Page 94 of His to Claim

Randy’s sickening words lingered in my mind. ‘Who and what you are…’ I had to do this on my own. There was no other choice. After grabbing my weapon, I left the house without looking back, moving quickly to my car.

No one was going to stop what needed to be done.

Including the man I’d fallen in love with.

* * *

I parked as far away from my normal space as possible. Before I climbed out, I slipped the gun under the waistband of my jeans, making certain my sweater covered the bulge. I eased into the late afternoon sun, glancing around the parking lot, my mind flashing to the ugliness of the night before. Just seeing the boarded-up window was enough to give me pause, my stomach lurching.

Hell. From what little I’d learned from Stone regarding wolves, I doubted the asshole was going to make an appearance in the middle of daylight. I took the back entrance inside, using the service elevator, which went all the way to the top floor and just down the hall from Chris’ office. I walked down the hallway casually, running into no one. It was Friday after all, several of the employees having already left for the day. As usual, Chris’ door was closed.

There was no pretense as I walked in, but I could swear he’d been expecting me, his proud form standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

I stood with my arms crossed, studying him before scanning the room.

“Vanessa. How good to see you. I hope you’re well.”

“I’m doing extremely well, Chris.” I inched closer, still keeping my distance.

He only tipped his head slightly, allowing me to see his profile. Damn, the asshole was smug. “I’m saddened that you don’t seem to trust me.”

“Trust you? You’re an extortionist attempting to steal the livelihood from dozens of people in several towns.” I heard the edge in my tone, the increasing anger. Right now, I wanted to keep my cool.

“Interesting that you of all people would say that, Vanessa, given you deceived me from day one.” He still refused to turn around, as if everything I was saying was simply a trivial matter.

“Well, perhaps I did, but I had very good reasons. To that end, I have one question for you and I want the truth, Chris. Who is Lucas Tremaine?”

If my question shocked him, he certainly didn’t show it, merely turning around slowly, a smile on his face.

“I’m not certain I’ve heard the name before.”

“I think you know exactly who I’m talking about. While your father was in charge of the company at the time, I don’t have any doubt that you’re well aware of who Lucas is since he infiltrated your company.” I tugged the paper from my pocket, never taking my eyes off him as I unfolded it.

“I’m not following you,” he said, the same sexy smirk crossing his face.

I moved closer, sliding the paper across his desk. “Look at it.”

He kept his gaze pinned on me.

“I said… look at it.”

Chris did as I commanded, taking the paper into his hands. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” I hesitated reaching for my gun, even though I wanted nothing more than to shoot him between the eyes.

“Who are you, Vanessa Bridges?”

“I’m a woman who has no qualms in taking down your company, Mr. Montenegro. In fact, I have enough information to have you convicted of extortion, money laundering, and even murder charges.”

He laughed, sliding the paper back in my direction. “I doubt you have anything that can hurt me, Ms. Bridges. I’ll ask you again. Who are you?”

I took a step away from his desk, staring him in the eyes.

“You don’t really think I was stupid enough to hire you without checking into your background entirely. Do you?” he asked as he moved slowly around his desk. “You can’t think I bought your bogus answer of why you left such a prestigious job? You see, I have very good friends everywhere. They provide me with certain classified information from time to time, all in an effort to pay back what they owe me.”

I hated the fact a cold chill trickled down my back. Who the hell had he talked to?

“And I wasn’t stupid enough to come to work for you without complete knowledge of just the kind of man you are, including murdering anyone who stands in your way.”

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