Sixteen

Riley flipped through the data the McKay-Taggart specialist had sent him a few moments earlier. He was glad he could use the whole “Taggart as an in-law” connection like a blunt instrument. He’d gotten someone named Adam on the phone and once he’d explained that he was Mia’s brother, his two-to-three-day turnaround had become roughly thirty minutes. Riley was fairly certain the guy had been on his way out the door, but apparently everyone adored Mia.

“Did I miss anyone?” Adam Miles asked over the speaker.

“I don’t think so. It’s just a mega shit-ton of names.” There were a lot of workers at StratCast. The year the last bank account was opened, there were almost a thousand workers employed by StratCast. A whole bunch of them had gone to the Bahamas.

It was an easy winter getaway from the city. He should have known.

“You’ve got some additional issues,” Adam pointed out. Adam was a McKay-Taggart “communications specialist.” Or as Case liked to call it—dude who knew how to hack a system.

He glanced down the list, recognizing a couple of names. “What kinds of issues?”

He’d had the idea after Ellie and Bran had left. He didn’t recognize the woman in the picture Case had found, so he needed to narrow down the prospects. Castalano didn’t have a large group of friends. He wouldn’t trust many people. It was possible he’d hired someone to “play” Ellie, but he was betting Castalano would keep that woman fairly close. He would have something on her.

He kind of hoped Castalano hadn’t offed the girl.

“Besides the fact that your bad guy might have used someone not connected with the company, your main issue is cruise ships. If this guy is really smart, he sent her via cruise ship because while they do check passports, they don’t stamp them,” Adam explained. “If she flew in, we’ll have a record. If she went in for a day through a cruise ship, you are shit out of luck.”

“Or you could look through cruise ship rolls for that week.” It seemed fairly simple.

There was a long pause. “You suck, asshole.”

McKay-Taggart wasn’t known for their customer service. They were known for getting shit done. Also, he’d likely thrown out professionalism when he’d told Adam there was Taggart sperm in his family tree. Well, it was certainly in his sister’s tree by now, or very soon, since those two seemed to go at it twenty-four seven.

He wished he had the same happy arrangement with Ellie. Their lovemaking only happened at night when they went to bed. It made it seem almost dirty when it was anything but. It was the best part of his day, the only part that made him feel truly alive. He wanted the right to take her hand and make love to her the way he had before she’d discovered the truth.

“I’m sorry. It’s important.”

A long sigh came over the line. “This is about your wife, right?”

“Yes. She’s the one in trouble.” He found he couldn’t lie to Mia’s new family. “But she only married me because I kind of forced her.”

“So it’s a marriage in name only?”

“Not in my mind. This marriage is forever. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t think the same way.”

“Hey, you’ve got her name on a document that states that you belong to each other. You’ve got more than most people do. Get that woman into bed. Give her something special. It’s seriously so much easier when there are two of you. Jake and I can tag-team our wife and she never gets a chance to think too hard.”

Yeah, he’d heard McKay-Taggart had some crazy sex stuff going on. “I’m going to have to handle it on my own.” He skipped through the names. “Hey, there’s no Lily Gallo here.”

“You asked me to look through the employees working for StratCast that year. If she’s not there, she wasn’t on the payroll.”

Something about the girl in the picture made him think of Lily. It could be that he wanted it to be her. She hated him.

But finding out that Lily was a plant would kill Ellie.

“Of course,” he replied. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Give me two seconds to pull her passport records,” Adam said.

“Don’t,” Riley began, but the Muzak on the line had started up. At McKay-Taggart there was only one song played over and over again. The crazy elevator version of “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” It was enough to make a person insane.

Who thought to do that? Who took classic rock and made it elevator music?

And why was he humming along?

Castalano’s wife. He’d thought about it and discarded the notion. She was too thin to be the girl in the picture. She was sixty according to her records, and though she’d had an enormous amount of work done, she wasn’t as young as the woman in question. He would place her age as late twenties to early thirties. Not anywhere close to Castalano’s wife or his mistress, who was in her late forties.

There were other women, but none Riley thought had enough at stake in the game to be used. Castalano would have something over this woman, something important.

The GNR song kept playing and he wondered where Ellie was. She should be home fairly soon. Bran had texted him a while back that they’d finished up with Lily and were on their way to Shari’s apartment.

Shari. Waste of flesh. He didn’t understand any sibling who could treat a sister or brother the way she had. Maybe if their parents hadn’t been brutally murdered, he and Drew and Bran and Mia would have been normal and seen each other every Thanksgiving and Christmas and barely known what was really going on in each other’s lives, but that wasn’t what had happened. They were all they had. Even Mia, who’d found happiness, gave her brothers everything she had.

And Ellie had a place in this family. Maybe she didn’t know it, but she’d already become integral to the Lawless clan. She challenged every single one of them. They needed that more than any of them would admit. Well, Mia would happily admit it. She was Ellie’s biggest champion. She loved having another woman in the house, especially one who questioned the Lawless authority.

Ellie was perfectly happy to go after Drew. She would argue with him on everything from politics to religion to what he was doing to make the world a better place. In Ellie’s mind that wasn’t much. She wasn’t a big proponent of revenge as world healer.

“Hey, any word when Bran’s coming back?” Hatch stuck his head in. He was dressed for going out in a pair of slacks and a collared shirt. “We’re supposed to meet up with a couple of very nice ladies tonight.”

Jesus. “By nice ladies you mean strippers?”

Hatch’s eyes narrowed. “I mean lovely women who might or might not spend some time on the pole. They’re artists. Do you really want to be a judgmental asshole here?”

He never wanted to be a judgmental asshole, but he wished his brother would get out of his stripper phase. “I think Bran should get more serious.”

Hatch stepped into the room. “It’s hard for him. He was serious once and it went really damn poorly from what I can tell. He’s worried about getting serious again.”

This was the first he’d heard of that. Bran refused to talk about his time in foster care. Drew had pulled him out when he was almost seventeen, but it had been years and Bran hadn’t been as successful at finding a permanent home as Mia. Bran had gone from house to house. He’d never stayed anywhere for more than a year, but Riley didn’t know a damn thing beyond the names of the foster parents he’d stayed with. There had been several instances of bad behavior during Bran’s adolescence. Most of them committed by Bran.

“He talks about it?”

“Only when he’s seriously drunk. Is that ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’? It’s awful. Who does that to a classic?”

The music had recycled back through. McKay-Taggart needed to seriously reconsider their wait time entertainment. “Don’t worry about that. What does Bran say?”

Hatch sighed. “He talks about a girl when he was sixteen. He tried to save her and couldn’t. That’s all I know, all he talks about. When he’s sober he acts like nothing ever happened. I’ve tried to get a name out of him, but he never gives that out. Bran is more damaged than he lets on.”

There was no question about that fact. Bran had too many run-ins, his anger far too volatile to be normal. He worried about Bran’s anger as much as he worried about Drew’s arctic chill. Whereas Bran had gone red hot, Drew was icy cold. They were both bad things to be.

Ellie was warm. She made him warm and happy. That was where a man needed to be. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion that the only way a man ever made it there was through the right woman.

Or dude. If said dude was into other dudes, he would need the right one. No man could be complete without a soul mate.

“Bran should be home any minute.” He went back to looking through names. He needed to match them up to pictures, and maybe he could eliminate most of them. Once he’d gotten it down to a reasonable number he could start really investigating. If he didn’t find anything from this batch, he would open the list wider.

“Any word from your girl on the source code?” Hatch asked. “Though I think it’s odd Phil would want to hide it.”

Riley didn’t look back, simply kept sorting through the names Miles had sent him. “It’s stolen. He wants to hide it.”

“Why? Does anyone honestly care at this point? There’s too much money involved for the cops to really prosecute. Don’t think it doesn’t matter. When there’s no way to truly compensate the victims, justice tends to be thrown to the side. It’s the entire reason we went about this the way we did. We knew we couldn’t get Stratton and Castalano and Cain for stealing the source code.”

Hatch was making way too much sense. “All right. Let’s say what you’re saying is true. Why would Castalano deliberately send her after the code?”

“Because there’s something else he wants more. Look, I know how these people work because I was one of them once. Castalano wouldn’t have gone in on anything without having mutually assured destruction. He wouldn’t have taken a partner, much less two without it.”

“Tell me something,” Riley began. “Did he approach you?”

It was something he’d always wondered about. Hatch had been in the original investors. He’d been involved in the company before StratCast.

Hatch shook his head. “No. It was as much a shock to me as it was to you, but then I was always pretty plain about where my loyalties lay. I don’t think they would have been stupid enough to try to bring me in, but I understand fully why you would question me. I don’t think Drew has questioned me enough.”

He wasn’t sure why Drew had so much faith in Hatch. He simply knew he did. Drew had trusted Hatch with everything from 4L to watching over Bran, and for a few years after they’d gotten custody of his younger brother that had been a big job. It still was sometimes.

“We know you’re not the fourth, Hatch.”

Hatch seemed to shut down. “And how the hell do you know that?”

He gave him the only answer he had. “Because none of us wants to live in that world.”

Hatch’s shoulders slumped. “It wasn’t me. I loved your father like a brother, and as for Iris . . .”

“You just loved her.” Iris Lawless had been a stunning woman. He could remember how lovely she had been when she would get ready for an outing. She would sit at her vanity and put on makeup and smile at him as he watched her. She would be putting on blush with a huge brush and reach out to rub his nose with it. He would giggle and run away.

He could also remember his mother crying and swearing nothing was wrong.

“I did,” Hatch admitted. “But I never made a move on her. It’s hard to understand that your parents are human beings, too. They make mistakes and missteps like the rest of the world. I know I’m not your parent . . .”

“You’ve been my father figure longer than my biological dad.” It was hard to acknowledge sometimes, but it was true. And Hatch was right. He’d had to come to terms with the fact that the two father figures he’d gotten were imperfect. Likely he would have been forced to face the same facts about his mother and father had they lived.

“Well, I wish like hell your father had been the one to talk to Bran about sex. That boy has some weird ideas, and he’s not afraid to share.”

Riley grinned. He wasn’t sure that by sixteen or seventeen Bran had needed much of a talk.

His cell buzzed and he looked down. Luckily Adam Miles had called on the landline. He could still hear the hold music as he answered his cell. “Hey, buddy. How is it going with Ellie? Did she and Lily have a good time?”

“She ditched me, man. I swear to God I walked downstairs to hail a cab and she never showed. I looked everywhere,” Bran explained.

“What do you mean she ditched you? Why the hell would she ditch you?” His heart started racing.

“I mean I talked to one of the building attendants, and he saw her leaving through the staff entrance. She knew what she was doing. She was trying to get away from me.”

“Why would she do that?” His mind played through a hundred scenarios.

“I don’t know, but she has the source code. At least we think it’s the source code. It’s something her father left for her, but we didn’t get a chance to open it.”

“What’s going on?” Hatch put both his hands on the table and stared at Riley. “Is there a problem with Ellie?”

He put the phone on speaker. “Are you absolutely sure Ellie isn’t in the building?”

“He lost Ellie?” Hatch nearly shouted. He was on his phone in a heartbeat. He would be getting in touch with Drew, no doubt about it.

“I’m sure. I’ve looked all over. The man I talked to said she was alone,” Bran explained.

It was a little surreal. “Sweet Child o’ Mine” was still playing in the background, an odd soundtrack to his life disintegrating around him. She’d walked out. She’d found the source code and then sent his brother off.

Or had she?

“Did she tell you to go get the cab?”

“No. I offered.”

He quickly turned to his laptop. “She didn’t send you away. She wouldn’t have. Something happened. Someone got to her.”

Hatch put the phone he was holding to his shoulder. “Are you serious? You think about this for two seconds. She has the source code and then she ditches Bran. Obviously either she’s taking it to Castalano in exchange for him not prosecuting her or she’s going to hold it over your brother’s head. She’s going to contact us very soon and ask for a ridiculous amount of money.”

What Hatch said made total sense. It really did. Except he knew Ellie. He knew that woman deep down to her soul. “No. Someone got to her. She’s in trouble.”

“We’re all in trouble, damn it.” Hatch put the phone back to his ear. “Riley’s thinking with his dick again.”

He was thinking with his soul. It sounded stupid but he couldn’t even contemplate that Ellie could betray him.

“I’m worried about her,” Bran said.

A beep came across the line. He pulled the phone away. Ellie was calling.

“Bran, it’s her. I have to go.” Without waiting for his brother’s response, he answered Ellie’s call. “Baby, are you all right? What’s going on? Please tell me where you are so I can come get you.”

Hatch was getting in his space. “Tell her we won’t give her a damn dime.”

“Riley, I have the code, but I can’t give it to you.” Her voice sounded strained, like she’d been crying.

“What’s going on? Whatever it is, it’s going to be all right.” If she wasn’t giving the code to him, something had gone horribly wrong.

“It’s not going to be all right. We’ll sue her if she doesn’t hand it over,” Hatch said.

“Stay out of this.” He strode away, trying to focus on her.

“I’m about to walk into StratCast,” she said. “I know you’re going to hate me forever, but I have to give it to Steven.”

There was only one reason she would do that and it had nothing to do with money or power or even getting even with a husband who had betrayed her. “I understand. He has Lily. Baby, is there any way you can wait for me to get there?”

He was already grabbing his wallet.

“He does have her. How can you believe that? I ran away from Bran because I thought he would take it from me.”

“I would have kicked his ass for doing it and gotten it back to you.” He had to get to her. “I can be there in fifteen minutes, Ellie. Please wait.”

He needed a gun. Why didn’t he have a gun?

He heard her gasp over the line. “I can’t wait, but I wanted you to know. I wish . . . Everyone in your family is going to hate me, Riley. I can’t come back.”

He gripped the phone, wishing he could see her. “I don’t hate you, baby. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I’m sorry, Riley. You’ll never know how much.”

The line went dead and he was left breathless and terrified.

“Riley?” Adam’s voice came back on the landline, ending the Guns N’ Roses cycle. “You won’t believe this. Lily Gallo was in the Bahamas that day. I just put it together. I’m sorry I took a while but one thing led to the other and I think she’s your girl. It looks like her father used to work for StratCast. They don’t share the same last name. He was arrested for insider trading a couple of years back and Castalano is the one who paid his bail.”

Ellie was walking into a trap. Riley turned to Hatch.

“I need a gun.”

Hatch’s eyes widened. “I might be able to help you with that.”

—

Ellie’s hands were shaking as she turned off her phone. Riley would call back. He would try to convince her to give up the thumb drive.

Except he hadn’t.

She’d called because she’d found she couldn’t hand it over to Castalano without telling Riley what she was doing. She’d resisted the urge until she’d stood outside the building.

“Miss Stratton?” The guard on duty stood up at his station.

She wasn’t Miss Stratton anymore. Of course, she might be soon. “Hello, Thomas. Could you please tell Mr. Castalano that I’m here to see him.”

She had to request access to her own building. She hated that man. Hated him with a searing passion. In that moment, she understood why her brothers-in-law had sought their revenge. Steven was evil.

Thomas picked up the phone and did as she’d requested. When he put it back down, he frowned her way. “Are you sure you want to go up there? Everyone’s gone for the day. From what I can tell, you’ll be pretty much alone with him.”

And that was how he wanted it. Castalano wanted her alone and vulnerable. “I’ll be fine.”

Thomas pushed the button that gave her access. “I don’t believe a word he says about you. Almost none of us do. You stay strong. We all want you back here. You need anything, you call me.”

She might need one thing. “Thomas, I know it might get you in trouble, but my husband is likely on his way down here right now. I know he’s banned from the building.”

“He’s a smart guy. I’m sure he’s pretty sneaky, too. Man like that can get right past a guard.” Thomas nodded. “I’ll probably hear something I have to go and check out right about that time.”

So she might not be alone the whole time.

“Thank you.” She walked to the elevator and pressed the button, her hand shaking.

Riley hadn’t yelled at her. Oh, she’d heard Hatch. He’d reacted the way she’d thought Riley would.

I don’t hate you, baby. I’ll be there as soon as I can.

He hadn’t accused her of trying to steal from his family. He’d immediately known what the problem was, as though he’d known she would never do anything to hurt him if she could help it.

Riley trusted her. He trusted her almost without thought.

And she knew deep in her heart that he would be coming for her. He would have fought to get to her if Thomas had proven to be more loyal to Castalano.

She stepped into the elevator and let the doors close behind her before she hit the button for the top floor.

She trusted Riley with her life. She might need to throw out the notion of punishment and take another look at forgiveness.

What was she doing? The floors ticked by. She should have called the police despite what Castalano had said.

You have very little time to get here and save your friend. If you’re not here in twenty minutes or if I get a hint that you’ve called the police, Miss Gallo will be found dead in the ladies’ room. She’s already written out a note. Turns out she was involved in your crimes and can’t stand the thought of going to jail. It’s so easy to get pills these days. Isn’t that sad?

Had he already had Lily when Ellie had texted her? Or had the bastard duped her phone and he’d been waiting for a chance like this?

She should have gone straight home, handed everything over to Riley, and been done with it. But no. She’d had to text her friend. She needed Lily to know she’d gotten one thing right.

Now Lily was in danger and her in-laws would likely never speak to her again.

She had to do it. She knew damn well that Castalano wouldn’t hesitate to go through with his plan. And he would do it up right. If he said it would look like suicide, then it likely would.

After all, he’d managed a “murder-suicide” once.

The doors came open and Kyle stood there. He was dressed in a suit, all dapper for his villainy. Excellent. At least she elicited some fashion from the criminals who had taken over her life.

She squared her shoulders. “You’re not getting a thing from me until I see that Lily is alive and well.”

Kyle’s eyes rolled. “God, you’re really going to play this out to the end, aren’t you? Noble Ellie, everyone’s savior. It’s actually quite sickening and exactly why you’ve lost this particular game.”

He had a hand on the elevator door, holding it open.

“I might lose a few battles,” she admitted. “But this war is likely to continue.”

Kyle smirked her way. “Honey, you don’t even understand the rules of this particular war. Come on. They’re waiting for you. And I could take it from you, if I wanted to, but this is going to be infinitely more fun for me.”

She stepped out of the elevator and looked up, noticing the cameras were on. A tiny green light blinked. There wouldn’t be any security cameras once she got to Steven’s office. Her father and Castalano had decided privacy was far more important. But he might have had to drag Lily down the hall. If they got that on tape, maybe they would have a chance with the police.

Lily would testify.

Which was why it didn’t make any sense for Castalano to give her up.

She stopped in the middle of the hallway. Why would he give Lily up? Why would he let her walk out?

Kyle’s fingers wound around her elbow. “Is there a problem, Ellie?”

Oh, so many problems. She hadn’t thought the situation through. Kyle was right about that. She’d run the minute someone had needed saving.

Please let Riley be on his way.

“Is Lily still alive?” Twenty minutes was more than enough time to get rid of a witness. They’d likely known she would follow their rules. Why on earth would she think for a second this could go any way but poorly?

“Of course she’s still alive.” Kyle hauled her along.

“But she won’t stay that way, will she?” She had one card left to play. “My husband knows where I am.”

“Good for old Riley.” Kyle turned down the hall past her own office. He nodded toward her door. “That’s mine now. It always should have been mine. Your father was weak, and God knows you’re completely pathetic. You’re not cut out for this level of the business world. I always knew that.”

“Yes, you’re so much more suited. You couldn’t even finish college. If you think you can really run this company, you’re high. I suppose you can run it into the ground, but I’m starting to suspect that’s your father’s plan.”

“His plan is to pass the company on to his son, as it always should have been. Why do you think he’s done all of this? It’s been for me.”

“Now you’re delusional.” She had to hurry to keep up with him. She glanced around, hoping someone, anyone was still at the office. “He’s going to sell off all the important research and pocket the money for himself. Or he’ll simply take as much money as he can and get the hell out. If StratCast lasts another five years, we’ll all be lucky. I would bet he’s got plans for his retirement.”

Kyle kept right on walking, dragging her along. “Of course he does. That’s the point. He’s going to retire and I’m taking over. He bought a nice place in Europe and I’ll be appointed the CEO in less than two years.”

“Where?”

“Why do you care?”

She had a suspicion. “I do. Where is this retirement home?”

“It’s in Saint Petersburg. He’s made all the arrangements. My stepmother’s family is from that part of the world. The Venice of the north. Dad is going to be happy there and I’ll take care of things here.”

“Russia. He’s retiring to Russia? Do you know who retires to Russia, you moron? People who don’t want to get extradited to the U.S.” She might not have been thinking before, but Kyle was proving he never thought. Not once in his damn life. “Do you really believe the board is going to back you as CEO? You have almost no management experience and no college degree.”

That seemed to make an impact. Kyle stopped briefly before his jaw went hard and he started walking her toward his father’s office. The door was closed ahead.

“They’ll do it because my father will tell them to and he wouldn’t do that to me. He wouldn’t lie. I’m his only son.”

“And he worked his hardest to not pay child support.”

“My mother was a whore,” Kyle replied with a frown. “He was right not to pay her a dime. She would have spent it on drugs. That’s another reason he’s leaving me the company. He left me there with her.”

“You think your father is capable of feeling guilty? Do you understand why he wants this thumb drive? It proves that he stole the whole basis of StratCast from Benedict Lawless. He had my husband’s parents killed.”

“Sure he did. Now who’s the delusional one?”

“It’s all true.” She wasn’t sure why she was trying to convince him, but she kept on.

“No. Your father was the thief.” He opened the door and shoved her through. “My dad is protecting me and this company.”

Castalano stood behind his desk. “That’s right, son. I’m protecting your legacy from my former partner.”

Lily sat in a chair in front of the desk. She turned, her eyes red from crying. “Ellie, I’m so sorry.”

She nodded. There was nothing to do now except try to brazen her way through. “It’s all right. I’ll give you the thumb drive downstairs. Walk down with us and we can be done with this.”

“Or Kyle can take it from you.” He nodded to his son.

Kyle grabbed her bag off her shoulder and turned it upside down. He quickly found the thumb drive. “Got it. And you’re an idiot, Ellie. Haven’t you figured it out? How did we find out you had this? Who do you think turned you in?”

She looked back at Castalano. “You bugged Lily’s phone.”

Lily’s skin was a pale white. “Ellie . . .”

Castalano put a hand on her shoulder. “Lily’s worked for me for years. I saw this coming a long time ago. Who do you think opened the accounts under your name?”

Ellie felt a hole open inside her. Lily had been her friend for years and yet she’d carefully herded her, leading the lamb to slaughter. Lily had been her only friend.

“Ellie, I had to do it to save my father,” Lily said. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Ellie had always come second. Second to her father’s business. Second to her sister. She always would be.

Except Riley hadn’t seemed to care that she was throwing away his best shot at revenge. Riley seemed to be trying to put her first.

Nothing mattered except getting back to Riley.

“You have your source code and you let me know that you’ve taken everything from me.” She wasn’t going to give any one of them her tears. They didn’t deserve her tears. She would save those for later, when she was wrapped up in her husband’s arms and he would hold her tight. She would definitely save them for Drew, who would likely yell at her, and Hatch, who would absolutely yell at her. Tears might work on them.

She could handle their anger. The certainty came over her. She could handle Drew and Hatch being pissed because they wouldn’t kick her out. They would yell for a while and then force her to sit down with them and solve this next problem as a family.

The one thing she’d never had.

“I’m going home. You can sit here and fool these two all night.” She turned, but Kyle was there blocking her path.

“There is something I can still take,” Castalano said.

That was when she noticed he was holding a gun, pointing straight at her.

She stood firm. “How exactly are you going to explain killing me?”

“Well, dear, you came here to kill me. When you showed up—uninvited, might I add—and tried to convince me to stop the prosecution of your case, I explained that I wouldn’t. That was when you got violent. Wasn’t it, Kyle?”

Kyle chuckled. “She did. I saw the whole thing. Didn’t you, Lily?” He leaned in. “By the way, she’s been my mistress for years. Do you know how we laugh about you?”

Lily stood. “That’s not true, Ellie. I slept with him because I pretty much had no choice, but I would never laugh about you. I love you. I admire you. I hate myself for what I’ve done.”

“But you’ll continue to do it, won’t you, dear?” Castalano asked in a silky smooth voice. “You’ll be the one to tell the police that your friend was corrupt, that you saw everything.”

Lily looked back and tears rolled down her face. She stared for a moment and then turned back to her boss. “No. I won’t help you kill Ellie. And Kyle, he’s been selling technology to the Russians for years. He’s going to gut the company and flee the country. He never intended to leave you a damn thing.”

“That is unfortunate.” Castalano turned the gun and shot Lily in the head.

Ellie stared in stark silence. She couldn’t breathe. What had happened? Her dear friend, the woman who had betrayed her, fell to the ground dead.

“Why did you do that?” Kyle screamed the question as he moved toward Lily’s body.

Ellie wanted to scream, wanted to charge Castalano, but she now had a shot. She turned and bolted out of the office, leaving everything behind.

He heart was racing. He’d killed Lily. He’d shot her and Lily wasn’t here anymore. No matter what she’d done, Ellie hadn’t wanted her dead. She couldn’t even process it at this point.

She had seconds. She couldn’t wait for the elevator. She wasn’t sure she could get to the stairs. There was a bank of cubicles in front of her. She dipped down behind the first one as she heard a second shot.

Her heart pounded, adrenaline flowing through her system in a great rush. What had happened? Had he shot his own son?

“Ellie, dear, this won’t do. Why did you kill your friend? And my boy. I can’t believe you were so jealous of their love. But then you had to have him, didn’t you? Could you thank your husband for sending the reporter our way? He’s made this very simple. Everyone knows you had an affair with Kyle. I didn’t mean to kill Kyle yet, but it does wrap all of this up in a neat bundle.”

Naturally, he intended to play it that way. She kept her mouth closed and listened. He moved from his carpeted office to the marbled floor. His shoes tapped against the marble and then went silent again as he hit the carpet the cubicles sat on.

She didn’t hear Kyle at all. Castalano could be lying. It could be a ruse, but she didn’t think so. She thought he’d really done it. He’d gotten rid of all the witnesses who could speak of his crimes.

“I never actually thought the boy was mine anyway. Like that bitch couldn’t have paid off someone in the lab.” His footsteps moved ever closer.

Ellie crawled to the next row, staying as close as she could to the cubicle walls. She had to get to the stairs someway. Or she could run down the hall toward the back stairs.

“You’re going to make this hard on me.” Castalano sighed. “I had all the cameras taken offline. When the police ask, I’ll tell them I didn’t want your begging and pleading broadcast. After all, you’re the daughter of my partner. I knew you as a little girl. I assure you, I’m ready for the questions.”

She heard something, a squeaking sound that caught her attention. She went still and Castalano was silent for a moment.

“No one’s coming to save you. I’ve given instructions that no one is allowed in the building. It’s just you and me. Why don’t you come out and have some dignity?”

He didn’t realize how much some people hated him. Maybe the guard wouldn’t let Riley through, but maybe he would.

Then what? Riley would walk right into an ambush. He would likely take the elevator and Castalano would hear it. He would shoot her husband like he’d shot his own son and Lily.

She had to get him away from the hall. Where Castalano was likely standing, he would see Riley right away.

“My husband won’t let you get away with it.” She moved quickly to the next row, keeping her head down. The cubicle walls were nice and high. He shouldn’t be able to see her unless he jumped on top of a desk—despite his obvious decent health, he was still an almost-seventy-five-year-old man with one hip replacement behind him.

She heard him moving, trying to track her and getting farther from the bank of elevators. That might give Riley a chance, though she was no longer sure she wanted him to come after her.

The thought of him dying was worse than anything. A world without Riley Lawless wouldn’t be her world.

“I’m sure he’ll try, but I’ll be gone in a few weeks. I’ve made my last deal.”

“You’re selling the coolant project to the Russians.” She moved again, edging toward the stairs. She could outrun him. All she needed was a few seconds and a little distraction. She would get to the stairs and run one floor down. She wouldn’t let him pick her off from above. One floor and then she would cut over and call the police. She would hide in R&D.

“Your coolant project is netting me both twenty million and the assurance that I won’t be extradited. I really will get my retirement out of this place, and poor Benedict’s children will be left with nothing. Again. That thumb drive wasn’t the source code. We destroyed that long ago. No, it’s much worse. It’s your father’s burn file on me. It’s everything I’ve ever done. I had one on him as well and Patricia. Mutually assured destruction. It’s the only way to go. He was supposed to leave it to me in his will, but your father was a giant ass. He sent Patricia hers, but left me hanging. I think he figured out I’d set you up at some point. He loved you in his own way.”

“Is there proof that you killed Benedict and Iris Lawless?” She was almost there. A few more desks and she would have to be ready.

“I should think not. We buried that. There is no proof. Well, there might be a bit, but only Patricia has that information. Why we left it with that bitch, I’ll never understand, but our friend trusted her more than the rest.”

Friend?

Was he talking about the fourth person who was in on the conspiracy? She’d learned everything about the night the Lawless parents had died. She’d made a study of them over the last two weeks. Iris’s body had been found next to her husband, a bullet through her head. The police had claimed it was murder-suicide. It had really been an assassination.

She needed to get that stupid thumb drive back. Maybe her father had left her more than Castalano thought.

She heard the doors to the elevator slide open.

“Ellie?” Riley’s voice floated through the space.

“He’s got a gun!” Ellie screamed, no longer caring if she gave up her position.

Gunfire boomed through the room and she heard someone grunt.

“Ellie, you stay where you are!” Riley shouted.

“Oh, poor Ellie. I hit your husband. I might be old, but I’m quick,” Castalano said.

Riley was hit? She couldn’t stay down. She stood and ran toward the hall. She felt something burn as Castalano shot at her, but she didn’t pay attention, merely kept running because Riley was on the floor. He was behind a wall of cubicles, but Castalano was moving in. She dove to get to Riley, her knees banging on the carpet and pain flaring through her system.

Bright red blood stained his white shirt. Where was it coming from? It seemed to be everywhere.

“I told you to stay where you were,” he said. He still had a gun in his hand, but he was shaking.

Tears blurred her vision. “Where are you hit?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Take this gun and get the hell out. I’ll keep the pistol and I’ll distract the bastard. Drew’s coming up the stairs. He’ll protect you. Find Drew. Bran is with him, too.”

“Why aren’t you with them?”

He looked over at her, those glorious lips of his turning up. “Too impatient. Had to get to you, baby. Love you.”

He was turning a ghastly pale, his skin graying before her eyes.

He pressed something into her hand. Cold metal brushed her palm. It was a gun. Apparently her husband had come fully armed and ready for battle.

She’d never used a gun before, never held one in her hands.

“Ah, what a lovely couple.” Castalano stood over them.

Riley tried to bring his gun up, but his hand shook and then his shoulder jerked back as Castalano shot him.

“He should have known better. You don’t have the stomach for real business, Ellie. Let me tell you how this is going to go.”

She didn’t care. She was done living in his world. Without another thought except to pray Riley had taken the safety off, she raised the gun and fired and fired and fired.

An acrid smell hit her nose and she watched as Castalano looked down. He put his hands to his stomach and fell to his knees.

Ellie stood and moved to him, kicking his gun out of the way.

“Ellie! Riley!” Drew ran in looking far too competent with a gun in his hand. Bran was behind him.

Thank God they were here, because she didn’t want to stand over her enemy. She had more important things to do.

She dropped to her knees beside her husband. “Riley, where are you hit?”

“Feels like everywhere.” He slumped down, but his hand found hers. “Did I ever tell you how pretty you are?” His eyes were glassy as he looked at her. “So damn pretty. My Ellie.”

She couldn’t lose him. Not now.

Bran dropped down beside her. “Ambulance is on its way.”

“Don’t let him.” Riley groaned as he tried to sit up.

“Stay down and don’t move,” she ordered.

“Drew, no.” The words slurred from Riley’s mouth.

Ellie looked over and Drew was kneeling by Castalano.

“Please don’t let him,” Riley begged.

She stood because she couldn’t let her husband down. He’d come for her, taken a bullet for her. There was nothing left in her heart for him but love, and she needed to stop his brother from making a horrible mistake.

“Drew, don’t.”

Drew’s face was completely blank, his hands circling the man’s throat. Castalano was still breathing, though he was unconscious. “All it takes is one twist, Ellie. One little twist.”

“And then you’ll be as bad as he is.” She put a hand on her brother-in-law’s shoulder.

“I already am.”

“No.” She knelt beside him. He hadn’t closed his hands around the older man’s throat, but the potential was right there. “You’re not.”

“You have no idea the things I’ve done,” he replied.

“You saved your family. Don’t leave them now. Please, Drew. Let the court handle him. Let justice take care of him. Please.”

Drew cursed and finally stood and turned back to his brothers.

“You know that’s a flesh wound, Riley.” He shook his head. “And we got everything on tape. The guard agreed to turn the cameras all back on once Bran and I explained the situation.”

“He confessed,” Ellie explained, getting close to her husband again. “He confessed everything to me. And it’s not a flesh wound. It’s serious.”

Riley grinned, a drunken look. “Chicks dig scars.”

The elevator opened and the room was suddenly filled with EMTs and NYPD.

She watched as they rushed her husband out, Bran and Drew holding her hands.