Page 50 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

I squeezed his arm gently, trying to offer some measure of comfort, but it felt woefully inadequate. "Oliver, we'll figure this out. Together."

“Let’s go.” He pulled away, jerking the door open and storming out of the room.

"Thank you for your time, Agent Marsden,” I said as I followed him to the door.

"Before you go, there's something I need to tell you."

I glanced at the door, where Oliver had left moments earlier. His anger was palpable. He needed me. But something in Agent Marsden’s voice had me lingering.

"I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you need to know if you’re going to continue to push this or look for whatever someone is asking you for.”

I looked out the door, wanting to call Oliver back, but he’d disappeared.

“Liam had believed that the scam was bigger than Wally Creighton. He stumbled on something that he felt would give me the proof I needed to get a full team on the case. Unfortunately, he died before he could bring it to me.”

“You’re not really telling me anything we don’t already know.”

She sighed, the tug-of-war of sharing more than she should playing out in her dark eyes. “I don’t know what he found, Ms. McKinnon, but I suspect it was a list or documentation that named names and outlined the scam.”

I thought of how earlier, Oliver speculated that whatever Liam had, it could be on paper or stored digitally.

“I don’t suppose you have an idea of where he kept it?” I asked.

“You would know better than I would. All he said was that it was safe and that the writing was on the wall.”

I frowned. “He said that specifically?”

She nodded. “At the time, I thought it was just a figure of speech. Maybe it was, but when I heard he died, I went to where he was living and all his haunts, looking for a clue written on a wall. Nothing.”

"Can you do anything about this?" I asked.

"Officially, no. My hands are still tied. But unofficially… I'm passing this information to you because I care about what happened to your boyfriend. I want to see justice done too."

"Thank you, Agent Marsden.”

“Be careful, Ms. McKinnon. These people are dangerous. Don't hesitate to call me if you find anything or feel in danger." She handed me her card.

“Thank you.”

With a nod, I turned and hurried out of the office. I had to find Oliver and help him through this difficult moment but also share what Agent Marsden said. Maybe Oliver would know what Liam meant by “the writing is on the wall.”

16

Oliver

My heart pounded in my chest as I paced in front of the FBI building. I was so fucking pissed at Agent Marsden. Yes, Liam was my responsibility and I failed him, but she was the FBI! She let an untrained kid do her job and got him killed.

“Oliver.” Lindsay’s voice called out to me. I worked to calm myself but failed. When she reached me, her blue eyes studied me. More frustration filled me. Like Liam, Lindsay was another failure in my life.

“Can you fucking believe it? It’s her job to investigate the bad guys, but she had Liam do it and got him killed.”

“She didn’t kill Liam,” she said softly.

“No. It was Wally Creighton.” Anger surged again. “I think it’s time I paid him a visit.”

“Oliver, no.” Her fingers gripped my arm. "Confronting Wally won't help. In fact, if he killed Liam, it could just get you killed too.”

What did it matter at this point? My life had been filled with nothing but guilt since Liam’s death. Sure, I’d made my fortune, but what good was money? It didn’t bring Liam back. It didn’t get rid of guilt and shame at failing and betraying him. It didn’t make it okay to pursue the one source of happiness in my life, Lindsay.

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