Dirty Rich Betrayal Read online

  I type, I’ll see you there, and thank you, Kara and then set my phone down, letting this news sink in. Ri, who doesn’t have any direct interaction with our team, set up this meeting. Ri wants me here late. He’s up to something.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Grayson

  I don’t want to be in the middle of this war.

  Mia’s words stay with me for the hours that follow her shouting them at Ri. I don’t know how the hell I manage to go to the office, but I do. I go. I work. I get frequent, and thankfully uneventful, updates, and come early evening, Eric takes over a problem I’m managing, and Blake picks me up in the parking garage to take me back to the surveillance van.

  “Nothing new,” he says when I join him in the backseat of an Escalade with one of his men in the front seat. A guy named Savage with a scar down his face who looks brutal enough for me to want to introduce him to Ri. “At least not where Mia’s concerned. Ri’s another story. I have a lot to share.” He hands me a data drive. “Everything I’m about to tell you is backed up with proof on that drive.”

  I pocket it. “I’m listening.”

  “Ri’s been in bed with Rosemond, the mob affiliate I told you about since he left college. That’s how he’s won about every accomplishment he’s had. If someone says no, he pays Rosemond and he breaks out the proverbial baseball bat. I can’t prove it yet, but based on the cash withdrawals Ri is making that never show up anywhere else, I think he’s being blackmailed, most likely by Rosemond. That’s how he works. He does your dirty work and turns it around on you.”

  “And you know what you know how?”

  “Data doesn’t go away. When you think you’ve wiped it, it’s not gone. The right person, and that’s me, can find it. I did. Give me time, which Mia created today, and I’ll put all the pieces together. Right now though, there’s heat on you. You have to make a decision. Use what I found to back him off and create a standoff, or wait and risk the DA coming at you before we act.”

  “He’s already involved the DA. Davis has a source that confirmed that with details of pending charges.”

  “And I have a source that confirmed that to be true but it’s not where I can get to it. Not yet.”

  “Then we don’t know what bullshit Ri gave them already and Ri can’t just pull back from the DA and say he was joking to save his ass. We have to prove that I’m innocent.”

  “Agreed,” Blake says, “but you could stop him from delivering any further blows by going at him.”

  “We could also shove the traitors in my operation into a hole and we won’t find them until they’re in trouble again.”

  “But we stop them and Ri from handing over damning information to the DA or planting fake information the DA finds in a raid. Right now, there is nothing in the DA’s system on you.”

  “Per an insider at the DA’s office, I assume?”

  “Per their computer system that I hacked.”

  I arch a brow. “You hacked the DA?”

  “Yes, I’ve also worked for the DA and hacked for the DA.” He moves on. “Look, here’s my concern. Rosemond. He’s my concern. If he’s blackmailing Ri, Ri could be trying to connect him to you and get rid of both of you at once. If he’s not trying to get rid of Rosemond and you take down Ri, as I’ve said, you’ve hurt his money and you become a target.”

  “Mia becomes a target.”

  “Exactly. Mia and your company, because those things are what matter to you, in different ways, of course. We need to turn Rosemond on Ri, and get Ri focused on protecting himself from Rosemond.”

  “Which he could do by turning the heat on him and me with the DA. That doesn’t work.”

  “It works if we have the proof we need to prove he set you up first.”

  His phone rings and he pulls it from his pocket. “Sorry, man. This is one of my men on assignment overseas. I have to take it.”

  I nod and he answers his call. My mind goes to my father and I try to think about what he’d do right now, even what advice he’d give me which transports me back to the last piece of advice he ever gave me. Back to the day he died and that golf course in the Hamptons:

  “You’re shooting like hell, son. I’d ask why but we both know why. You haven’t been good since she left. You damn sure haven’t been able to be here, in the Hampton’s since she left.”

  “I’ve made more money for me and the company in the past six months than I have in my entire career.”

  “I don’t give a flip about the money,” he says, turning to face me, his hands settling on his hips. “I care about you and her. She loves you. You love her. Go get her.”

  “She’s with Ri now.”

  “She’s working for Ri. There’s a difference between fucking him and working for him.”

  “Oh come on, pops. She thinks I fucked Becky. She’s fucking Ri.”

  “Have you asked her?”

  “She won’t even talk to me.” I pull the ring out of my pocket, where I’ve held it every day for six months. “She sent it back.”

  “Well, you damn sure know she didn’t want your money.”

  “I already knew that.”

  He throws his golf bag in the rear of the cart and I do the same. “Make her listen.”

  “Becky was naked and pressed against me, dad. No words erase that.”

  He turns away from me and presses a hand on the rear of the cart. “Fuck.” He fists his hand on his chest. “I don’t—feel right, son.”

  “What? What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t seem to breathe. Call—”

  He falls to his knees and I go down with him. “Dad. Fuck.” I dial 911 and then it’s like a tunnel consumes me. I have random moments of clarity. Me pumping my father’s chest. Me shouting for help. The emergency crew. The ambulance and me riding beside my father, holding his hand. And then his final words, “Son, protect what was mine and what is yours. Do not let anyone take what is yours. Don’t let anyone take who you love.”

  And then he’d shut his eyes and never opened them again.

  “Sorry about that,” Blake says, drawing me back to the present. “But, fuck. My man is in some heat right now, but then so are you. The most important thing right now is proving you’re innocent. Once we get that proof, and that could be a few keystrokes from happening, then we ensure Ri pays, and that Rosemond doesn’t come at you.”

  “You turn them on each other,” I supply since that’s where we’re going with this conversation.

  “Yes. I can make Rosemond believe Ri is setting him up even if he’s not. That gets Ri fighting for his life, not trying to take yours. I’ll then have a friend at the FBI offer him protection to turn evidence on Rosemond. That means Ri is out of the picture and in witness protection. But there are risks. Ri could end up dead and I need to know you know that. I’ll do my best to ensure that doesn’t happen. This protects you and Mia. That’s my priority.”

  Ri could end up dead.

  This protects Mia.

  My father’s words come back to me: Son, protect what was mine and what is yours. Do not let anyone take what is yours. Don’t let anyone take who you love.

  “Do it,” I say and I feel no remorse. Mia is my first priority. My company and my employees are my second priority. Ri is nothing and I do believe that even my father, with his strict moral compass, would want him to know it.

  Blake pulls us up to the high-rise where Ri’s offices are and into a parking garage. A few minutes later, I’m sitting in a surveillance van watching Mia on a camera as she joins a staff meeting. Ri enters the room and instead of looking around the room and communicating to the room of twenty, his gaze lands on Mia. He can’t take his eyes off her and if I sit here, watching this much longer, Rosemond might not need to kill Ri. I will. For forty-five minutes, he lectures the team about production and projections that aren’t where he wants them to be. For forty-five minutes, the entire room has to know he can’t keep hi
s eyes off fucking Mia. It’s almost like he knows I’m watching.

  The meeting ends and Mia, like the rest of the group, stands, only when she would escape, Ri calls out her name, “Mia, my office before you leave.”

  That’s a mistake. He has no idea what a mistake he just made because if he touches her again, I’m not staying in this van.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Mia

  After ordering me to his office, Ri heads out of the conference room. My mind races and I know I’m headed into dangerous territory with him. I sense it. “Mia?” Kevin asks. “Do you need help?”

  “No. Thanks. Goodnight.” I rush toward the door and spy Ri already headed down the hallway. “Ri!”

  He stops and turns. “My office.”

  “I’m running to the bathroom first,” I say, needing an excuse to talk to Kara who is no longer at her desk but it’s her I need. “I’ll be there in three minutes.”

  “Make it two,” he snaps, his jaw set hard, anger radiating off of him the way it had the entire meeting which was generally miserable, as he kept staring me down. In turn, Kevin scowled at him, and everyone knew it was about me.

  I rush down the hallway to a bathroom nearby, step inside and enter the stall and since I don’t know if this room is being recorded, I pull out my phone and text Kara: I’m going to be in his office. Create a distraction. Get him out of there long enough for me to get the number off that phone in case he takes it home tonight. And yes, I know Grayson won’t approve which is why I’m texting only you.

  Kara calls me and I answer. “You’re safe to talk where you’re at and no, Grayson won’t approve, but you have to do it. I’ll get him out of there and I’ll warn you by phone when he’s returning. The risk is minimal as the office is all but empty. Just get the number and get clear of the desk. Text it to us right away.”

  “Got it.”

  “Go. Now.”

  I hang up and I know I have to do this. I can’t keep coming here. Grayson won’t be able to take it. I feel it. I know it. I have to help where I can and be prepared not to come back. I stick my phone in my pocket and exit the bathroom. My path back to Ri’s office is swift. Once I’m there I find Tabitha gone and the door open. I step inside. “Shut the door,” he orders from behind his desk where he stands leaning on the hard surface.

  “No one is out there.”

  “Shut the fucking door, Mia.”

  I remind myself that I’m wearing a wire. I have plenty of help nearby. I shut the door and lean against it. “Afraid?” he asks.

  “You’re acting weird.”

  “I know you were with Grayson this weekend.”

  I’m stunned despite being prepared and I react instantly. “You had me followed? Really, Ri? I’ve been here a year. Have you had me followed the entire time?”

  “He’s a competitor. It’s reasonable.”

  “That’s a yes. I can’t believe you.”

  “You were at his house.”

  “I don’t have to explain myself, but yes, I was. He owed me money on an investment and he made me collect in person.”

  “For the entire weekend?”

  “Yes, Ri. And now I know he and I are really over. I had to find out. I had to know.”

  “He fucked Becky. That was pretty over, or I thought it was. Maybe you don’t give a shit what pussy he sticks his cock into as long as you have his money.”

  “You’re a son of a bitch, Ri. I can’t believe I ever came to work for you.”

  “Well you did, and you have a contract, and if you leave or betray me with him I’ll destroy you.”

  His cellphone rings and my heart lurches with the hope that this is the distraction. He answers the line and scowls. “Towed? What the fuck? Stop them. Yes. I’ll be right there.” He rounds his desk. “My car is being towed. Do not fucking leave my office, Mia. You wait because we aren’t done.” He exits his office and I follow him, watching as he disappears through the glass doors.

  Adrenaline shoots through me and I shut the door, rush to his desk and pull open the drawer, relieved to find the phone. I grab it, find the number, and text it to the group. I set it back in the drawer and quickly start searching drawers. I reach for the one beneath the phone and it’s locked. I open his top desk drawer and find a key. Luckily it works which makes locking the drawer a joke, but thankfully Ri is funny like that.

  I open the drawer and find a file that reads “Bennett” on it. I open it and want to be sick. It’s all the records of the set-up, including a list of Grayson’s employees being paid to help Ri. I shoot photos, lots of photos and decide I just need to take the file. This is all we need to end this. I text what photos I took to the group, shut the drawer, lock it and decide, that’s it—I’m leaving. I rush out of his office and into mine because I need to seem normal. I need to seem like I just left mad, or quit. Otherwise, Ri will search his office. I grab my briefcase and computer, stick the file inside, and head for the elevator.

  Still no warning about Ri which means he could come up the elevator at any moment. I don’t know what areas of the office Kara can see. She might not even know where I’m standing. She might only be able to see Ri right now. I cut right and enter the stairwell, starting to run down the steps. It’s a long way down but I just want out of here. I want out of this building and this office. Relief washes over me as I near the exit and I’ve just stepped off the final step when the door bursts open with Ri entering the stairwell.

  My heart lurches. “I thought you forgot me. I was coming to make sure you were still here.”

  He glances at my briefcase and me and then growls, “Bullshit. You thought I’d take the elevator. And I just realized I left you in my office after you spent the weekend with Grayson.”

  He lunges for me and I turn to try to run but it’s too little too late. He grabs my hair and all but rips it out as he yanks me around to face him. “What do you have in your bag?” He reaches for it, and I punch him, giving help time to arrive, I hope, but it does no good.

  He reaches in my bag that I stupidly didn’t zip and grabs the folder. “You little bitch.” He drops it on the ground and shoves me against the wall. “I should have known you were still fucking him. That will never get out of this building.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I took pictures. I sent proof to the police. Did you really think you could frame Grayson and get away with it?”

  “I’ll get away with it. You’ll be dead and I’ll tell them you were setting me up.”

  “Dead? You’re going to kill me? Are you serious?”

  “Yes, Mia. You’ll die.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out his phone. “Mia will need to be dealt with tonight but not until I’m done with her. Pick her up at the normal spot.” He ends the call. “We fuck first. Maybe you can talk me out of killing you.”

  I try to knee him but he catches my leg. “Not this time, sweetheart. This time I fuck you, you don’t fuck me.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a gun. “Just in case you think you might scream. Think again.” He yanks me off the wall and starts pulling me by the hair toward the door. That’s when the door bursts open and Grayson appears holding a gun followed by Blake.

  “Grayson,” I breathe out, as the two men stand side by side, Blake directly in front of Ri, but it’s Grayson Ri is looking at, his gun now pointed at him.

  “Let her go, Ri, or I will shoot you,” Grayson says, stepping closer. “And I’ll enjoy it.”

  Ri holds the gun on him to my head. “We walk out together or she leaves dead. Decide.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Grayson

  I charge at Ri in the hopes that he’ll turn his gun on me, but he doesn’t. He holds steady and I stop in front of Mia, not about to block Blake’s shot if he so chooses to shoot the bastard before I do. Right about now, he probably wants to shoot me for taking one of his guns, but I don’t give a damn. The minute I heard Mia went down the stairs and Ri decided to take the stairs instead
of the elevator, I wasn’t waiting for her to end up dead.

  “I’ll kill you, Ri,” I promise. Mia’s hand goes to my waist as if she just needs to touch me. I want to comfort her. I want to pull her into my arms, but I don’t dare look away from Ri.

  His eyes narrow on mine and I have a really fucking bad feeling he’s about to pull the trigger, just to spite me, just to finally hurt me. “I love you, Grayson,” Mia whispers, because yes, she feels his readiness too, but that’s not the right thing for him to hear right now.

  Fuck it, I’m going to kill him. My finger twitches on the trigger but a shot rings out before I shoot. Ri jolts backward and blood splatters all over my face and Mia’s. I grab Mia and pull her to me. “What happened?” she asks. “What happened?!”

  “Easy, baby,” I say, looking over her shoulder at Ri lying across the floor, with a bullet between his eyes and blood pooling around him, thick and wide.

  Blake appears by my side and takes my gun, “Thank me later. He was going to shoot and I wasn’t letting you answer for that. Get her out of here.” He kneels beside Ri and checks for a pulse as Adam charges in the door, “Get me an ambulance and the police,” Blake shouts at him.

  I cup Mia’s face and tilt her eyes to mine. “You’re okay?”

  “He’s dead, right?”

  “No pulse!” Blake shouts before I can answer. “Hurry the fuck up, Adam!”

  “I called. They’re on the way.” Adam eyes me. “Get her out of here.” He opens the door as I scoop up Mia and carry her past Adam, into the garage, and then to the van where I set her on the edge of the interior.

  Sirens sound in the distance and Kara runs to our side. “Is she okay?” she asks and then to Mia. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m alive,” Mia says, burying her head in my stomach and clinging to my waist. I cradle her head, my gaze finding Kara’s. “She’s shaken. Give us a few.” Kara nods and hurries away while I tilt Mia’s face and ease her stare to mine. “You’re okay, baby. I got you. You know that, right?”