Dirty Ties

Besides, Logan needed to earn the answer. I placed my hands on the lapels of his jacket and shoved. He stumbled back then flew forward, attacking my mouth again. Just as quickly, he tore his lips away, his eyes wide and red with so much conflict it killed me.

Don’t back down. Don’t give in.

I wasn’t sure what he saw on my face, but he curled his lip, pulled back his arm, and slammed his fist against the glass beside my head. I jumped, restrained by the forearm across my chest, as the window wall shuddered and held.

He dropped his forehead against mine, the arm on my chest holding me in place. His other hand slid angrily over the glass, up and down, in rhythm with his short breaths.

A long moment of deadlock passed, everything left unsaid agitating between us. He seemed to be gathering his self-control. As his breathing shifted, he removed his hand from the glass and sifted it through my hair, his fingers splayed to let the strands fall between.

I raised my arm and slid my palm over his, untangling it from my hair. He let his brow sink heavier against mine, his eyes on our hands, on the sunlight that glowed around the connection. The fiery sprays of light played along our fingers as we laced them together, illuminating the beauty in the simple touch. I watched it in wonderment, filling my chest with that glow, my mouth slowly reaching for his.

He stepped back, the warmth of his touch replaced with the several feet of space he put between us. The look on his face was both heartbreaking and passionately fierce. “You can’t tell Collin about my mother.”

Reality crashed over me, the glow in my body zapped by a sudden chill as everything he’d shown me rushed to the surface.

He swiped a hand over his face, his eyes more resolute than ever. “I don’t know what Collin’s role is, but if he knows why I’m here…” He shoved his hands through his hair and stared at the ceiling. “He can’t know I want revenge. If he tells Trent—”

“Collin won’t tell.” I fisted my hands at my sides. “He’s not involved in this. I’ve kept him in the dark on everything.”

“What is everything?” He leveled me with a suspicious gaze.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sat on the armrest of the leather chair. “Ambiguous tasks, most of which are shady, but on the surface seem completely harmless.” With a sigh, I explained the nature of the board’s demands over the years, like the delivery of the Timex watch, managing the direction of Collin’s show, changing numbers on financial statements due to accounting mistakes, all of it legal but shady nonetheless.

What Logan had showed me clicked all my suspicions into place. My distrust in them was the reason I wanted to replace them when I became CEO. But what left me stunned and ice cold was the degree of their corruption. My God, I would’ve never believed it without his evidence.

He moved to the messenger bag on the floor beside my feet and crouched to return the documents inside. “Does Collin know you watch the races?”

“Yes.” Only he and Seth knew.

“Does he know how you receive the schematics to attend?” His eyes were on his bag, his body stock-still. “Does he know Hal Pinkerton is feeding you that dangerous information?”

Dangerous because it was underground with illegal betting and extreme racing that often ended in injury or death. Dangerous if the wrong people discovered who leaked it to the authorities. I glared at his bowed head. “Yes.”

He looked up. “Trent knows, too, which means Collin might be sharing with dear old dad.”

My protective instincts bristled, hating his suspicion. Seth could’ve been the leak, but if I told him that, I’d have to explain who Seth was. “But you found that server.”

“I’m looking for suspicious activity, for proof of your involvement. Does Trent have a reason to mistrust you on his own? Without someone cluing him in?”

“I don’t know.” Goosebumps rose along my arms, my voice numb. “Maybe he’s always tracked me.” Maybe Trent didn’t believe I was as naïve as he always claimed.

Logan stood, strapping the bag across his chest. “When you left Trent’s office, I followed you. Collin saw me across the street, and I swear he recognized me. I think he and Trent share more than you think. Which means Collin is hiding shit from you.”

Bullshit. I wanted to launch at him with my claws out, but I kept my ass on the armrest and my voice calm. “Trent called Collin as soon as I left his office. And he sent a photo of you when you went racing after me. He didn’t want us fighting in the streets of Chicago, making a spectacle of ourselves.”

He waved a hand in dismissal. “Fine. Tell me about the threat Trent is holding over him.”