Page 98 of Mad Love

“You know who I am.”

A wry smile tilted up one corner of his mouth. “In that outfit? No way were you Laine. Plus, using the main club entrance instead of the back one for the vaults was a pretty big fucking giveaway. You’re lucky I was here tonight.”

I gaped at him. “Uh…”

He shot me a rueful smirk. “You don’t really think you got in here on your own merit, did you? I bypassed some of the checkpoints so you could get down here.”

I could only stare at him.

He raked a hand through his tousled locks, shooting me a look of pitying disbelief. “Shit, you really are as innocent as Laine said.”

“She told you about me?” I managed to croak out.

He gave a grim nod. “Yeah. She told me about you. I knew all about her plans to meet up with some British guy and ask him for help taking down her father.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I told her she needed to slow down, that she was being reckless. But that was just how she was.”

I glanced down at my full purse. “You know about the tapes?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know what she was going to do with them?” I whispered.

He gave an indifferent shrug. “She wanted to buy her freedom and then unleash them on as many media outlets as possible. Show the world what all those greedy assholes were really doing.”

I swallowed hard, watching him closely. “You cared about her.”

His eyes hardened, his jaw going tight.

“You helped her record the video,” I pointed out. “You helped me.”

His gaze jerked away. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“But—”

He huffed. “Look, Madison, you’ve got to go, okay? Gary’s on his way here.”

My spine stiffened. “For me?”

“No, to access his own vault,” Jake replied. “He has no idea you’re here, and I’d like to keep it that way. I told your sister I’d do what I could to help you.”

I had so many questions, too many questions. “How did you—”

“Really can’t talk right now,” he told me through gritted teeth. He held out a hand. “Let’s get you out of here before he shows up. His appointment is in a couple hours, but he sometimes shows up early for a private dance before he goes into the vault. I have a car waiting to take you back to your hotel. I’m assuming you’re not in Vegas alone?”

I shook my head.

“Good. Gary has no idea that Laine had a vault here or what she was up to.” He guided me out of the room, closing it and handing me my key. I slipped it into the pocket with Madelaine’s message for me.

Jake walked faster than the guard, his steps sure as he navigated the maze of halls with ease. When we arrived at an elevator, it wasn’t the same one I’d come down in, which meant there were multiple ways to access the vaults.

Maybe then that meant—

“No,” Jake said sharply, slamming his hand down on the biometric scanner. The screen flashed green and the doors opened. He guided me inside and didn’t speak until they were closed. “You can’t break in and figure out what Gary’s darkest secrets are.”

My brows rose. “I wasn’t going to.”

He snorted. “Sure, you weren’t. How do you think I met your sister? That was her original plan, too. This car is strictly for staff. Five people have access. Several of the private rooms have elevators and each takes you to a different spot in the vault. They don’t all access the same floors, and I’m sure you noticed the halls are all identical?”

I nodded.

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