was supposed to alert us when all the evidence was destroyed. We can’t leave any data behind.”

“Destroying stuff is his forte. Don’t worry,” Mallory said. “What are we going to do about her?”

I kept my eyes half-closed, trying my best to hold down the nausea wreaking havoc in me. That sensation made me remember an important detail I’d forgotten. When Derek had visited me at the hospital after the fire, I smelled gasoline on him but had dismissed the significance because I didn’t know better. Did he cause the fire?

“She knows too much now. She’s a liability.”

“What about your sister-in-law?”

“Her heart will heal over losing a daughter.”

“You don’t have feelings for her anymore?” Mallory asked, stroking his face.

“Not after I met you.” Derek smirked. How could he change his mood so quickly? Seconds ago, I could feel the heat of his rage, but now, he appeared calm. “How’s your husband doing?”

“Slowly dying with antifreeze in his body.”

“You’re a wicked woman.”

“In love with a wicked man.” She squeezed his ass.

I couldn’t hold in the nausea anymore. I vomited everything inside me out on the floor. I couldn’t believe I was related to this evil man.

“Gross.” Mallory stepped away from the splatter.

“Why?” I glared at Derek. “You’re supposed to be my uncle. My dad loved you.”

“Jacob was going to report me, Audri. He wanted to destroy all my hard work! I couldn’t let him ruin me.”

I didn’t know where I got the burst of energy from, but I bolted from the seat, wanting to charge him. My body crashed to the floor with the chair still attached to me. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt my family and me. On the floor, I wrapped my fingers around the charity pin as pain scorched through me. I’d probably earn bruises from the fall, but I didn’t care.

Derek uprighted me and the chair, then moved back to the table with the computers.

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