Staring at Jia, whose lips were curved in an ugly smile, Magnus forced himself to take several deep breaths before he tried to respond. He tried to convince himself that Jia couldn’t know what she’d accused him of. It wasn’t possible. He’d been much too careful. Good God, if Griffin wasn’t on to him, how could this despicable woman have seen through his perfidy? Griffin was the most street-smart executive he’d ever known. Hell, the guy had created a major fortune due to his economic brilliance paired with extraordinary vision. Griffin could look at a parcel of land and see what no one before him had seen. And then, with his flair for development and his stunning grasp of finance, he turned that pile of dirt into yet another stellar success. Given his gifts, it was almost inconceivable that Griffin wasn’t on to him. Magnus should have been embarrassed to admit that the reason he wasn’t was because Griffin trusted him. That trust was a gift he gave to precious few men. Except Magnus, all the chosen ones were fellow Delta Force operatives. But Magnus wasn’t embarrassed. If anything, he congratulated himself. The smartest man he knew had no idea that Magnus was robbing him and had been for the past three years.
Staring at the vicious woman smiling at him, he tried to fathom whether Jia was simply sussing him out or if she actually knew the extent of his theft.
As if he had betrayed himself, she laughed. A grating, triumphant sound. “Yes, Magnus, I do know what you have been doing. While you obviously think that you and Griffin are the only financial wunderkinds, I’ve been at this game almost as long as you have. Only I was smart enough not to steal money from his majesty. I merely kept track of those who were trying to cheat him so that when push came to shove, he would be forever grateful for my loyalty.”
Knowing he had nothing to lose, Magnus pricked at her soft spot, her fanatical love for Griffin and her even more fervent hatred of Tara, who even Jia seemed to understand was the first woman that Griffin had ever truly loved.
“Do you honestly think that Griffin will believe you? That he won’t see your lies as just more of your craziness? Your obsession with attacking anyone who was close to him? You screwed yourself tonight, Jia. You went after the wrong person. Damn, Jia. You really thought you could get rid of Tara? That Griffin wouldn’t go after her? Convince her that you are a deranged woman? That you are sick enough to believe that Griffin actually loves you? That he doesn’t think you are a crazy bitch?” Magnus shook his head and went for the jugular. “You would have to be truly insane, Jia, if you can’t see that Griffin is deeply in love with Tara and that he not only dislikes you, he pities you.”
Magnus thought he had gotten through to her when her face turned an ugly shade of purple. But then, as she blew out an audible breath of air, her shocked expression morphed into what he now acknowledged was a sinister hatred that even he couldn’t overcome. Her face took on what was becoming her trademark: a twisted smile that reeked with evil. He should have expected her next revelation, but he’d been so concerned about fooling Griffin that he had failed to recognize the extent of her evil and what it meant to him.
“Do you honestly think that I haven’t documented your theft, Magnus? That I would let you steal millions from Black Enterprises and not document it? However would I be able to take you down if I needed to, or if I decided I wanted a piece of your treachery?”
She laughed, a hideous sound. “Oh no, my ever-so-clever friend. While you may have been able to fool Griffin—and only because he honors you as he does—you never fooled me. Trust me. When Griffin sees the files I’ve kept, the definitive record of your betrayal, he will be so determined to avenge his company that not only will you be in prison—if he doesn’t kill you first—but he’ll be too absorbed in your treachery to care a wit about Tara. Which will give me time to plant more seeds of doubt in her conflicted brain. At base, I know she’s smart enough to know that Griffin doesn’t love her. She knows he only needs her for the Shadow Peaks project.”
It took Magnus several long, contemplative moments to acknowledge that Jia was right. She clearly knew the extent of his betrayal. Given her obsession, she had likely documented every cent he’d stolen. Once he’d concluded that she could not be allowed to go to Griffin, it was clear what he had to do, needed to do.
At that moment, with a start, he realized that the Jia solution was also the Griffin solution. Moments later, when she’d stopped struggling and he was finally able to loosen his hands from around her neck, he congratulated himself. At some level, he’d known it would end like this. He would have to take Griffin down if he was to survive. He hadn’t known that not only would Jia get in the way but also that she would also provide the ultimate solution.
****
Waking from a restless sleep, Griffin realized that the knocking sound he heard was coming from his front door. Dragging himself out of bed, he went to the door. He was shocked to see Sheriff Trouble on the doorstep with his deputy and Officer Sorenson close behind him. Griffin froze when he saw them. It was as if a heavy anvil had squeezed the breath out of his chest. His heart leaping in his throat, he managed to shove out the word, “Tara?”
The sheriff shook his head. “No, Griffin. Tara is okay. But you are going to have to come with us.”
Griffin grimaced, then reached for the sheriff’s arm. “I don’t understand, Sheriff. Please, man, please tell me if something happened to Tara.”
Sheriff Trouble shook his head. “I promise you, Tara is okay, Griffin. But Jia Yanlin isn’t. She’s dead, Griffin. Someone strangled her to death.”
“Jesus God! How? Where?” Griffin stepped back in shock. “I . . . I don’t understand . . . who?”
Titus emitted a hard sigh. “Some of your staff members found her in your office. I’m sorry to tell you this, but according to a number of witnesses, several people heard you threaten her. We’re going to need you come down to the station, Griffin.”
Griffin stared at him, then slowly allowed himself to grasp what the stern sheriff was implying. “Jesus Christ, Titus. You can’t think I had anything to do with this? My God, surely you don’t . . . Damn, man, you can’t believe that I . . . ” Seeing the sheriff’s deeply troubled expression, Griffin swallowed his astonishment and took a deep breath. “Of course I will come with you. Give me a minute to put on some clothes.” He shook his head and stood still for another moment, clearly trying to make sense of the situation. Turning back to face the sheriff, he finally said, “If it’s all right with you, Sheriff Trouble, I’m going to ask Magnus Armstrong to meet us at the station. He’s my partner and also my attorney.”
Titus blew out another aggrieved sigh and nodded in agreement. “That’s a good idea, Griffin. Tell him to meet us there.”
****
Magnus barreled into the precinct and demanded to see Sheriff Trouble. When the tall, distinguished sheriff came to the door to his office, Magnus accosted him. “What the hell, Sheriff? Are you insane? You think that Griffin Black had something to do with Jia’s death? I can’t believe this . . . Where is he? I demand to see him.”
Titus stood in the doorway and then motioned for him to enter. “Please, Mr. Armstrong, come in.” Walking back to his desk, he settled onto his chair and pointed to one in front of the desk. “Please. Sit down.”
When Magnus sank onto the seat, Titus took control of the situation. “I understand that you are concerned, Mr. Armstrong, and yes, in a moment I will take you to see Mr. Black.”
Magnus leaned forward, not containing his anger. “You damn well better, Sheriff. I can’t believe that you think Griffin had anything to do with this . . . this hideous incident.”
Titus responded carefully. “The incident, as you called it, Mr. Armstrong, is the brutal strangulation and murder of Mr. Black’s right-hand assistant. And no, at the moment, we simply asked Mr. Black to come to the precinct to answer some questions.”
“Well, you damn well better have told him that he didn’t have to answer a damn thing until I arrived. I am his attorney—”
“I’m aware of that, Mr. Armstrong, and while Mr. Black was more than willing to answer our questions, I recommended that he wait until you arrived. A recommendation he chose not to take. He freely answered all of our questions.” Before Magnus could reply, the sheriff nodded to the tall, blond officer in the doorway. “Officer Sorenson, please take Mr. Armstrong to the interrogation room.”
Magnus leapt to his feet and glared at the sheriff. “You better be damn sure that you read him his rights before you questioned him.”
“You can be sure that Mr. Black’s rights were observed. To be clear, Mr. Armstrong, at this point we are not arresting Mr. Black, but we do have serious questions for him.” As Magnus stormed to the door, Titus called after him, “By the way, sir, after you have talked with your client, we also have some questions for you. It is our understanding that you may have been one of the last people to see Ms. Yanlin alive.”
Magnus turned back and glared at the frowning sheriff, then shook his head in disgust. “Now you not only think Griffin strangled her but that I did as well?”
Titus drilled him with a hard stare, then said carefully, “At this point, sir, we are questioning everyone who was close to Ms. Yanlin. That includes you and Mr. Black, as well as the rest of your staff.”
****
Striding into the small interrogation room that had one-way mirrored windows on three sides, Magnus didn’t hide his shock. “Jesus, Griff, I can’t believe this. Good God, man, are you all right? I sure as hell hope these officers told you that you didn’t have to answer any of their questions—in fact, that you shouldn’t until I got here.”
Griffin raised a weary hand and motioned for Magnus to sit down across from him. “Relax, Magnus. My ‘rights’ were respected. There was no need for me to wait for you. The sheriff and his officers are honorable people. And professional as hell.” He breathed out a hard sigh. “Moreover, as you well know, as angry as I was with Jia, I would never physically hurt her. Yes, I fired her on the spot after you told me what she said to Tara—outrageous lies. But the last time I saw her was at the country club. After I told her I never wanted to see her again, I left to see Tara and then went home.”
Magnus glanced at the door to ensure that it was closed and then leaned across the table close to Griffin. “God, Griffin, I acted like an outraged attorney with the sheriff, but I gotta tell you, man, from all the gossip at the office, apparently a hell of a lot of people heard you screaming at Jia.” He hesitated, then blew out a hard sigh. “Uh, Griff, I hate to tell you this, but some of the wait staff at the club said that you even threatened her . . . with her life.”