Page 14 of The Truth Between

I had a question of my own. “Are we going to continue to keep her at my home?”

Parker nodded. “Nothing changes for now.”

The meeting continued as we talked about different measures that we were taking to ensure that we protected the Chevalier organization at all costs. My mind drifted back to Iris occasionally, and I attributed that to her being a topic of conversation. I was annoyed that just the thought of her was providing a distraction to me, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

As the meeting ended, I hung back and waited to get an opportunity to talk to Parker alone. He spoke to everyone else, and as they exited the room, Parker walked back over to me.

When Parker stepped up next to me, he said, “Your work with Derrick was… excellent.”

“Thank you. I didn’t hear anything about the body being found by the police. I assume that means the person he was working for got the message then?”

Parker nodded. “I assume so, which is what we want. This was their warning.”

“And are you sure that you don’t have plans for Iris? Was what you said during the meeting just lip service?”

Parker stared at me for longer than necessary and I wondered what he was thinking. “She is a potential loose end.”

I adjusted my stance. “I agree, but does that mean you’ve made a decision on what you want to do with her?”

“No, I haven’t. As long as everything is fine where she is, then I’m truly fine with not making any moves yet. While it would be easy to take her out, I know she’s friends with Bianca Henson, and that could lead to more unrest with the younger generation of leaders, including her brother.”

“I have everything under control.”

“Good, because I would hate for that loose end to truly end up becoming a problem.”

“That I can agree with. If that is it, I’ll see myself out now.”

Parker looked as if he was deciding what he wanted to do next. “There is something I wanted to share with you that I didn’t want to say in front of everyone else.”

My eyebrow rose involuntarily. “What’s that?”

“Iris isn’t wrong.”

It took a lot to surprise me, but I was willing to admit that Parker’s words had stunned me. “What do you mean Iris isn’t wrong?”

“Margaret Turner was involved in the founding of the Chevaliers.”

The news shocked me to my core. “How has this been kept under wraps for so long?”

“You mean, how will this continue to be kept under wraps? If this gets out, I would have failed as chairman of the Chevaliers. And I refuse to fail.”

“You’re going to have to give me more information than that, Parker.”

“That’s all I can say for now. So when I ask if you’ve gotten that situation at your home handled, this is what I’m talking about. You must do whatever it takes to keep all of this under wraps, or I’ll be forced to make the call on her life.”

Parker didn’t wait for me to respond. He turned and walked away from me, ending our conversation on that note. I walked out of the room and stood in the hallway as I waited for Parker’s butler to get my coat. I waited until I stepped out into the cool evening air and got back into the car I’d hired for the evening before I tried to digest the information that Parker had just told me.

The car glided along the interstate, and the ride back to my home went as smoothly as anticipated. However, my mind was nothing but chaos. I’d tried to focus on some things I needed to complete for work, but I couldn’t. Nothing could stop the replaying of Parker’s words in my brain.

The meeting at Parker’s had left me feeling somewhat angry, but my talk with him after had sent me over the edge. I needed to protect the Chevaliers at all costs, but knowing that there might be some truth to what Iris was searching for sent me down another path of thinking. But I shoved it to the side. I needed to keep a clear head in order to not fuck something up.

“Whatever it takes,” I whispered to myself as I mindlessly tapped the leather seat I was sitting on. I went back to trying to focus on the emails I needed to answer, deciding that, at the moment, they were worth more of my brainpower than focusing on what Parker did and didn’t say.

“Welcome home,” I muttered to myself as the driver I’d hired for the evening pulled up to the front of my home. He put the car into park, and I opened my own door without waiting for him to get out of his seat. Without a backward glance, I quickly walked to the entrance, and the front door opened almost silently before me, revealing Franklin standing in the doorway.

We exchanged a brief nod, acknowledging each other’s presence. “Did anything happen while I was gone?”

Franklin shook his head. “Everything has been quiet here. Molly has just finished preparing dinner. Do you want me to bring Ms. Bennington upstairs to sit at the table with you?”

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