Facade (Billionaire in Disguise 1)

“This isn’t Griggs or my former security team, and this isn’t Emma. Trust me. I know them.”

“And that’s why your perception is tainted. Vegas will be a break from all of this for you, to get you away and

get you in the right frame of mind for what’s going on. You’ve been blindsided, and you’re compromised in many ways.”

“What does that message say?” he asked.

His voice was low. Rumbling. Threatening if I was actually scared of someone like him. But I knew he was scared. Petrified, even. I knew he was acting this way because he was used to having control, and he didn’t anymore.

And that coupled with the letters and the charity event were beginning to unravel him.

“It says you’ve got fifteen minutes to put together the information I need. Otherwise, he has permission to go seeking it,” I said.

“Fucking—”

I sighed as I sat down on the edge of Derek’s kitchen table.

“If your enemy is someone with a bit more power, they’ll try something in Vegas. You haven’t really kept it secret that you’re going there for a couple of days. They’ll know you won’t have your usual security precautions, so they’ll think you’re vulnerable. But you won’t be because you’ll have me.”

“Right now, you seem to be the one hell-bent on destroying all this,” Derek said.

“You own your company. You can get information whenever you want it, and all you have to do is say you need it. If they question you, then remind them of who you are. You like doing that, don’t you?” I asked.

“Some things take a bit more tact. I can’t start stomping around here asking for information when I’ve always dealt with people fluidly and tactfully.”

“Again, not my problem, and you’ve got thirteen minutes now to get me what I need.”

“You’re the one still talking in my ear. Ready to let me off the hook?”

“One last thing. If they don’t try anything in Vegas, it’ll imply that the threat is local, which is what I’m hoping for, to say the least,” I said.

“That it?”

“For me, yes. But I can tell you still want to talk.”

Silence fell onto the phone as Derek started shuffling things around.

“I’m sending out a few emails with urgent attachments. Once I have the information, I’ll forward it to your cell,” he said.

“Great. Now, can I tell you something that will help to calm your nerves?”

“Is that possible for you to do?” he asked.

“It is possible that someone is simply doing all of this to shake your nerves up. If someone had hired someone to take you out, or hired more than one person, this job would’ve already been done.”

“My already being dead is supposed to help me?” he asked.

“You’re not listening to what I’m saying.”

“You just said—”

“What I was saying was if the job was being done by professionals, they wouldn’t pussyfoot around like this. You would’ve already been dead.”

“Pussyfooting, huh?” he asked.

“Yep. But right now, someone’s wanting to scare you, which tells me no one’s hired anyone to kill you. This is personal. It’s why I’m convinced it’s someone close to you.”

“Why the hell didn’t you lead with that when you called?” he asked.