Rich (Benson Security 5)

Finding she’d lost her appetite, Rachel pushed the pastry away. “Are you sure? I didn’t even know him back then. I barely know him now.”

She sounded calm, and she felt weirdly calm too, as though disconnected from the conversation. But somewhere deep inside, questions kept bubbling up. Was he one of the men who’d attacked her? Had he taken the photos? Had he set all of this up?

“Why?” she said. “I don’t understand the why.”

Elle opened her laptop and tapped at the keyboard before turning it toward the rest of them. “This is why.” She pointed to an image of a young woman, a teenager, walking with a younger version of Terrance King. He had his arm around her waist as they gazed into each other’s eyes like lovers would. “That’s Angelina Smith; she was seventeen when this was taken. Terrance was in his forties and still working with the police. He was also married.”

“What’s that got to do with me? I was a few years older than her when I was attacked, and I honestly don’t recognize the girl.”

“It’s not who she is that’s important,” Elle said. “It’s what she represents.”

Harvard slid a hand over Rachel’s shoulder to her nape, but instead of brushing him away, she found the gesture strangely settling. “Blackmail,” he said to her. “Whoever’s blackmailing you, probably used this affair to blackmail Terrance.”

“Exactly.” Elle hit some keys, and the screen changed, bringing up several photos and a written report. “I used our connections to private investigators in London and found a firm who was more than happy to help once they knew this was personal. I had to promise to keep their name out of it though. Nobody trusts a PI who shares information.”

Harvard nodded, his hand still warm and solid on Rachel’s neck. “Understood. What did they tell you?”

“That round the same time Terrance decided to quit the force and apply for the security position at TayFor, someone contacted them and asked them to investigate the man.” She picked up her coffee and took a sip. “Nothing unusual, you might be thinking. It’s routine for TayFor to check out their staff, especially security staff. But this didn’t come through official channels. In fact, TayFor’s name was nowhere near the job contract. The whole thing was done in secret. They didn’t have a client name, just money up front, a contact number and a contract signed by a lawyer who was hired just for that purpose.”

“So, someone used a private investigator to dig up dirt on Terrance.” Rachel felt ill even saying his name. “And then used the fact he was having an affair with a schoolgirl to blackmail him into getting them the drug?”

“That about sums it up,” Elle said.

“Which brings us back to our belief that someone inside TayFor is behind all this,” Ryan said. “Otherwise, how would they know Terrance had applied for a position with them and that he’d be in a place where he could help the blackmailer?”

Harry nodded. “They must have approached him before he got the job at your family’s company. Because the theft of the drug and the attempted cover-up on the server happened just a week or so after he started there.”

Rachel looked up at Harvard. “Do you think the person who hired him is the same one who organized my attack?”

“Hard to tell.” He caressed her neck with his thumb. “Could just be somebody who took advantage of the opportunity to use the new guy.” He caught Ryan’s eye. “We bring him in and talk to him. Give Joe a call; see if he’s free to back you up. I want Terrance in the Benson Security holding room this morning.”

“And if he doesn’t agree to come along nicely?” Ryan’s face said he already knew the answer.

“Convince him.” Harvard’s voice was steel. Looking somber, he turned to her. “We need to tell the rest of Benson Security before we turn up with this guy. It’s time to bring everyone else up to speed. You okay with that?”

Rachel nodded. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t thought of herself. “You may tell whomever you choose.”

“I’m happy to tell people if you don’t want to.” His gaze softened.

Which just annoyed her. She didn’t need pity. Nor did she want it. “It’s not like I’m ashamed to tell them, I just don’t want to waste time repeating the story again and again.”

“But it’s okay to waste my time?” His eyes sparkled with amusement.

“It’s one of the perks that come with being in a relationship with me. Aren’t you glad you got what you so desperately wanted?” When she looked back at their team, they were staring at her openmouthed. She let out an irritated sigh. “Apparently we’re in a real relationship instead of a fake one. Don’t get all excited and start poking your noses in. It’s unlikely to last.”

With that, she got up from the table and went to fetch more coffee.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Terrance King sat at the table in Benson Security’s interrogation room. Or, as they told anyone who asked, their basement interview room. Whatever they called it didn’t change the fact that this room was soundproofed, installed with cameras and a one-way mirror, and only opened from the outside. The table and chairs were bolted to the floors and the only way out was through one of the Benson Security staff.

Adjacent to this was a surveillance room. Which was currently overflowing with testosterone and badass attitude. On hearing about Rachel’s past, it seemed the men of Benson Security had all decided to take over her life. Apparently, she wasn’t even needed in the discussion on how best to approach Terrance King’s interrogation.

The longer the men argued, the more Rachel eyed up the weapons storeroom and wondered how quickly she could tase them all and shut them up. Hell, she doubted they’d even notice she was missing until they were suddenly jolted with enough electricity to reboot their Neanderthal brains.

“I’ll talk to him,” Lake Benson said with absolute authority.

The former special forces officer, who’d started the company that bore his name, faced off against the rest of his team. He’d been in London, helping out on another Benson Security job, and for some reason, as soon as he’d heard about her past, he’d decided to postpone his return trip to Scotland and stick around to “help.” Rachel had no idea why.