Page 33 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“I brought it up once, but it didn’t go anywhere. I didn’t push it because I would rather she didn’t,” I admitted, “But I can ask her,” I added quickly at Eric’s look.

“Blackwell isn’t a danger, or at least he doesn’t seem to be. Everything he has done shows him to be a petty criminal and not anyone overly dangerous. He’s looking for a way out of a bad situation, and there’s a part of me that wants to help him out. In order to do that, he needs to give us more. I can’t approach him, or I can, but it wouldn’t be good if I did. He talked to Zoey; they have a relationship. It would be best if she were to talk to him again,” Sean said.

“Only if I’m there,” I said.

“That’s up to you two to decide,” Sean said and put his hands up.

“Did she ever say anything more about what Blackwell said to her?” Logan asked.

“No. What she told you and what I told you was all she heard. Just that Denton told him he killed her, nothing specific. I can ask her if she would be willing to talk to us and give us more information, but I don’t think Blackwell was willing to give anything more without an agreement.”

“That was the last I heard. It doesn’t help his case and will only make the DA think that he didn’t have anything and is just trying to get a lesser charge,” Sean said.

“I can see if she’s willing to try again. It doesn’t hurt to have another pass. He might have something. Push him to give us more so we can help him. Tell me what you want me or her to say, and we can try that,” I said to Sean.

“Sure, we can work on that. See if he’s willing to meet with her, and then we can go from there. I can talk to the DA to see if they would want to be in on the meeting. It might give Blackwell a feeling that it’s more legitimate and that he has something to gain if he has something to give us.”

“Denton is still in rehab upstate?” Eric asked.

“Yes. According to my sources, his lawyer thinks it will show that he’s reformed and willing to be a stable and influential person in society. They’re going for a changed man defense as they know they don’t have any legal way of getting him out of what he did.”

“Could it work?” Logan asked and shot a look at Eric.

“I’m not a lawyer. You should ask your lady that. It has worked for others; it’s why his lawyer and her team are using it. It’s also why we need to have as much information as possible before the case goes to trial so we can keep him off the streets if we can.”

“Blackwell could give us that,” Eric said to me. “And Zoey could give us Blackwell.”

I nodded my understanding. “I get it. I just don’t like her being involved in this,” I admitted.

“We could get her some security,” Eric offered.

“She’s spooked enough about being in the city. If I were to tell her she needed security or that I had given her some, she wouldn’t be happy and might run back to New York,” I said.

“We can’t have that. Not before he tells her how he really feels,” Logan said.

“Really feels?” Sean asked.

“He’s in love with her. Probably been since the moment she walked into the door,” Logan said.

Sean raised an eyebrow at me.

“It was more like about ten years before that,” I muttered.

“I felt the same way with my wife. Took one look at her, and I was done. Hasn’t changed in twenty years.”

“You knew each other that long?”

“We met when we were in high school. Lost touch when I became a SEAL but reconnected when I got back. Actually, my partner, Luke, set us up, sort of, when he assigned me as her bodyguard.”

“Kinky,” Logan said.

“Jerk,” Eric said.

“I never stopped loving her, never cared about a woman the way I did her. I vowed to get her back, and I did. Best thing I ever did. What I’m saying is trust those instincts, man. If you love her, then do whatever you can to be with her. You won’t regret it,” Sean said.

“Thanks.”

I had hung out with Zoey two other times since we had gone to Governors Island. We went to the botanical gardens the next weekend, and then I convinced her to meet me for brunch the next day. With her work schedule, she didn’t like going out or doing much on a weeknight, and I liked to be close to the bar. I had convinced her to agree to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night, and the guys had been more than willing to let me have the night off.

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