Illusion (Billionaire in Disguise 2)

“That doesn’t answer who the hell attacked him in the parking garage,” I said.

“Probably someone he hired to throw us off his trail. And it worked,” he said.

“I think we need to escalate things to the police. Get them involved. Because if you wait, Jacob will be able to drain the company of money and take off. He might not be able to hide in the criminal underworld, as you so elegantly put it, but he has access to drain you of enough funds to make it possible to disappear.”

“You’re assuming all of that is happening because my security guards didn’t detain Jacob,” Derek said.

“Have you hired new ones since I flirted my way in?” I asked.

Derek fell silent at my question, and I grinned.

“I’m still hesitant to involve the police. If this becomes public, it’s going to cause a great deal of turmoil at my company. I could lose contracts. Others could get put on hold. My stocks will plummet, and my investors will be hesitant to invest their personal funds. It could be catastrophic for what I’ve built.”

“Jacob tried to shoot you dead. And you heard what he said in that office. Had you not chucked that paperweight at his head, he was prepared to kill us both. We can’t let him get away with that. And right now, he is,” I said.

“Look, shit like this isn’t supposed to happen. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything. I’m confused as to how in the world the only man I’ve ever fully trusted in this company came to hate me so much. And then seeing you shot and fall to the floor—”

I watched him as he curled in on himself. He retreated into a box I’d never seen before. I studied him, watching him throw up wall after wall as he tried to conceal his own emotions. He was unraveling as I sighed and leaned into the very comfortable pillows that sat behind my head.

“Jacob Carl tried to kill us. The police have to know that,” I said.

“I know you’re right. Just ... give me a second to process it,” Derek said.

I sat there, allowing the silence to descend on us. I closed my eyes, trying to piece together everything that made sense now that we knew who had been leaving all those letters. But there were still unanswered questions, things that kept this case as open as it had been a few hours ago before Jacob had pulled a gun on his fucking boss.

“At least my house should be safer now,” Derek said. “It’s not like we don’t know who to watch out for anymore.”

“That’s one of the things still bothering me,” I said.

“What is?”

“How he kept gaining entry into your home. I mean, letting him through the gate is understandable. He’s a good friend and a man of the company. Your prior security team would’ve let him in with no issues. Hell, I would've done the same thing. But he’s not some powerful spy. He’s a businessman. How did he know the codes to get into your home?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Figured you would find out eventually,” he said.

“My first instinct is to say he had someone from your old security team on his payroll. It would make sense since the letters started coming to your office after you laid off Griggs and the gang.”

“That a new band?”

“Is this really a time for jokes?” I asked.

“Anything to get my mind off the past few hours.”

There was that look again, that guarded look he kept giving me whenever I caught his eyes. I furrowed my brow, feeling his hand squeeze my wrist mindlessly. I looked down at the connection and tried to ignore the heat cascading through my veins.

“What happened to me?” I asked.

“You jumped in front of a bullet and got shot,” Derek said.

“Not what I meant, asshole.”

Derek sighed as he pulled his hand away from me, and all I wanted was for him to put it back.

“The bullet nicked your brachial artery. You were practically bleeding out in the office. After you lunged for Jacob, and I got you stable on your feet, you went pale. Collapsed. I carried you to the emergency elevator and blood was just pouring from you like a small river. A steady stream I had no idea how to stop.”

I watched him clench his jaw as I sighed deeply.

“You lost consciousness in the elevator but came to before getting you into the ambulance. Do you remember any of that?”