Fraud

Flashing me a mocking grin, he dismisses the notion of that. “Ivy deserved it for stepping out of line. She knows her place.”

Rage races down my spine, my body lunging forward, only to be stopped when Ta

He glares at me in warning before schooling his expression to look back at Thomas. “You might want to invite us somewhere private for the rest of this conversation.”

“There is no person in my house who will talk. This is as private as it gets.”

“Good to know your staff is as dirty as you,” Ta

He laughs at that, his haughty behavior just as disgusting as our fathers. “What makes you think I owe you an explanation for anything? You two still have a lot to learn about how things work around here.”

Unfortunately for him, he’s about to learn just how much we’ve already learned.

“You can fuck off with the bullshit speech about being superior. I heard it yesterday and was as bored with it then as I am now.”

His grin calls me out on the lie. “Yet you couldn’t run away fast enough to leave Ivy with her abusive father. Your words, not mine.”

Emphasizing the word, he practically tosses the accusation back in my face. It’s a pity for him I won’t react, not with my mask in place, not with the mocking grin I allow to stretch my lips.

When I don’t respond, he slips a hand in his pocket, a strand of his dark hair slipping out of place. Dark circles permeate the skin beneath his eyes, and I realize something kept this son of a bitch up last night just like me.

Whatever Ivy stole is riding his last nerve, and I’m more than interested to see what those files are after Taylor finishes decrypting them.

“You’ve always been a problem for her. Every ounce of trouble Ivy has been in during her life had your name somehow attached to it. I wasn’t surprised to watch you run off and leave her to face what you helped cause.”

I would have responded if not for Ta

“JJB Tech, Governor. If you don’t want me to file these papers complete with evidence proving your involvement with them as well as proof that you managed to get your hands on a personal letter intended for Luca from the day her father was murdered, you’ll stop bitching about your daughter’s love life and start singing a different tune.”

“You can’t prove anything,” he answers smoothly, his focus dancing to Ta

“Try me.”

I chuckle at that and add my own thoughts. “Sadly, just the accusation will be enough to cause a media storm. And you know how the press are these days. They need a good scandal, and you’re their favorite target. It’s going to suck when you’re busy fielding that problem while photos come out showing the damage you inflicted on your daughter’s face. I already have the press release set to go. The one that claims you were so angry about her engagement that you lost your temper and attempted to put her in her place.”

Pulling a voice recorder from my pocket, I grin and mock him. “Your words, Governor. Not mine.”

Narrowing his stare on me, he manages to hide his reaction beyond that. “Recording a person’s voice without their permission is illegal-“

“Do you think the vultures care? They’ll broadcast it everywhere without worry about that particular law.”

Unfortunately, I’m full of shit at the moment and hadn’t actually recorded what he said. Which sucks because it would have been mighty helpful. But he doesn’t know that, so I play it off that my anger hadn’t prevented me from thinking ahead. The only reason the recorder is in my pocket is so I could dictate the documents we drafted up earlier to be transcribed by my assistant.

“Turn the fucking thing off or this conversation is over.”

Pretending to stop the recording, I slip the device back in my pocket. “Tell us what we want to know.”

His gaze dances between us again, his shoulders rigid beneath his white shirt.

“There’s nothing to tell, unfortunately. I was chasing down a suspicion when you two arrogant fucks got involved and lost the servers.”

Surprised by that, I glance at Ta

“Until something scared him off,” he barks. “It probably had something to do with your fathers killing his partner. I don’t know what the hell John was thinking working with your families, but whatever the hell he had has interested them for some time.”

“Wait,” Ta

Thomas laughs. “Like I said, you two have a lot to learn. I keep my enemies close. How else can I watch and keep tabs? Meanwhile, your group is ru

His voice is a boom of sound on the last words, the echo of them reverberating against the vaulted, architectural ceilings and plaster walls.

“I had Jerry sink John’s business because I needed whatever surveillance he was doing for your fathers to stop. After that, John’s wife died, and he was too distracted to realize Jerry was attempting to access the records, but then he tried bringing the business back and Jerry had to give up his efforts. I want what’s on those servers.”

Ta

“I don’t know,” Thomas barks. “Everything is encrypted. But whatever the hell it is, your fathers want it, which means I want it, too.”

On that I can agree with him.

“I’m not the person who murdered John Bailey. I think we all know who did that. But after he died, Jerry had agreed to continue trying to access the records, at least until Luca called and spooked him. Now I have no idea where he is, and the records are lost. I’m sure I have you two to thank for that.”

A thought occurs to me. “Why did you have that flash drive? How the hell did you get it?”

“Jerry got it. He found it while packing up what was left of the office. Apparently John dropped it in a stack of mail to be sent, but was never picked up. He sent it to me with the hope that, through my co

“So then all of this has been you attempting to sink our fathers?”

His gaze snaps to Ta

Gaze snapping to me, he steps forward. “Which is why you need to stay the fuck away from my daughter before you get her killed. I finally had her controlled until you showed up again. You are not good for her, and I refuse-“

I lunge forward, not even Ta

With my forearm against the Governor’s throat, I slam him back against a wall, the tips of our noses coming together as his lips part to drag in a breath.

Ta

I’m not cutting off his ability to breathe, but the threat is there. Beyond this shit with our fathers, I hate this man for the damage he’d inflicted on a person I love.