Jaden (Jaded 3)

Denton reached for the door. “Shut it, Deacon. My team will deal with any ramifications your hotel might drum up.”

“So, that’s how it’s going to be?”

“She did nothing wrong. I doubt Maria will press charges and Sheldon only spoke her side.”

“She lied.”

Denton stopped, glared up at him, and said, “Prove it.” Then he shut the door. The guard jerked up out of the way. Once it was closed, Denton pressed a button and ordered, “Let’s go home.”

Corrigan asked, after we had traveled a few blocks in silence, “So, to recap this last venture, was it successful?”

I laughed, emotionally drained. “I put the assistant in a headlock.”

“You did?”

Bryce chuckled. “She did. It was ridiculous to watch.”

I grinned at him. “I was trying to distract her and Guadalupe so you could get her phone.”

Corrigan glanced over. “Did you?”

Bryce held my gaze for a moment. More had happened up there, but I didn’t want to talk about it. He nodded, understanding me even though I had no idea how he could know. He said, “Yes.” He pulled out a phone, but it wasn’t Guadalupe’s.

“I wanted you to get Guadalupe’s phone.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. She doesn’t keep anything on it worthwhile to us. Maria’s, however, is a whole other story.” He pressed the screen and started to scroll through it. Then he handed it over to me. Right there, on the screen, in black and bold letters was a text from her to Guadalupe. I smiled. I couldn’t hold it back, and it stretched from ear to ear.

I looked at Corrigan. “You asked if this venture had been worth it?” I passed the screen to him. “It was more worth it than you can imagine.”

Right there, on the screen, Maria wrote, I cut the brakes. Now that bitch won’t be in the way.

Guadalupe responded, Good. Bryce is mine.

“Whoa.” Corrigan’s eyebrows went up. “It’s right there.” He pressed a few more buttons and handed it back to Bryce.

“What’d you do?”

“I sent that shit to the cops. Now let’s watch ’em squirm.”

My sentiments exactly.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

We were met in the front entrance by my dad and Beth. I had one second to take in the fury and balled fists before my dad started yelling. He was throwing questions at me, and I felt déjà vu from the reporters again.

I checked out. I’d been through the wringer just now. I wasn’t going to sign up for another one. Bryce and Corrigan took over, though. I went to the back and rested while I let all of them duke it out.

Somewhere, in between my dad’s constant yelling and Bryce swearing back at him, I heard my dad yell, “Then what the hell were you thinking? This doesn’t help her case at all! It’s all over the news! Our personal phones are being flooded with calls.”

Corrigan flung his hands up in the air. “Fuck her case then.”

My dad went rigid. His eyeballs almost popped out. “Excuse me?”

“I said, ‘Fuck her case.’” Corrigan folded his arms back over his chest and leaned back against the wall. He glanced to Bryce, the two shared a look, and Corrigan seemed even firmer in his statement. “I said what I said.”

“You said what you said?” My dad shook his head in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Are you KIDDING me?”

Corrigan frowned.