Page 24 of Protected By Him

I passed the file over to Rob, and he spread everything out on the coffee table. Leo moved over to the sofa so he could go through the reports as well. I practically had them memorized, so I paced the floor instead, trying to come up with reasons why Mr. Harvey and the chief of police would be working together.

We’re all quiet for a long time, lost in our own thoughts. At one point, I went to the kitchen and fetched drinks for all of us. One of the men occasionally asked a question about what they saw on the reports, but it was mostly silent.

Suddenly, Rob jumped up and shouted, “Holy shit!”

Leo and I both jolted and spun to face him. “What?” we cried in unison.

“This is it,” he said, smacking the paper in his hand. “These transactions here. They’re shell companies that we’ve been able to tie the chief to, but we could never make a connection with Harvey. No wonder! We only had a warrant to pull his personal financial records, but he wasn’t using his own accounts, he was using Prime Media’s!”

I rushed over and looked at the paper in his hand, trying to figure out which transactions he was referring to. They were the ones that Jon had originally pointed out. The company he’d thought was a clothing boutique, that only had a P.O. Box, and the internet-based jewelry stores. Still, I didn’t understand what Rob was saying.

Apparently, Leo didn’t either, because he asked, “What are you talking about? These are shell companies?”

“I can’t explain everything without violating confidentiality, but these are companies we suspect the chief has been using to move illegal goods or money. We’ve suspected for a while that Harvey was involved but could never tie him to the companies. This is the link we’ve been missing.” Rob’s eyes were bright with excitement. He turned to me and said, “How did you even find this? I thought Leo said you’re a journalist?”

“I heard a rumor at work and asked around. One of the accounting guys told me about some concerning transactions on Harvey’s expense reports. I got him to send me copies.”

“What’s this man’s name? We’re going to need to talk to him,” Rob said.

I hesitated again. I’d already cost Jon his job, I didn’t want to drag him further into this. Seeing my reluctance, Rob assured me, “I promise I’ll keep your name out of it as much as possible. We’ll make sure he’s safe too. But we need witnesses and evidence to put Harvey and Wilkins away. We have to talk to him, Laura. He could already be in danger if Harvey suspects he knows what you do.”

That last thought was enough of a motivator for me. Jon could hate me all he wanted, as long as we were both safe while he did it. “His name is Jon Bingham. He was a recent hire, just graduated from the University of Boston. I feel terrible that he’s caught up in this. Harvey fired him the same day he fired me. I don’t think he suspected that Jon had learned anything though, so much as angry that he’d shared information with me.”

Rob nodded along as he typed out a quick message on his phone. It beeped a moment later with an incoming text. After reading it, he looked back at us with a smile. “Looks like my guys were able to contact almost every person from that list of names you found, Leo. They’ve all agreed to tell us what they know. There’s just one holdout, Greg Holston. He was a division chief under Wilkins. He wasn’t fired, but he quit around the same time as the others. He’s refused to talk to us.”

He pocketed his phone, then gave us both a firm glare. “I have to get back to the office. I need to get these reports submitted into evidence, and I want to see what these new witnesses have to say. You two arenotto investigate this matter further.” He focused his attention on me and continued, “Laura, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve found, but you need to stop digging now and let the FBI do its thing. In the meantime, I want you both to stay here. Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to leave a couple agents outside just for tonight to keep an eye on things and give you some piece of mind after that break-in. If this evidence is the smoking gun that I think it is, we should be able to wrap this up soon. I promise I’ll keep you both in the loop as much as possible."

Rob headed for the door, and Leo followed him. The two men shook hands, and Rob gave me a quick wave before slipping out.

I could not help but recall Harvey's subtle threats and how he'd regarded me, like I was filth beneath the soles of his shoes. What lengths would a man like that, with everything to lose, go to in order to protect his secret?

“Laura?” Leo asked, his brows furrowed in concern.

I blinked as I turned my gaze to him. "Sorry, I got lost in my head for a second."

"I just realized something." I turned to Leo, who looked at me with confusion and a little bit of trepidation.

"What is it? Did you forget to tell Rob something?"

"This story, it’s the biggest of my career, and I can’t even tell it. I don’t understand what’s going on. Not to mention that I was fired, so I have no way of even publishing the story. This is the biggest moment of my career, the kind of story I’ve been dying to cover, and I can’t,” I said miserably. I knew I was being selfish. Who knew how many people were in danger because of whatever scheme Harvey and Wilkins were running. But I couldn’t help a moment of self-pity.

"I know the editor-in-chief for Svelte," Leo said. "He will eat this up."

I gazed at Leo with envious eyes. "Just how many people with connections do you know? And why is this the first I’m hearing about it?"

Leo chuckled. "It never came up. You’ve been at Prime Media, and I thought you were happy there. If I’d suspected you wanted at job atSvelte, I would’ve offered to put a word in for you."

All I can do is stare at him. Who is this man I’ve known nearly my entire life?

"So…" Leo said, shifting slightly, like he finally understood the error of his ways and regretted it immensely, as he well should. The editor ofSvelte, for crying out loud! The top investigative journal in the state! How could Leo have possibly thought I might choose Prime Media over that? Does he not know me at all? I continued to stare at him, and he grew more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment.

Honestly, as frustrated as I was with him, it was equally enjoyable to see him so uncomfortable. Leo was never anything but self-assured, so seeing him this flustered was adorable. Finally, he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and broke eye contact. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry. Since we can’t go anywhere, how about delivery? I think Chinese sounds good, or would you like something else? Italian maybe?”

I’d thought he was cute flustered, but that had nothing on how endearing he was rambling like this. Still, I decided to let him off the hook. “Leo. It’s okay. Chinese sounds great. Why don’t you place an order for us? I’m going to take a shower and get cleaned up. As much fun as it is playing dress up in your clothes, I think I’d like to wear some pants that fit.”

I gestured to the clothes of his that I still wore. I loved that they smelled like him, but they swamped me, and the long pants were a bit annoying to walk in. I fiddled with the hem of the t-shirt, pulling it away from my body to emphasize how big it was on me. Honestly, I could have worn it as a dress and been perfectly covered. When I looked back up, Leo's eyes were tracing my body with intensity.

I felt my cheeks reddening and cleared my throat, then quickly left the room.

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