Love Me (Love The Way Duet 3)
Thank God I’m back in.
“Now, let’s get down to business,” Cade says and the atmosphere turns more serious. The guys retake their seats and I already know where this is going.
Cade drums his fingertips on the table, returning to his usual brisk personality. “We’ve seen some things with these … elite circles.” He looks around at all of us. “Any disagreement with my read on that?”
Damon shakes his head. “No.” Silas leans back, his arms crossed and shakes his head too.
Cade returns his gaze to mine. “Ella was into some of it. Somebody is blackmailing her.”
My blood turns cold. “Does Kamden know?”
My brother nods once and says, “I filled him in last night. He said he’s almost certain he knows who it is and will trace it back.”
“Does Ella?”
“No.”
“Is he going to tell her?”
My brother stills. “We have asked that he doesn’t say anything to her at this time.”
I nod in agreement. “She’s doing well. Very well. She’s happy. There’s no reason to alarm her if we can take care of this.”
“That’s what we suggested to Kamden. He agreed to give us a deadline before he takes things into his own hands.”
I swallow the ball of anger in my throat. “What do they have on her?”
“Video,” Cade answers, his tone solemn.
Shit. Video’s the worst kind of evidence. It can be faked or manipulated, but most people don’t have the necessary skills or technology. Video is usually trustworthy, and that’s what makes it so dangerous. Even if it’s fake, you can still be fucked over. People believe what they see more so than any other kind of evidence.
“Is it credible?” I ask.
“From what I can tell, yes,” my brother confirms. “Kamden agrees. That’s why he believes he knows who may have sent it.”
“How much?”
“Two million.”
“The hell’s in it?” I ask.
Cleaning up messes like this is a specialty of The Firm’s. We help people get out of impossible situations. I’m so glad they let me back in. If I hadn’t known about this, Ella would have been at even more risk.
I wouldn’t have been able to protect her from the various threats in her life.
If my brother had kept me in the dark …
It would have torn apart our relationship. These are things I need to know. I remind myself again that it’s all right. I am back in The Firm, and Cade did tell me. I have what I need to keep Ella safe.
Cade watches me from across the table. I don’t know what I was thinking before. Cade would have told me about this even if I wasn’t working for The Firm.
“What’s on the video?” I press and take a look around the room.
“It’s a video of her parents.” His tone is sober. “Family secrets. And some truly fucked-up abuse.”
I sit back and take it in. “Is Ella in the videos?”
“No,” he says. “Not as far as I know, but that could change as we find out more.”
I have to take a minute to sit with that. Fucked-up abuse scars a person. Ella seems focused on James’s death as the cause of her spiraling, but clearly her trauma began earlier. It wasn’t a single moment that triggered her downfall. A chill runs down my spine as I’m reminded of what Kam said at the house. That she had a difficult life.
This must have been what he was talking about. That’s why he was drunk last night.
“What exactly is in the video? Did Kam see it?”
“Yeah. And he recognized it. He said it’s not the first time the video has been used as blackmail.”
“Did they pay last time?”
“Kam said the problem dissolved itself.”