Fifteen

I don’t understand how you can sleep with that man,” Lily said, her mouth tight.

“He’s really good in bed.” Ellie looked down at the menu. She felt bad, but she kind of wished she’d ignored Lily’s request for a happy hour meeting. She had so much to think about, but Lily seemed to mostly want to remind her of all the reasons she should hate her husband. She definitely shouldn’t have told Lily she was still sleeping with Riley.

Lily’s eyes widened. “Have you forgotten what that man did to you?”

Ellie put the menu down, her eyes on her friend. “Not at all. I think about it every single day.”

And she wondered what she was going to do about it. She had two weeks left and she was no closer to finding a way back into her proper place.

Riley knew she’d made arrangements to keep her apartment. What he didn’t know was how torn she was at the thought of leaving the penthouse.

His plan had worked beautifully. She loved the penthouse and sitting down with the entire clan for meals and talking and arguing over pot roast and a couple of bottles of wine.

It was everything she’d missed when she was growing up. The Lawless siblings were a family. Drew was the authority figure. Mia, the one who made everyone laugh. Bran was the quiet, thoughtful one. Hatch was the crazy uncle. And Riley worked his ass off. He was Drew’s strong right hand.

She’d rapidly discovered she had a place in this crew. She argued with Drew and Riley and made them think about something beyond making a dollar or plotting revenge. They’d had several serious political discussions and she’d managed to make her brothers-in-law think about their positions. Drew was considering implementing some of her worker-friendly ideas at 4L.

“Ellie, he destroyed your career.”

She glanced over. Bran was sitting at the bar, smiling at the waitress. Her brother-in-law had a serious soft spot when it came to women. She actually worried about him. There was something in his past. Something no one would talk about. Bran had a weakness and it was any woman with a sob story. He looked back her way and gave her an encouraging smile.

Damn it. She already loved Bran. Not the way she loved Riley. She wished she didn’t love Riley.

“I thought you said the workers were still behind me.” She’d been thinking a lot about what Riley had or hadn’t thought would happen when he did what he’d done. He really could have thought she would easily move through it.

Lily took a sip of her wine. “Some of them are, but they’re risking everything by taking your side. Riley did that. He used you.”

“And he’s trying to make it up to me.”

“By marrying you and taking your stock?”

“Which is worth next to nothing right now.” When she really thought about it, Riley didn’t have to offer her marriage. It would have been easier for him not to. Drew had been forced to give her stock in his company. That had required an enormous amount of trust on his part. She could use the stock to put Drew and 4L in a bad position.

Should she look at his words or his actions? His actions told a very specific tale. Every move he’d made since Castalano had dropped the hammer on them had been to help her. He’d done everything he could to save her.

Had he done it strictly out of guilt?

“It’s going to come back up,” Lily said.

They were sitting in the back of the small restaurant. Lily had insisted on subterfuge. She’d come in the back way and planned to leave through the kitchen. They were far from StratCast, so no one would likely wander in and find them together. It was all getting to be too much.

“Lily, I think it’s time for you to get out of StratCast.”

Her friend’s eyes widened and she sat back as though she’d never thought of the idea herself. “Why would I do that? Has he convinced you to give up the fight? Are you so happy with him that you’ve forgotten the rest of us?”

Guilt weighed her down. “No, I haven’t forgotten. I’m simply worried about you. You don’t know what Castalano is really capable of.”

“I think I do. I’ve taken over as Kyle’s admin. He talks about his father like he’s some kind of evil genius. He says if we wait the old man out, everything will come to him.”

“Lily, tell me you’re not seeing him.” Kyle was bad news.

“I can handle him,” Lily assured her. “And he’s really not so bad. His father is awful, but Kyle will protect me. I’m far more worried about you. Kyle explained the situation with the Lawless family to me, and you’re in real danger. They play deep games.”

“Oh, I would love to hear how Kyle explained it.”

Lily leaned over as though she thought Bran could hear her from across the bar. “They think your father and Steven stole some kind of code from their dad. They’re even crazy enough to think Steven and your father and Patricia Cain murdered their parents. Can you imagine Patricia Cain as a killer? Would she do a segment on the proper etiquette of murder and what to serve your guests afterward?”

Actually, the woman was cold enough to do it. “My father told me the truth before he died.”

Lily nodded. “Kyle knows it all. That code was always your father’s. Benedict Lawless was the one who tried to steal it.”

“No. My father killed Benedict, took the code, and that’s how he, Steven, and Patricia formed StratCast. He told me himself. My husband’s family is right. Steven even called me a few weeks ago and threatened to hurt everyone I love if I don’t find the source code my father kept from him. I think he’s afraid it will prove his crimes.” Drew wasn’t so sure, but he wanted to see it. If she could find that code, she would hand it over to him and hope to be done with the whole mess.

Would Riley do what he’d said? Would he try to start over? Would she let him?

She tried to picture herself turning him down, and somehow the image wouldn’t form. What if they could meet with none of this between them? Would they do it right this time?

Lily sat back in her chair. “I can’t see Steven really murdering someone. I know what he did was awful, but going all the way to murder . . .”

She needed to make Lily believe. “He did. My father was in a bad place when he confessed. He also told me something I’ve been thinking more and more about lately.”

“The code? I know Steven is all up in arms about something your dad took. He says it belongs to the company, but your dad took it so he could hold it over Steven’s head.” Lily’s lips turned up in a wry grin. “Naturally your father is the villain in his version of the tale. Steven told Kyle that if you turned over the code to him, he would take some of the heat off you.”

So many lies. “Then he’s lying. He told me if I turned over the code, he wouldn’t hurt you.”

Lily frowned. “Me? He’s holding me over your head? I can handle myself.”

Lily would try, but Ellie wasn’t sure her friend was capable of doing what it would take to truly defend herself. “Watch your back. I would feel better if you walked away.”

“I can’t. Someone has to watch them. Kyle has fired three people because he didn’t like them. These are good people, Ellie.”

“Yes and you weren’t able to stop him. They don’t talk around you. I don’t think it’s worth risking your life when we’re not getting anything out of it.”

“Well, I’m sorry I haven’t been great at the spy thing.” Lily seemed to blink back tears. “Maybe I can help you find this code.”

She didn’t want to involve Lily more than she had to. “I have an idea of where he might have hidden it.”

“But you’re not going to give in, are you? I know you, Ellie. He made a mistake when he threatened you like that.”

She reached out and put a hand on Lily’s. “That’s why I need you to walk away. If he doesn’t have someone to hold over my head, then everything else is simply business. I have to trust that the man still wants something out of StratCast. He can fire anyone he likes, but he needs the money the company can bring in.”

“You’re going to give the code to your husband.” Lily said it with an almost fatalistic acceptance of the situation.

Ellie nodded. “I believe what my father told me. I believe that code or whatever it is belongs to the Lawless clan. But, Lily, I don’t know that Riley is going to be my husband for long. I’m moving back to my place in two weeks. We’ll see where we go from there.”

“Why are you moving? I thought the point was to keep you safe. Did he throw you out?”

Wow. Her friend immediately went to the worst possible scenario where Riley was concerned. “No, I’m choosing to get back to a normal life. They’ll support me while I figure out what to do. And who knows? Maybe we can see each other. The point is I’ll be out of this war with the exception of wanting my job and my company back.”

“So you think you’ll be able to find it?”

She wasn’t so sure about that. “I think I’ve figured out where to look.”

“And you want me to get the hell out of there.”

“I do. The minute Steven figures out I have what he wants, he’ll use you against me. He knows how much I care about you.”

Lily squeezed her hand. “I care about you, too. And I’ll go easier on your guy. I suppose I should. We all make bad decisions and sometimes they put the people we love in awful positions. I guess I never considered that you would forgive him.”

“I’m not totally there yet. I can forgive him, but it’s hard to forget. I do understand that he thought he was doing the right thing for his family. I’m not sure we work as a couple, though. They won’t be done even if they manage to get Steven behind bars.”

Lily’s well-shaped brows rose in obvious surprise. “They want to take down Patricia Cain? How are they going to do that? She’s not in the tech business anymore. Are they going to poison her fall pies or find some porn she did as a young woman? Because that would be cool.”

She’d tried to stay out of their business when it came to that woman. “I don’t know, but if they think Steven is a monster, I don’t know what they would call Patricia.”

“You never call her Auntie Patty.”

“Never.” She shuddered at the idea. “My father hated her. She’s not a ‘Pat’ and no matter how much she tries to be America’s homemaker, that woman is a shark. I don’t like the idea of them going after her. Someone’s going to get hurt.”

She wasn’t sure it would be Patricia.

Who would be the voice of reason if she left? Mia and Case were needed back in Dallas. Mia couldn’t leave her husband right now.

If Ellie left, it would be the men of the family and they didn’t always make the best decisions.

She looked over at Bran, who was quietly talking to the bartender. He glanced Ellie’s way and then gave her an open smile.

Would he be the one they sent into Patricia Cain’s den? Or would Riley go since he didn’t really have a lot else to do in New York?

She’d found her place in the family. Was she ready to leave it now?

“So I’ll go back to the office and pack up my things. I’ll leave Kyle a fuck-you note.” Lily gave her a smile. “Think there’s an admin job for me at 4L?”

“I think my brother-in-law can pay your salary until I get my job back.” Drew could handle it, and it would be nice to have Lily around again. She could get back into business mode.

Lily gave her a little salute. “I’m your girl.”

The waitress came by and they ordered another round. All the while Ellie contemplated her future.

—

Two hours later, Ellie looked around her sister’s apartment, wondering if she was going to get her mind off Riley anytime soon.

How the hell was she supposed to deal with him now? She couldn’t get her mind off his last speech to her. What guy said that? What was his game now?

What was she going to do if he wasn’t playing a game?

Bran whistled as he walked around, looking at the space. “This place is nice. Wow. Modeling pays well.”

“Not the way Shari does it. She started out well, but she struggles to get jobs now because she’s so difficult to work with. She doesn’t believe call times should apply to her.”

“Well, someone’s doing well. This place isn’t cheap.”

She’d had a massive fight with her sister when Shari had bought this place. “They bought it with Colin’s half of our old place and his half of everything I earned during our marriage along with Shari’s half of our inheritance. I argued that they shouldn’t spend everything they had, but Shari claimed she needed the best to keep up appearances. They’ll be lucky if they’re still here in a year.”

“That sucks.” He picked up a picture that was sitting on the hallway table. “Is this your ex?”

She glanced over. Sure enough, there was a picture of Shari and Colin. “Yep. They had those done last Christmas and sent them out as Christmas cards.”

“He doesn’t look like your type.” Bran set the frame back down.

“I suppose Riley looks like my type.”

Bran strolled around the apartment. “Sure. He’s solid. Masculine. That dude in the picture spends way too much time on his hair. Riley might dress well, but that’s because of his job. He works out because he needs to be strong, not to show off his six-pack.”

“Colin wasn’t always like that.” She looked around the apartment. The trouble was almost everything here had come from her dad’s old place. The elegant sofas, the prewar tables. Shari might be an idiot, but she knew good furniture when she saw it.

Why would she have taken anything from their father’s office?

“Oh, that’s the problem. See, talking about shit really does work. I can’t convince Drew of that. He thinks he’s going to be all stoic. I personally think it’s best to put it all out there. Sure it’s cost me a bunch of women I would have liked, but hey, if they weren’t built for the long haul, why start the ride?”

She turned to her brother-in-law. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that a lot of your anger at Riley isn’t really anger. It’s fear that another man you care about is going to turn on you.” Bran looked back at her, his eyes soft. “He won’t, you know. He’s not coming from the same place your first husband was. He’ll need you more than you can know, more than he’ll likely ever say. Definitely more than that asshat in the picture there.”

“I’m not still wounded by my divorce, Bran.” That was ridiculous. “I’m pissed off that your brother lied to me and used me.”

“Then why are you still sleeping with him?”

Case never asked those kinds of questions. When the big cowboy had been her babysitter, he’d talked about football and where to get the best burger. She really preferred Case. Maybe honesty would shut him up. “Not that it’s any of your business, but your brother is incredibly good in bed.”

Bran simply grinned. “It runs in the family. But I also have to call bullshit on that. You’re not the type of woman who sleeps with a man for pure pleasure. There has to be something else involved.”

“I can’t want an orgasm?”

“For you an orgasm means more than simple physical release. You need more and you found it with Riley, but because you thought you found it once before, you’re afraid to trust it.”

She let out a long sigh. “Go psychoanalyze someone else, Bran. I have a . . .” She didn’t even really know what she was looking for. “Something to look for.”

She strode down the hall. She was sure Colin had an office somewhere in here. Despite his recent retreat from the academic world, he’d made it a habit of keeping an office. Now that he was “managing” Shari’s largely nonexistent career, he wouldn’t stop his former habits.

She found it down the hallway. It was a lovely wood-paneled room with a wall of beautifully stacked books.

He’d loved books. She looked at the shelves. She’d given him many of the books left there. Shari had never met a book she liked.

Bitterness. She could taste it in her mouth.

She didn’t love Colin. Not at all. She actually wondered if she’d ever loved him, but she felt the anger well.

Was Bran right? Could a person let go of love but hold fear and anger close? Could she be pushing Riley away because she was worried he would change on her?

He’d lied about his reasons for meeting her, for becoming her lawyer. Did that mean he’d lied about who he was? About his feelings for her?

Could she believe a word he said? Ah, that was the real question.

She’d believed Colin. She’d brought him home and showed him off and planned a whole life around him, and her feelings for him hadn’t been half of what she felt for Riley. She’d been hurt when Colin left. How would she feel when Riley decided he’d been punished enough for what he’d done to her?

Oh God. She was thinking that way. When he’d offered her a month, she’d taken it with the full knowledge that she would leave because he wouldn’t last a month with her. She should walk away before he did.

“Hey, El.” Bran was standing in the doorway, his big body taking up all the space. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t push. I can only say I’m worried you’re going to leave. I don’t want you to leave. I like having you around.”

“You might not be wrong about me thinking Riley will change on me. Colin did. He was the first person I really brought into my life, and he changed very quickly.”

“Riley won’t. He’s not the same as Colin. He’s constant. Ellie, he’s had one goal for twenty years. Nothing has been able to change that goal with the exception of you. He loves you. He needs you. I know that because I need someone like you. Do you have any idea what I would do to have what Riley has?”

She sniffled. Was he being serious? “He has a woman who won’t commit to him.”

Bran took a deep breath, and she felt a well of emotion from him. “He has a woman he loves. Yes, I want that. I want to love someone. It’s the big mistake people make. They think they need someone who loves them. But loving someone is way more important. It says more about who we are that we can love. I want to love, Ellie.”

Damn it. He was getting to her again. “I don’t know if that’s going to happen for me and Riley.”

“It doesn’t matter. He will have loved you. Loving someone is so much more important than being loved. I think my brother loves you and that will make the difference in his life. He can spend it in this cave of revenge we’ve built, or he can walk in the light.”

Her father had lived in a cave with no one to love or care about. No one who loved him.

He’d spoken often about his cave.

He’d said he was safe in the cave. He’d said he needed no one, so his cave was safe. He’d said he’d buried all the sins in the cave.

What if he’d been making sense? She’d thought the morphine had been talking, but what if her father had been rationally trying to tell her something?

His cave. He’d called his office his cave.

“We could be in trouble here.”

“How so?” Bran asked.

“I think we’re looking for something from my father’s office.”

“Okay. We can do that.”

He didn’t understand the inherent problem. “But I know for a fact that Shari has sold off a lot of stuff.”

Bran’s face fell. “Shit. So it could be anywhere. Well, take a look around. You think he hid it, don’t you? Where would your father hide his secrets?”

“I don’t know. Let me think. Look through those books. Some of them are from my father’s library.” Shari had sold some of their father’s stuff through a Christie’s auction, and a bunch more had simply been sold on eBay.

She searched through Colin’s desk, finding nothing but notes on Shari’s meetings and the parties she needed to attend. Apparently her sister was attempting to make the move into acting and it wasn’t going well.

There was nothing in the desk. No false drawers or hidey-holes she could find.

She walked back through the apartment, finding absolutely nothing. An hour passed and her frustration nearly reached the breaking point.

Bran found her in the living room, silently cursing her sister.

“It’s gone,” she said. “Someone from Minnesota or some buyer from Finland likely has it.”

Bran put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ellie. We’ll find another way. Say, if there’s anything you want from here, you should take it. She’ll probably sell everything after she gets the money from my brother. Any chance you want that portrait of you as a girl?”

She stopped. He wouldn’t. Her father had kept a portrait her stepmother had commissioned. It was of Ellie as a young girl, holding her toddler sister in her lap. They looked angelic in the painting. Her father had said he’d placed it behind his desk because it gave him cover for his own misdeeds. Who, he’d asked, could see such tiny angels and think of their father as the devil?

It would be exactly like her father to hide his secrets there.

“I need you to help me get that picture off the wall.” She walked back to the living room, which had been decorated in Shari. There were pictures of her all over the space, including the large portrait of her as a toddler in her sister’s arms. It was the only sign that Shari even had a family.

Bran moved in, his height making the portrait takedown easy. He lifted it off its anchor and brought it down. “What exactly are we looking for? Do you think it’s behind the canvas?”

“No idea.” She disregarded the front. The artist had a light hand with the oil. Everything was smooth on the front of the canvas. She turned it around and inspected the back.

The canvas had been stretched over wood. From what she could tell it hadn’t been redone. Looking at it told her nothing. It seemed perfectly normal.

“Ellie, there’s something under the upper right corner,” Bran said quietly. “It’s hard to see because the color masks it, but I think something has been shoved under the frame.”

Ellie ran her hand under the wood and sure enough, something was there. She had to wiggle her fingers under, but she pulled out the small thumb drive.

There it was.

Bran looked at her and smiled. “I hope that’s what we think it is.”

“We won’t know until we try. Did you happen to see a computer in that office?” She wanted to boot this sucker up and make sure it was real.

“No computer. I think they took it with them to the South Pacific, where they’re likely figuring out that they have no Internet. I voted for cutting off all their power and not sending them any food. We can see who eats the other first. My bet’s on the dude. Your sister doesn’t look like she eats.”

Ellie felt unaccountably optimistic all of a sudden. She’d found it. Whatever was on this thumb drive was important. “She doesn’t, but neither one of them would ever get their hands bloody.”

“Neither would you, and that’s a good thing.”

That was where he was wrong. She was way stronger than any of them gave her credit for. “I will get my hands completely bloody for the right cause. I’m ready for a little of Castalano’s blood.”

She might have a chance to make this all right. Maybe not all, but she could start working to right her father’s wrongs.

First things were first. She pulled out her cell and texted Lily.

Come back to the penthouse. Found the info.

She wanted her family around her when they opened the package. Lily was as close as she had to a family left. She needed Lily to get along with her new relatives.

“You ready? I’ll try to hail us a cab.” Bran winked as he left her to lock up.

Her cell phone trilled as Bran closed the door. When she answered it her entire world went straight to hell.