Four

Ellie finished off the last of the cake she hadn’t meant to order. They’d brought the dessert cart by at Riley’s insistence. She’d tried to turn them away, but Riley had ordered a massive slice of chocolate decadence and then offered her a fork.

God, she loved chocolate. It had been forever since she’d allowed herself to indulge in dessert. She’d worked so much in the last year she usually didn’t head home until long past dinnertime and had settled for whatever the team was eating or something she could microwave.

Life, it seemed, had gotten away from her. It hadn’t been a conscious thing¸ really. After the divorce, she’d put everything into her job. She so rarely simply enjoyed anything these days.

She was thinking about enjoying Riley Lang. If she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a great dessert, she really had no recall of even satisfactory sex.

She was pretty sure she even bored her vibrator these days.

“Tell me why you went into your father’s business.” He sat back, lounging against the booth in his oh-so-casual, I’m-not-a-predator-but-I’m-going-to-eat-you-up way. “It sounds like he wasn’t much of a dad.”

Why did her lawyer have to be the sexiest man she’d ever encountered? She tried to concentrate on answering his questions rather than staring into those piercing eyes. “He wasn’t a good person. It’s more about the company than him. I went to boarding school most of the time, but I was home for summers. You have to understand that the boarding school I went to was a little like The Hunger Games for mean girls. I was the odd one out. I was bigger than the rest of the girls. Got these babies early.” She gestured to her chest. “And wasn’t very into fashion and pop music. I liked Doctor Who and read Stephen King and romance novels. There was this used bookstore and when we would go into town, I would stock up on cheap paperbacks because despite my father’s money, I had limited funds. Everyone else would buy makeup or convince some creepy perv to buy them cigarettes or beer, and I had a stack of books.”

“I can see you with your nose behind a book.” He finished off the last of the pinot noir. “So you didn’t spend a lot of time at home, I take it.”

“Nope. My mom died when I was six and then Dad remarried and had Shari. My stepmom was okay. She was nice, but she was very into being a rich man’s wife, and that did not include a ton of childcare. So when I came home for the summers, I shared a nanny with my sister. By the time I was ten or so, Dad didn’t want to burden Shari’s nanny with me, so he took me to work and told me to sit in the mailroom and read.”

“For a whole summer?” Riley asked softly.

Poor little rich girl. That was her. “It lasted about a week, and then Steven came down. He decided he needed an assistant and he showed me around. Oddly enough, I ended up in research and development and I kind of became their mascot. I fit in with the geeks. I spoke their language, though let’s be plain, I’m not a math genius. They were very kind to a lonely girl, and I started looking forward to spending my summers and Christmas breaks with them.”

“You grew to love the company.”

There had been times in her youth when she felt so much more at home in the development lab than she did her own room. She’d often cursed the fact that she wasn’t gifted in math and science. “I fell in love with the company and what it can be. I went to business school because it was expected of me, but also because I realized that I could contribute something. I can handle the outside world—the never-ending reports to the board, the budget, the advertising and marketing. I can handle that so they can do what they do. They can make the world a better place.”

“Holy shit. You’re a do-gooder.” He shook his head. “Please tell me you don’t really think a company like StratCast can help people do anything but spend their hard-earned dollars on better Internet.”

She should have guessed he was a cynic. She shrugged. She typically didn’t argue with cynics. They couldn’t be changed. “Everyone wants better Internet. Are you ready to go?”

He reached for her hand, sliding his around and enveloping her. “Hey, I was teasing you. I want to hear what you have to say.”

How could she say it without sounding like an idiot? And why did she care if she sounded like an idiot? It was better that the man understand what he was getting into with her. If he was anything like her father, he would tell her she was naive. She’d been very careful in the last few years to play by her father’s rules so he would leave the majority of his stock to her. He’d wanted an heir and she’d played the part. It was time to start shedding that costume.

“We can do better. Corporations owe it to their employees and the people who support them to be better citizens of the world around them. We treat corporations like the be-all, end-all of American existence, so the people who run them have a duty to the world. If I can help make communications cheaper and better and more accessible to everyone, I’ll have done my job.”

“You really believe that?” Riley asked somberly.

At least he wasn’t laughing at her. “My father was rough on his employees. They were cogs in the machine. I spent seven summers interning with this brilliant man. His name was Herbert Simmons. The professor, as we called him.”

He’d been one of the single kindest men she’d ever known. Patient. Quiet. He’d taught her more about the tech end of the business than anyone else.

Riley nodded. “Yes, I know his work well. He invented the cable system most high-tech firms now use.”

She was impressed. Most suits didn’t care about anything but the money involved. The fact that he knew Herb’s name and contribution meant he was a cut above the normal bottom-line guy. “Yes, StratCast was built on that system. Higher function, more speed capability, almost indestructible. It made the company billions, which my father promptly wasted buying up other companies in an insane attempt to show what a big dick he had.”

“Yes, I remember StratCast almost went into bankruptcy. Probably would have if they hadn’t had the cable technology.” His fingers played along hers.

She knew she should pull back but couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Obviously StratCast owned the patents. Most companies would have rewarded the designer, but my father fired him a few years later because he had terminal cancer and couldn’t work anymore. Oh, he made it all look like poor job performance, but Dad was good at that. Herb would have come into an enormous amount of stock if he’d gotten to retirement age. He died in a nursing home. I paid for his burial because he didn’t have anyone else. He was brilliant. He changed the world for the better, and he died alone and penniless because my father is excellent at screwing people over.”

“That’s business, Ellie,” he said quietly. “That’s what most people call success.”

“Then we need to redefine the word. Think about that, Riley. You say you want to be my general, but you don’t understand the war I want to fight. It won’t always be about money.”

“You’re an odd one, Eleanor Stratton.” His hand slid away from hers.

Yeah, that was the story of her life. She’d never fit in, but she’d managed to make a place for herself at StratCast despite being her father’s daughter. “You should think about it. I don’t know that I’m the right CEO for you. I don’t have your killer instincts. I’ll hold off on signing the contract.”

“Don’t.” His eyes came up, catching hers. “Sign the damn contract, Ellie. Our contract, not the other one. I can handle your odd notions about social justice and I think you’ll find we’ll still make incredible amounts of cash in the process. And if you’re planning on making changes at StratCast, you’ll need someone like me who can see who’ll come after you. Your board could turn on you. No one likes change.”

She knew there would be issues. “I’ll have to make them see my point.”

“And if they won’t? You can do all the pretty arguing and I’ll handle the real business. I’ll get you what you want.”

“How will you do that?”

“I don’t know that you want the answer to that question, princess. The men on your board will fight dirty. I’ll fight dirtier.”

It was a tempting proposition. She wasn’t foolish. She knew there was a nasty fight ahead of her and she might have to get her hands bloody. She dreaded it. What if Riley was exactly what he said he was? What if he could handle the ruthless parts of the business so she could concentrate on making StratCast everything she thought it could be?

“I’ll sleep on it.”

“But not with me,” Riley surmised.

“I think if we’re going to work together, we should keep some distance.” Oh, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to take him back to her place and forget how shitty the day had been. She wanted to lose herself for a night.

And that would be a terrible mistake. She didn’t know this man. She was likely making a mistake by hiring him, but he’d come recommended and not simply by her father’s old lawyers.

The fact that he came from 4L Software made her believe he was as good as he said he was.

She would likely never know about the other stuff. The sex stuff. After all, he only had himself to recommend his talents. It wasn’t like he carried around a pamphlet with five-star reviews from his past lovers. He should. It could really help his cause. She could see it in her head. There would be a sexy pic of him on the cover and all his former lovers would talk about his superlative oral techniques.

“What are you grinning about?”

She shook it off. Her mind wandered to the oddest places at times. “Nothing. I should get home. Tomorrow’s a long day. I did appreciate dinner. It’s been a while since I went out like this.”

He took the paid bill from the waiter, who nodded her way. He’d been very kind and attentive. She hoped Riley tipped well.

Riley slid out of his seat and held his hand out, gallantly helping her up. “I intend to force you out more often, then. I know you think we shouldn’t have a relationship outside of work, but there’s a very good reason people like us end up with coworkers. We don’t have personal lives and we need someone who understands when all we talk about is work. You’re the boss. Do you really think you’re going to hop on the Internet and meet a guy who understands you?”

She was fairly certain no guy would understand her. “Maybe I’m doomed to be married to my company.”

“Somehow I doubt it.” He held an arm out. “Let me walk you home. I promise to keep my hands to myself. No funny business until you give in.”

He was going to kill her. She’d known the man one day, and she was already fairly certain she was going to regret not taking him up on his offer. But she was a businesswoman, and the truth was having a relationship with him could hurt her. She had to think about the goal. Once the buyout was finished and she had the stock she needed in hand, she could think about having a personal life.

Maybe.

She let the first cool blast of spring air slide over her skin as he led her up the stairs and back to the street level. When they’d gone in for dinner, the sun had been setting. Now it was past ten. She’d spent three hours sitting and talking with him. And they’d flown by, mostly with her talking.

It had been nice to be the center of all that attention for once.

She stopped. “It would be easier for you to get a cab here.”

He stared at her.

She put her hands up in defeat. “Fine. You’re the one who’ll be walking a block or two out of your way.”

“I don’t mind.” He settled in beside her, adjusting his longer gait to match hers. “I don’t have many nights like this.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t date much, gorgeous.”

She could have sworn he flushed.

“Surprisingly, no. I don’t actually date very much. I travel a lot between Austin and here. The very long hours I put in don’t leave much time for dating. I had a girlfriend a while back, but it petered out. She started seeing some project manager. I got invited to their wedding,” he said with a little huff. “Naturally I was busy that weekend.”

She liked casual Riley. Somewhere in the middle of dinner, he’d relaxed. They’d still talked business, but something seemed to have calmed him, and he’d peppered in talk about his favorite sports—football and baseball. “So it hit you pretty hard, huh?”

He thought about that for a moment. “You know, I think what hit me was the fact that most of the people I knew in college are married and breeding like rabbits and I’ve never even lived with a woman. A bunch of guys from time to time, but never a woman. I barely manage to spend the night at a woman’s place.”

“I think the whole living-together thing might be overrated,” she admitted. “There is a whole lot of compromise. I wish I’d lived with Colin before we got married. I could have saved myself a ton of cash if I’d known he was one of those guys who lets toothpaste go everywhere. Put the cap on, dude.”

“Ah, messy, huh? I can see where that would offend.”

She rounded the corner that would lead to her building and found herself slowing down. “So did you share a house with a bunch of guys in college?”

She could see him in a frat house. He’d likely been the king of the campus.

“I lived in a group home as a teen. You think your ex-husband was messy. You put twelve basically homeless teenage boys together and see what happens. Not pretty. I think I actually developed some OCD from those days. I’m quite neat.”

It took a second for what he’d said to settle in. A group home. Not a frat house. “A group home?”

“Think of it as foster care for the too-old-to-adopt puppies. My parents died when I was twelve. I lived in two different group homes until I was eighteen.”

He’d been in foster care? “What happened at eighteen?”

“My brother had aged out before me and he took me in,” he explained in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’d been diligent about school and got a scholarship. Managed to avoid most of the pitfalls of our lovely system.”

“The pitfalls?” She was still reeling at the idea of him being so vulnerable.

“Drugs, physical abuse. Pretty much anything a desperate kid can do, I’ve seen happen. But I kept my head down, paid attention to school. My older brother was very insistent about schoolwork. He took his responsibilities very seriously. I’m fairly certain he was harder on my ass than my dad ever would have been. My father was actually kind of a softie. Well, I think he was. It’s hard to remember sometimes.”

She felt like her whole perception of him had turned around. If she’d been asked, she would have said he’d had a privileged upbringing. All the right manners. All the right schools. His confidence alone made her think he was one of the entitled, though he wasn’t as obnoxious as some she knew. Suddenly, instead of simply a gorgeous, sexy guy in front of her she saw the boy he must have been. Alone. Afraid. Determined. “I don’t like thinking about you in a group home.”

She’d seen sex on a stick, but there was a human being under the beauty. All human beings ached and hurt. Some simply hid it better than others.

He stopped, his hand going to hers, and he looked down at her. “You’re far too tenderhearted, Ellie. But I don’t like to think about it much, either. I don’t know why I’m talking about it. I rarely talk about the past. The present and future are much more interesting.”

She glanced at the door. She should go through it, but found she didn’t want to leave him. Not like this. And if she kept talking about his past, she might start crying. Not a good thing to do in front of a man who would essentially be her employee. “Speaking of the future. Do you think we can get the buyout contract finished before the board meeting? I want to walk in with all my cards in hand.”

Business. She needed to remember to focus on business around him.

“I can try. The board meeting is in a month. Unfortunately, because Castalano tried to shove that clause in there, we’ll likely go back to the table. I’ll tell his team tomorrow that we won’t accept the contract as it is and send back a few demands of our own.”

“I don’t have any demands except that I give him the money for his stock and his backing of me as CEO.” Steven wouldn’t be on the board, but they would listen to him. If he went public with his backing, there would be an easy vote.

“We can put that in the contract, but he can always lie unless we hold off on transfer of funds and stock until after the board meeting.”

She didn’t want to play it that way. If she did it like that, she would look weak, like she’d bought her place, unsure that her partner would back her without a threat hanging over his head.

“No. I want to do it before.”

“I’ll try,” he promised. “But these are delicate negotiations and the press will be watching, so we have to be careful. We’re lucky it appears the sale of your sister’s stock was a private one or it would have been reported on. It still might be. It depends on who bought it and why.”

She could see the story now. If her own family was bailing, how could a young woman ever lead a tech company? The stock would suffer. She could potentially be out.

Damn, but she’d needed her sister’s vote. She’d put up with Shari, with everything she’d done, because since the moment she’d known their father was dying, she’d known she needed Shari to back her, and now she had to find someone else.

Of course, if she did sign that contract, Riley Lang became a voting member of the board. Perhaps all wasn’t lost.

“Hey, it’s going to be all right.” He was standing in her space, tilting her chin up to look at him. “No matter what happens, I’m going to take care of it. Try to remember that. Even if something goes wrong, I can make it right eventually.”

She wanted to believe him more than anything. She was feeling so alone, and he was offering her company, companionship.

“Tell me I can kiss you,” he commanded, his voice going low. “We’re off the clock. If you don’t want me to touch you at work, I won’t. We can keep this thing between us very quiet.”

“That would be incredibly unprofessional.” She meant the words as an admonishment, but they came out kind of breathy and sultry.

“Yes, but I really wouldn’t care. That’s what it means to be the boss. You do what you want, when you want it. I learned a very long time ago that if I don’t take what I want, someone else will. Take what you want, Ellie.” His mouth hovered above hers, so close she could feel the heat of his body, smell the mint on his breath.

It would take so little to go up on her toes and let their mouths meet.

But he didn’t understand what it meant to be female in the business world. She was under thirty and a woman. Everyone was watching her. Everyone was waiting for her to screw up so they could take her apart and split the company between them.

She didn’t get to follow her instincts.

He took a step back. “I’ll be ready when you are. Go upstairs. I’m not leaving until I’m sure you’re safely inside. I would walk up with you, but you aren’t ready for that.”

She wasn’t. Not at all. He was too much, too good to be true. She turned and fled like the coward she was.

—

“I’m surprised to see you.” Drew looked up from his laptop, squinting into the darkness that filled the Upper West Side penthouse he’d bought a few months back. “I thought you would be bedding down with her for the night. Did she not take the bait?”

The only lights in the place came from the floor-to-ceiling views of the Hudson and the lights beyond. Much like everything in his brother’s world, the penthouse always seemed to be in shadows.

So unlike the cheerful tiny place in Brooklyn Ellie called home. He’d been surprised at how small it was. Nothing but a neat, comfy-looking living room, a tiny kitchen, and a door that led to the bedroom he hadn’t managed to get into. He’d only been there for a few moments, but he couldn’t help compare it to his brother’s multimillion-dollar penthouse. It boasted the best money could buy and it had never once felt like home. Neither did the mansion in Austin.

“She’s shy.” She was so different from what he’d thought she would be. Not really shy. That was the wrong word. Cautious was a better one. “She’s well aware how it would look if she starts fucking her lawyer. I’ll get around it because she’s also very curious.”

She was a sensual thing. She’d enjoyed it when he’d touched her, but he might be moving too fast for her. She’d been burned before. It was only natural she be cautious about men.

He’d expected her to be hard, to take what she wanted. He’d expected the daughter of Phillip Stratton to be as ruthless as her father.

She wanted to make corporate America a better place? Who was she fooling? It was a naive thing to do, and it would get her booted out of the CEO spot quicker than she could show her board a business plan.

She needed a keeper, but it wouldn’t be him.

“You usually blast through caution.” Drew flipped the lid of the laptop down, and Riley noticed he had a glass of Scotch in front of him. It was one of Drew’s nighttime rituals. Only one glass. He would never allow himself to be out of control.

Riley bet Ellie would get silly after a few glasses of wine. She’d relaxed after the one she’d had, but if she felt comfortable, she would likely let herself get a little tipsy, a bit playful.

“I can tempt a woman out of a bar. She’s not a one-night stand.”

Drew sat back, glass in hand. “No, she’s not. She’s the mark and you would do well to remember it.”

“I’m sorry. What have I done in the few hours since we met her to make you believe I view her as anything but the mark?”

Drew took a long drink, draining half the glass before he put it back on the table. “I had dinner with our sister and her husband tonight. Case is an interesting man.”

Case was a hard ass for the most part. Case had been the one to train Riley over the course of the last year. He was the reason he was in the best shape of his life and now knew how to handle pretty much every weapon known to mankind. He also, it turned out, was a bit of a philosopher. “Did he give you a lecture on the pitfalls of vengeance?”

“Not at all. It was nothing like that, but he got me thinking. He was attentive to Mia. She practically glows around him. She’s happy. I was envious of her. If I’m envious, you and Bran will be, too.”

Shit. What the hell had happened to make his brother admit something like that? Drew never admitted weakness. Not once. In all the years he’d been with Drew, he’d never seen him cry. “Mia’s different. She didn’t go through what the rest of us did. I don’t know that I’m capable of being happy the way Mia is.”

Drew stood and walked to the bank of windows, his large frame illuminated in the moonlight shining off the river. “Hence the envy, brother. I don’t know that any of us can be. I only know that we’re too close to turn back now. And I understand her appeal.”

“Ellie’s?”

“She’s lovely and far softer than I would have given a Stratton credit for. In person, she’s quite warm. Having read her history, I understand she’s been hurt before. You’re going to hurt her, Riley. You’re going to tear her up. Do you really think you can do it?”

He didn’t like hearing it put like that. “She’ll have the money at the end of this. Hell, she’ll likely still have the company. We’re merely going to force the buyout to take longer. Allow Castalano to get desperate. The truth is her company really does have an advantage with the coolant system she’s working on. Even if we tank the stock, she should be able to recover.”

“Unless someone swoops in and buys the place up,” Drew pointed out.

That was always a risk. “We can’t think about that. She’s a smart woman. I’ll be by her side. I’ll help defend the company against a hostile takeover if I have to.”

Drew turned, pointing a finger his way. “That’s what I’m afraid of. You’re already thinking about how to save her. You’re thinking about fighting by her side. You’ve known the woman for a fucking day and you’re plotting how to help her.”

“Do you not feel a moment’s guilt, Drew? Are you seriously so fucked up that you can’t see she’s innocent? Yes, we need to put Castalano in a corner and give him the justice he so richly deserves, but can’t we mitigate the damage to her? I’m not backing down. I’ll do what it takes, but if I can take some of the sting out of this, I will.”

Drew’s eyes pinned him. “You can’t have a conscience, Riley. Not when it comes to war. Do you think for a second Castalano sat around worried about the four of us? Do you think he worried about what would happen to us? No. He intended to kill us, too. He didn’t worry about collateral damage.”

“I would like to think we’re better than Steven Castalano.”

“We don’t have the luxury. Go home to Austin, Riley. I’ll deal with Stratton myself.”

Anger flared through Riley. “Will you stop being such an ass? I have no idea what the fuck has gotten into you tonight, but I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be at StratCast tomorrow working on the plan we agreed on years ago. I’m not putting her before you, Drew. I’m not putting her before our parents. If I have to, I’ll take her down, too, but if there’s any way she doesn’t get ripped up, I’ll try. Are you finished bitch-slapping me? Because one of us has to go to work in the morning.”

“Don’t fight. I really hate it when you fight,” a soft voice said.

Drew’s eyes closed briefly and then he turned. “Bran, I thought you were going out with Hatch.”

Bran stood in the doorway, his big frame in shadows. “I came home early.”

“He got in a fight.” Hatch walked in behind him, scrubbing a hand over his head and sighing. “It’s fine. I dealt with the cops.”

Drew strode past him, turning on the light and then shaking his head.

Riley felt his fists clench as he got a good look at his youngest brother. “I hope the other guy doesn’t look worse. Should you be in a hospital?”

Bran’s lip was busted, his left eye swelling. “I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”

That was the problem. Bran had had far worse. Riley thought some of his dreams were shitty, but he had no idea how Bran ever slept.

“What happened?” Drew asked, looking to Hatch.

“What do you think?” Hatch shot the question back. There was no way to miss the splatter of blood on his white dress shirt. Likely it was Bran’s. “Some guy got handsy with the stripper Bran had been talking to and Bran threw himself in.” He slid a narrowed glance Bran’s way. “You know they have bouncers at those places.”

To say Bran had anger issues was to put it mildly. He got particularly angry when women were abused.

But then he’d watched a foster sister die. He’d been sixteen, months away from being brought out of the system and under Hatch’s legal guardianship, though it was always Drew who had taken care of them. Hatch was simply older and had cleaned up nicely after a stint in rehab that had never completely taken.

Bran never talked about her. Never mentioned her name, but somehow Riley knew she was always in the back of his brother’s mind. Drew had forced him to see a shrink for a while, but Bran had begged his way out of it. It was hard to say no to their younger brother.

It was also hard to watch him battling demons no one could see.

“The other guy outweighed him by a hundred pounds and had three friends with him. We’re lucky the fucker didn’t have a knife,” Hatch pointed out. “One of these days, he’s not going to be so lucky.”

“You can’t do things like that.” Drew bit off every word as though they hurt him. He put a hand behind his brother’s neck. “You have to stop fighting.”

Bran’s face went mulishly stubborn. “She didn’t want him to touch her like that. She’s got a right to say no, and don’t tell me she’s a stripper. She’s a woman and she can say no whether she’s dressed in a nun’s habit or completely naked.”

“I know, Bran. I agree with you, but you can’t risk yourself like that. You have to stop and think. You have to place some damn value on your own life. We’ll talk about it more tomorrow. For now, go clean up.” Drew let Bran go as he looked back at Hatch. “Should I expect another lawsuit?”

Bran’s fighting had cost Drew more than Riley liked to think about. Often it didn’t matter that Bran was trying to save some woman from a belligerent asshole. The asshole got a lawyer and came after him. That was where Riley had to step in. “I’ll handle it.”

Hatch shook his head. “No. They ran the minute the cops were called, and Bambi vouched for Bran. No charges filed. No one figured out who he was. I’m sure her parents wished they’d rethought that name, though. You know Gladys never ends up on the pole. If I’d had a daughter, she would have been named Gladys.”

“She’s working her way through med school,” Bran said as he walked away.

Hatch’s eyes closed. “That boy is going to kill me. I swear. One of these days, I won’t be around. It’s like he has a damn death wish.”

So it had been a crappy night all around.

It had only been shitty when he walked in here. While he’d been with Ellie . . . He couldn’t think that way. It was hard because they knew they were almost at the end. They needed to hold on, to not get distracted.

He couldn’t let Ellie Stratton distract him. His brothers needed him. His parents needed him.

“I’ll try again to get him back into therapy,” Drew said, returning to his computer. He slid back into his chair and once again powered it up. This was how Drew retreated, his own private world.

Riley didn’t have one. He had work, and right now his work would get him thinking about Ellie Stratton again. “I’ll handle StratCast, Drew. Don’t worry about anything on that end. You can count on me.”

Drew’s eyes lifted briefly, and Riley was reminded that this was the boy who’d had to work and save and sacrifice. He’d gone hungry some nights so Riley had food. He’d done everything so he could bring his siblings home.

He couldn’t fail Drew.

“I know you will,” Drew said softly. “And I’ll work from this end.”

“And I’ll take the rest of that Scotch and try to get some sleep,” Hatch quipped.

Drew reached out for the crystal decanter. “There’s whiskey in the kitchen. You can’t appreciate this.”

Hatch frowned. “You are not my son. Lucky for you, I don’t like prissy Scotch.”

Sometimes Riley wondered what it had been like for Drew and Hatch during that time before they’d gotten Riley and then Bran out of foster care. It had been just the two of them for a while, and it seemed to have bonded them in a way Riley didn’t always understand.

Drew smiled a little. “You don’t like prissy anything, Hatch. Sleep well.”

Hatch shook his head. “If I sleep at all after today. I thought we would be done. Stratton’s dead. We’ve almost got Castalano. Cain’s the end. She’s supposed to be the end. Once we bring down her Martha Stewart doily–fucking empire . . . damn it, we were supposed to be able to rest.”

There had been a fourth. He’d been able to forget that detail Case had sprung on them while he’d been with Ellie. Now it all came flooding back. All these years and they hadn’t known a fourth person had been in on the plot to kill their mother and father.

“I’m studying the corporate structure again,” Drew replied. “I’ll figure out who else would have gained the most money. It’s all about money.”

Hatch stared down at Drew. “Me. It would have been me, Drew. If you had half the brain I trained you to have, you would throw me out tonight.”

“Get some sleep, Hatch. We’ll go over everything in the morning.” Drew’s eyes never left the screen. “And for the record, I never once suspected you. I figured out your secret a long time ago. Even if you had known what Dad was planning, you wouldn’t have outed him. You wouldn’t have done anything like this.”

Hatch didn’t back down. “And why is that? Money is a great motivator. I would have lost a fucking bundle had your father blocked the sale of our company.”

“Money never meant more to you than she did.”

Hatch stilled. “No. No, it didn’t.”

He turned and walked toward the back of the house.

Riley stared after him. “He didn’t know we knew he was in love with Mom?”

“He thinks he’s smarter than he is,” Drew said with a half smile. “I knew he was in love with our mom before she died. I also know he didn’t act on it. He cared as much about Dad as he did about her. It’s why he went into that deep decline.”

Deep decline was a polite way of saying Hatch found a bottle and hadn’t come out of it for years.

Maybe Drew wasn’t as cynical as he acted. Riley had wondered earlier if Drew would suspect Hatch.

It had all begun when five friends started a business. Benedict had the vision. Patricia and Hatch had the cash at the time. Steven Castalano and Phillip Stratton had the connections. They’d made a lot of money before the IPO. After the IPO, their father had found out someone had manipulated the stock. He couldn’t stand the collusion and had made an appointment to talk to the Federal Trade Commission.

He’d died two days before he could make that meeting.

The company had made millions, none of which the Lawless family saw a dime of.

Hatch had gotten the money, but he’d been so drunk by that time, he’d pissed it away. He hadn’t cared when Stratton had come to him with the plan to sell the company for a massive profit.

From what Riley could tell, Hatch had done his deep dive the day after Benedict and Iris Lawless had burned to death. He hadn’t come out of it until Drew had found him, forced him to get somewhat clean, and started 4L.

It had given Hatch purpose.

Of course, guilt could have sent him on the same path. If Hatch had made the choice of money over loyalty, it would make sense he’d found solace in the bottom of a bottle.

Riley didn’t know Hatch the way Drew did. He moved in, keeping his words low. “The board was small. How can you really dismiss him?”

“I can and I have. I know the man and he couldn’t have done this. The answer lies somewhere else. I would really like to get the contents of Stratton’s computer. I can’t imagine Ellie tossed everything.”

“Why don’t you use your backdoor?”

“Stratton was paranoid. He kept his personal files off the network. I would bet he taught his daughter to as well. You need to find that system and download as much as you can onto a thumb drive. Maybe that will show us something. I want to know who he talked to back in those days.”

“You honestly believe he kept those correspondences?” It wasn’t something Riley would do.

“I keep everything. I’m going to go through every employee at Dad’s old company and comb through their financials. God, what a fucking mess. How did I miss this?”

“You couldn’t have known. It doesn’t make any sense. There were five major stockholders in that company. Castalano, Stratton, Cain, Hatch, and Dad. Maybe we need to look outside,” Riley offered. “We need to see who bought the stock during the IPO.”

“I can try that.” Drew’s head dropped back, his hand massaging his neck. “I thought it would be over soon, too.”

It looked like their collective nightmare still had them in its grip.

He sat down across from his brother. It would be a long night.