“You said it yourself. I can’t trust him.”
Eric frowned, but he shrugged one shoulder before standing up to stretch. “Whatever you say. Just don’t date anyone else, all right?”
“Oh, sure. No problem.”
Actually, she thought as she walked out into the pale morning, maybe it wouldn’t be a problem. Luke had been right. She’d never made room for anyone else in her life. She’d only dated for fun and sex. And now…who could possibly be sexier than Luke? She knew from experience that it would be a challenge finding anyone else who could so thoroughly satisfy her. They’d had chemistry, if nothing else.
Her shoes crunched against the frost as she crossed a small park and came out on her street. She hadn’t noticed the cold on her walk over, but exhaustion was creeping through her now, and she shivered as she moved toward home. The memory of her warm bed pulsed like a beacon as she got closer to her house. Her pillow still smelled like Luke, and torturous as that was, this morning she’d hold it close and sleep with his scent against her.
But tomorrow she’d change the sheets and move on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
A FULL WEEK of investigating. Of long nights and sleep-deprived days spent building a solid case against Graham Kendall. And of course, it had come to this.
“It’s official,” Luke said. “He’s on the run.”
“I can’t pretend to be surprised,” Simone said.
“Wanna take a guess where he showe
d up?”
Simone rocked back in her chair, tapping her fingers against her chin. “Taiwan, maybe. Or Saudi Arabia.”
“You’re good. He flew to Taiwan.”
“Well, there aren’t many nonextradition countries that offer the lifestyle he’s used to. Still, he’ll run out of money soon, won’t he?”
Luke shrugged. “A year or two at the rate he spends it. But I can’t tell whether Daddy will send funds or not. He’s pissed now, but he’s gotten Graham out of sticky situations before.”
Once they’d started pulling at the house of cards Graham had built, things had tumbled fairly quickly. He had a gambling problem, as they’d suspected. There was also evidence that he was pretty fond of cocaine. And Adderall.
He’d been running a theft ring in order to sell people’s identities and credit card numbers for cash. Luke knew from experience that they’d never track those connections down. It was a crime that spread itself in spiderwebs over the globe. The middleman was probably in Eastern Europe. The final consumers in Asia and Russia and Africa.
But all that mysterious, untaxed income that Graham was bringing in? Oh, that was easier to track. The IRS charges alone would likely send him to prison for a decade or two. Then there was the charity tournament. They were only starting to sort through that mess.
Just like the devil, Roland Kendall appeared when summoned, stepping out of Sergeant Pallin’s office along with two attorneys, the division commander and the D.A. Nobody looked happy.
“He pulled some powerful strings to get his son out of trouble in Denver. That’s why Graham moved his little operation to Boulder,” Luke murmured. “I can’t believe his dad won’t help him in Taiwan.”
“Yeah, but now that Roland knows it wasn’t just a one-time deal…”
“We’ll see.” It was surprisingly easy to let it go. He and Simone had done their jobs. For now, Graham Kendall was untouchable in Taiwan, but he wouldn’t be robbing any more Boulder businesses from there. In the end, he’d serve his time. Eventually.
Unlike some people, who didn’t pay any consequences for their actions. Luke glared at Sergeant Pallin as he walked his guests out.
“Have you talked to Tessa yet?” Simone asked.
He turned his glare on her, but she only glanced innocently up from her monitor. “You know I haven’t.”
“You should call her.”
“No.” No. It was just that simple. He’d traveled from guilt to sorrow to resignation in the past few days. Now he was stuck at fury. If he wasn’t open enough, then Tessa Donovan was a sealed vault. He’d made one mistake—one—and she’d tossed him aside like garbage.
He’d reached his lifetime limit of being treated like a disposable commodity. If Tessa thought he wasn’t good enough, if she thought he wasn’t honest and open and worthy, then that was the end of it.
Or that was what he kept telling himself, anyway. It worked pretty well during the daytime.