“Why would someone do that?”
I blow out a loud breath and walk over to my chair, all but falling down into it. I feel exhausted all of a sudden. “Money. It’s always about money.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
The look of determination on Evelyn’s face, and the fact that she said we without any hesitation, makes me smile in spite of everything. “We’re gonna fight, of course.” Yet another battle that I have to wage, but at least now I have an ally.
There’s a large manila envelope on my desk that wasn’t there when I left. It’s unmarked, but it’s leaning up against my keyboard. Maybe instructions from Beverly explaining the files and how they’re organized. I absently reach in and fish out the documents inside.
“First thing we have to do is figure out where the threat is coming from. That’s the best way to figure out how to neutralize it.”
I glance down at what I’ve pulled from the envelope and feel my heart begin to pound in my chest. I quickly flip through everything until I come to a neatly typed note that only takes me seconds to read.
“What is it?” The concern in Evelyn’s voice pulls me back to reality.
My head is spinning, and I’m just glad I’m already sitting down. I reach up and offer Evelyn the documents. She snatches them and flips through them as quickly and with as much shock as I did. She spends more time staring at the final note, though.
“Oh my God. Sebastian, I swear, I—”
“I know,” I say, cutting her off. “I know. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. But at least now we know what we’re dealing with.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EVELYN
Despite spending the night at Sebastian’s apartment, the circumstances were all business, and by the time we actually went to bed, it was just to collapse and sleep for a couple of hours before heading back into the office. Since I’d spent the night, he drove me home first so I could change before we started the long trek to the Piston tower.
The papers that Hans had left remained untouched at Sebastian’s apartment; they no longer mattered. All that mattered were the contents of that envelope. The same pictures that Ripper had, only this time, more focused on Sebastian in his leathers, surrounded by club members. And me. But worse was the note.
I wonder how much cheaper it’ll be for me to pick up your shares if these go public? Do you think the Street will welcome a biker thug CEO? We should talk. E.S.
Of course, the E.S. stood for Edward Stonewall—it was how he signed most of his personal notes—but Sebastian didn’t need me to interpret that for him. The smug triumph of my former boss and boyfriend came through loud and clear, as if he had spoken the words instead of written them. Apparently, he wasn’t that interested in remaining anonymous, after all. But it’s just as obvious now that his buyout was motivated by more than just money.
“I can’t help but feel responsible,” I say into the silence of the car ride to the office. Sebastian hasn’t said very much this morning, but I’m not sure if he’s just tired from our long night of discussing this, or if it’s something else.
“I told you, you’re not.” It’s true; Sebastian hasn’t blamed me a single time since we read the note, but that hasn’t stopped me from feeling guilty. “Everyone has people in their past, and you left for good reason. You aren’t responsible for what they do once you’ve left them behind. Anyway, if anything, it’s more my fault. I knew who he was, and what he was capable of, when I punched him at the bar. It’s not the first time my temper has gotten me into trouble. Probably won’t be the last, either.”
I look over at him, wondering whether he’s thinking about our upcoming meeting with Edward later this afternoon when he says that. Hopefully not. As much as I’d love to watch him KO my ex, it would only make things far worse.
“Well, the fact that he hasn’t gone public yet means he has something else in mind.” Or he just wants to gloat while we beg. Fat chance of that happening. I would do it, if it would save Piston, but Sebastian never would. “Maybe there is a way out of this.”
There’s no answer, but I don’t expect one. We went over every possibility we could think of last night, and none of the options are good. I’m just talking to fill the silence now. To distract myself from the crushing feeling of responsibility for this whole mess. Edward is worth billions, and his company buys and sells companies like Piston almost every month. I know what he’s capable of, and what the most likely outcome of all of this is, and none of it is positive. He’s a vindictive son of a bitch, and I can’t imagine he’s going to let Sebastian hitting him, or hiring me when he was warned not to, go lightly. And it’s all my fault, despite what Sebastian says. I brought the eyes of VI down on Sebastian and his secrets when I met Edward at Axle’s that second time, even if I was tricked. Sebastian warned me not to go back, and if I had only listened none of this would have happened. And now he’s going to pay the price.
Edward responded only minutes after Sebastian sent him an e-mail asking what he wanted. He didn’t say much, only that we should come back to his office this afternoon after work to discuss “terms”. I suggested to Sebastian that maybe we could get the police involved, since this is clearly blackmail, but he pointed out that it wouldn’t really help. Edward had an army of lawyers that would protect him from any kind of harsh penalty, and pressing charges would require us to hand over the evidence of Sebastian’s dual lives, which meant they were certain to get out anyway. At least by meeting Edward we could figure out what his plan was and whether we had any moves.
I just hated the idea of going back to VI and facing him again. Knowing Sebastian would be at my side was the only thing that made the whole idea bearable. But I had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.
At Piston, it seemed like business as usual, for the most part. No one but the board knew about the takeover news yet. The stock purchases had still escaped public notice, but they wouldn’t stay that way for long. Soon some financial news agency would pick up on it, and then it would make headlines. Once that happened, this place would get crazy. If we were going to do anything to stop this thing, it had to be quick. As much as I hated the thought of it, the meeting with Edward couldn’t come soon enough.
Sebastian was busy with the board from lunch right on through to the end of the day, and when he finally returned, he was in an even fouler mood than before.
“Didn’t go well?”
“Most of those bastards seriously seem to think that we should consider the offer. They don’t even know what Edward plans on doing with the company yet. He’ll probably just buy it and break it up just to piss me off, even if he takes a loss.”
I nodded. That was definitely within the realm of possibilities when it came to Edward. “Do they know it’s him?”
“No. Right now, they seem to think that it’s most likely one of our competitors looking to consolidate and buy us out before we become too big. Maybe if they did know, it would change their tune. I’m not sure, though. I can almost see the dollar signs in their eyes. Going public was a terrible idea.”
“So does that mean you won’t have the votes to fight it?”
Sebastian lets out a heavy breath as he moves to the big window overlooking the Chicago skyline. “I don’t know,” he says, staring out at the gray sky. It had been raining for the last hour with no sign of it clearing up. “I can’t get commitments out of most of them. Even Hans won’t give me a straight answer, although at least he’s still arguing that we should all just wait and see what comes of this before making a decision. Some of the others are chomping at the bit to sell now, worried that this deal might disappear before our numbers come out for the quarter. We have a couple of weeks before that happens, but it wouldn’t surprise me if at least a couple of them have already sold their shares, or at least made promises to sell.”
I walk over and put my hand on his broad shoulder, squeezing gently. His muscles are solid, filled with the tension of the day. I press a bit har
der to try and work some of it out. “We’ll figure it out,” I say, hoping the lack of confidence I feel won’t manifest in my voice.
“We should go,” he says.
“Sebastian…” He pauses on his way to the door and turns.
“I know you don’t blame me, but I want to say that I’m sorry about all this. I hate the idea of seeing Edward again, but I’m glad I’m going with you.”
The edges of Sebastian’s mouth turn up, forming a little half smile as he reaches one arm out to me. I move toward him, letting him pull me close for a hug. “Stop blaming yourself,” he says quietly. “We’ll deal with this together. Edward has no idea what he’s up against, coming after me.”
I smile back and nod, but in my head I can’t help but wonder if the same thing is true the other way around. Sebastian is a strong, powerful man physically, but Edward is a shrewd and ruthless businessman. And unfortunately, I don’t think raw muscle or force of will are going to be able to sway Edward from whatever his end goal is. I’m worried that once Sebastian figures that out, he might lose his temper and do something that may make things worse. For everyone.
The uncomfortable familiarity of the VI offices almost makes my skin crawl. Passing Charles’ office is the worst, as images of Edward and Lindsey pop back into my head. I don’t care about either of them anymore, but just recalling the sense of betrayal that I felt at that moment still makes me feel sick. Lindsey’s nameplate is still on the desk outside of it, but at least she isn’t there. I wonder whether Edward scheduled this meeting for after-hours so that we wouldn’t run into each other. He’s probably still fucking her, but he’s a fool if he thinks I care anymore. He can put his dick wherever he wants now. Let it be someone else’s problem.
Edward’s office door is open, and he looks up from his computer as soon as we appear, his eyes focusing on me instantly. The smile that spreads across his face makes me furious. I hate that he has the power here, but that’s how it always is with him. He always has to be the one holding all of the cards.
“Ah, good afternoon, so nice of you to make it. Come in, come in.” He’s got his full-on salesman mode going, but I can tell it’s just to piss us off, not because he thinks he’s fooling anyone. Obviously, Sebastian knows it, too.
“Cut the crap, Stonewall. What the fuck do you want? You have no interest in Piston. Your beef is with me.”
The smile never leaves Edward’s face as his eyes slide over to Sebastian. “Ah, right to business. A man after my own heart.”
Sebastian steps into the office and I follow, watching him closely. I’m relieved when he stops just inside the door. If he gets too close to Edward, I’m worried he won’t be able to stop himself from throwing punches. Edward has that effect on even the most passive of people, and Sebastian is far from passive. His fists are clenched, but he’s holding them down at his sides for now as he glares at the man in front of him.
Edward’s smile falters just a touch and he licks his lips nervously under Sebastian’s silent, burning stare.
“Right, well, to the point then. You’ve taken something that is mine, and I mean to have it back.”
“Oh, really? And what is that?”
Edward’s eyes shift to me, and I feel a coldness in my chest as I realize this is even more about me than I thought. “I was never yours,” I say, but my voice is barely more than a whisper as I fight through the tightness in my throat.
“Are you fucking insane?” Sebastian roars. His hands come up, but a sound from the hallway makes us both turn. A few security guards have come out of one of the offices and are standing a few feet away from the office. Edward was prepared for us this time.
“Calm down, Mr. Redding. No need for any of your gangster violence here. That would just speed up the inevitable, and then even I won’t be able to shut all of this down.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, my voice finally getting stronger. I’m as angry as Sebastian, but it’s mixed with shame and guilt that I’m trying to keep from overwhelming me.
“This takeover. Your club. Everything. I’ve given the pictures to your friend there. Well, ‘friend’ may be a bit of a stretch. What does he call himself? Ripper? Charming. At any rate, he was happy to get those pictures, but he has no idea where they came from. But he wants to know more. He’s contacted me a couple of times today, in fact. I get the feeling your gang doesn’t look too kindly on us corporate types? It’s not too hard to imagine what they’d do if they found out you were running Piston.”
My heart freezes this time as he says that. How does he know that Sebastian is the CEO?
“And Piston, of course, is the other issue. You started that company. Built it. Took it public. It’s worth, what, a billion or two now? I may not know everything about gangs, but I do know about Wall Street and the stock market. And I can tell you that they definitely won’t react too kindly to finding out all of the secrets your company has going for it. Secret CEO of a public company is bad enough, but add to it that you’re a dangerous criminal? Well, as I said in my note, I could actually save myself quite a bit of money by waiting for that news to come out before I buy up any more shares. Especially when the Street hears about your big miss this quarter, too. My, my.”
Edward pauses to laugh, but his eyes show no amusement. They’re cold and hard and staring at Sebastian, watching for the slightest bit of weakness. How did he know about the Velocity deal falling through? That shouldn’t be public yet.
“Your net worth won’t be worth the paper the shares are printed on, and I’ll end up with your company at a steal. And at that point, certainly more valuable broken up and sold off than as the tarnished whole that it will be.” He pauses for a moment, the full smile returning to his face. “Or… I can just stop buying altogether and walk away.”
Sebastian is practically seething, but his voice is tight and measured when he speaks. “And what would it take for that scenario?”
Edward laughs. It’s almost a cackle, really, but when his eyes shift back to me I shiver. “Oh, you’d be surprised at how little that would take. A bargain, really, considering what I’d be giving up instead. All it takes is for the two of you,” he waggles a long finger between us, “to be done. Over. Broken up completely and utterly, not only in your personal relationship, but your professional one as well. Evelyn leaves you and Piston and comes back here.”
“Are you crazy?” I say, before I can stop myself. “You actually want me to come back and work for you again? That’s what this is all about?”
Edward laughs again as he shakes his head. “Not just back here to work, my dear. Back here to me. I want things back exactly the way they were, in every way.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SEBASTIAN
Edward Stonewall is a bright man. But the smartest move he ever made in his life was making sure he had those extra security guards standing behind me when he dropped that bombshell about Evelyn coming back to him. If they hadn’t been there, he would have likely taken the quick way to the ground floor of his building. Through the fucking window.
As it was, it still took them and Evelyn to get me out of the building, and I’m pretty sure one of them will be walking with a limp for the next week or so. What burns me most is the fucking laughter that’s been echoing in my head ever since. Not my laughter, but Edward’s. He jumped back like a little girl when I lunged at him, but as soon as his guys had a grip on me and were dragging me to the elevator, he started laughing. Loud enough for me to hear, which means it was most likely just to piss me off, but I can’t get it out of my head regardless. Next time I see him, I’d love to hear him try that laugh with a face full of broken teeth. How different would it sound?
“You’re grinding your teeth.”
“I thought you were asleep already.” I roll over to see Evelyn’s eyes glinting at me in the near darkness of my bedroom. Most of the light comes from the LED clock on the nightstand. It’s after midnight and we have to go to work in the morning, but it doesn
’t surprise me that she’s still awake. Probably for the same reason I am.
“We’ll beat this,” she says. I can see the soft smile on her lips. She’s not so much lying as trying to be positive, so I don’t bother arguing with her. We spent all night after leaving Edward’s office going over it and we’re no closer to figuring a way out. “I’m not going to let you lose everything over me.”
There’s a firmness to her voice, a resolve that I find sweet. I know she means it, but that doesn’t make it a reality. The solution to this problem isn’t going to come from Evelyn willing it so.
Still, I can see she’s not willing to give up. And the sadness in her eyes… it kills me that she blames herself for this, but she holds no fault for the havoc Stonewall has wrought.
“I wouldn’t be losing everything if I have you.” I smile back at her. “Look, if the worst thing happens and Stonewall takes Piston down, we’ll still be all right. I have plenty of money from shares I’ve sold in the past. I’m already rich. The unsold shares just make me richer. But how much money does a person need, anyway?” She smiles and nods again, but ultimately averts her gaze. I know she’s feeling guilty, and my words don’t seem to soothe her. Only action will.
Silver and Chrome: A Bad Boy MC Romance Page 18