by Ivy Layne
“You weren’t working with Harrison?” I asked, stymied.
“No,” he said. “He approached us about the sale months before it happened, and part of the deal was that the lead techs come with the company.”
“So, he bought the company from Chase, switched the contracts to seize Chase’s stock,” I said, putting the pieces together, one by one, “and then sold it to you—”
“—and made a mint off your brother’s shares,” Aiden finished for me. “Fucking hell. That’s underhanded. It’s criminal.”
“Yeah, except we can’t prove it. Chase went after him, but we don’t have a case. Chase signed the contracts he didn’t realize had been switched. It was stupid, and it lost him his company.”
Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, thinking. “Would your brother be open to an approach from Gage? We’d be prepared to make him a generous offer to come take over and get the acquisition back on track.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s been doing consulting. He just finished up a job, but I don’t know what he has on next. I don’t know if he’ll talk to you. He wasn’t happy when he came home and figured out what I’d been doing.”
“He didn’t know?” Answering his own question Aiden said, “Of course, he didn’t know. Did he kick your ass when he found out?”
“How’d you guess?” I asked, both annoyed and amused.
Aiden slanted me a superior look. “Because I have a little sister, and if she came up with such a dumbass plan, I’d kick her ass when I found out.”
“Yeah, well, he also found out I spent the weekend with you, so I wouldn’t joke too much about ass kicking. I had to physically stop him from hunting you down this morning.”
“I’m not going to hide from your brother, sweetheart. If he wants to come after me for getting involved with his little sister, that’s fine. I get it. I’ll deal with him, and he’ll just have to get used to me.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I confessed.
I couldn’t keep up. We’d always assumed Aiden was working with Harrison. The turnover was too fast. One minute Chase was signing the contracts and a few days later Winters, Inc. owned the company. It seemed impossible that Harrison had been working alone.
The real question was, did I believe Aiden? If he was telling the truth, then he hadn’t admitted to playing me.
“Yesterday you said you knew what I was doing at the company and you didn’t care. Since you didn’t know I was Chase’s sister, what did you think I was doing there?”
Aiden shrugged one shoulder, looking uncomfortable. “Exactly what you were doing. Looking for dirt on me. Except I didn’t think you were doing it for your brother, I figured you had a client. When I asked you for the truth, I just wanted you to tell me who the client was.”
“And you didn’t care that I was spying on you?” I asked, disbelieving.
He should have cared.
Then again, he should have fired me the second he found out what I was up to.
“Vi, you were under surveillance since the first time you got into my emails. We have every keystroke on file and you’ve been isolated from anything sensitive since almost the beginning. At first, I kept you close because I was hoping you’d lead me to whoever sent you in the first place. Then I kept you close because I didn’t want you to leave.”
“Aiden,” I said, at a loss for words. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid plan. I just…I was with Chase from the beginning of CD4. He worked so hard, and he loved that company. I couldn’t stand watching him lose everything like that. I wanted to fix it, and I didn’t think about whether that was fair to you, or anyone else. I just wanted to help my brother.”
“You could have landed yourself in a lot of trouble, Vi,” Aiden said, stepping closer and squeezing my shoulders in his strong hands. The heat of his body radiated between us, drawing me closer. I wanted to lean forward and fall into him.
“I know,” I said. “I’m not usually that reckless. I just, I needed—”
“You needed to help your brother. I get it. I’d do anything for my family, and they’ve pointed out that I’m not always rational when I think I’m protecting them. But you took too big a risk, sweetheart. Promise me you’re not going to do something like that again.”
“Get a job with Winters, Inc.?” I asked, trying to keep up with his shift in mood. His hands slid down my arms and pulled me closer. Almost close enough to kiss. The woodsy Aiden scent of him was distracting.
“No, promise me you won’t do something that leaves you open to criminal charges.”
Dazed by his nearness, I met his dark eyes and promised, “I won’t. That was a one-time thing. I swear.”
“Then your brother better keep his ass out of trouble, because I won’t have you throwing yourself in front of him every time he fucks up.”
“Hey,” I protested, trying to pull back. His fingers tightened around my arms, not letting me move. “Chase is not a fuck up. Chase is brilliant and he works his ass off. He made one mistake—”
“Fine,” Aiden said, cutting me off. “I don’t want to fight about your brother. Considering you said he was pissed when he found out what you were up to, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. But I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger. For anyone.”
“First of all, I’m not your problem—”
“You are absolutely my problem, Violet,” Aiden said. “Everything about you is my problem. My problem and my business. You can’t brush me off with some lame resignation email.”
“You can’t—”
“Do you want to come back to work?” Aiden asked, interrupting me.
“At Winters, Inc.? No. No way,” I said, scrambling to keep up.
“Good. Because you’re fired. Have dinner with me tonight.”
“What?” I stared up at him, finding myself leaning into him exactly the way I’d wanted to, my breasts brushing his chest, his hands sliding back up my arms to cup my chin.
“Have dinner with me, Vi,” he said, lowering his head slowly, closing the distance between his mouth and mine. His breath whispered across my lips. “I woke up without you this morning and I didn’t like it. Have dinner with me. And then we’ll see.”
I parted my lips to say okay, but I didn’t get the chance. His mouth was on mine, his fingers cradling the back of my head, angling my face up to his. My arms wrapped around him, and I held on, falling into the kiss, tasting him, opening for him.
I was lost, and he felt so good I couldn’t think, couldn’t get my head together, when Chase’s voice cut through the room.
“What the fuck is going on? Get your goddamn hands off my sister.”
Oops. In the shock of seeing Aiden, I’d completely forgotten that Chase would be home any second.
Aiden stepped back just enough to angle his body in front of me. “I’d say that’s up to your sister.”
Great, just what this situation needed. Two overprotective males trying to establish dominance over the female. Like I couldn’t take care of myself. I rolled my eyes, though neither of them noticed. Before he could stop me, I slid out from behind Aiden and stepped between them, evading Chase when he reached out to grab my hand.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Aiden, this is my brother Chase. Chase, this is Aiden. I think you two have a lot to talk about. And none of it has to do with me.” Catching my brother’s eye, I said, “Chase, I think you should hear him out. It didn’t happen the way we thought it did.”
“And you believe this guy?” Chase asked, sending Aiden a withering look.
“I believe him,” I said to my brother. Turning to look at Aiden, I found him staring at Chase like he’d seen a ghost.
Before I could ask him what was wrong, Chase said, “Vivi, no. I know you want to believe him but—” He sent Aiden a sidelong look filled with mistrust.
Aiden, for his part, didn’t seem to notice. He was studying Chase like he was a bug under a microscope. His attention made me un
easy. Chase took my hand and tugged me closer, away from Aiden. I vaguely heard Aiden murmur, “Excuse me”, before Chase started in on me again.
“You’re gorgeous, Vivi, and you’re smart. So smart. But you don’t have a lot of experience with men. And none with men like this. I’m not surprised he’s interested in you. He’d be crazy not to be. But that doesn’t mean you can trust him. Or isn’t he the reason you cried yourself to sleep last night?”
Like I really wanted Aiden to know about that. I looked over my shoulder, prepared to be embarrassed, but Aiden wasn’t there.
Before he could come back, I hissed under my breath, “He was, but it was a mistake. A mix-up. I thought he knew things about what happened with the company. I thought he was just playing with me, but I was wrong. He wasn’t working with Harrison, Chase. Harrison must have misrepresented the ownership of CD4, he was trying to get you to sell at the same time he was after Winters, Inc. to buy. That’s how it happened so fast. But they didn’t know, and they were pissed you didn’t come along with the company. The guy in Winters, Inc. who brought the deal to the table ended up getting fired over it.”
Chase dropped my hand and took a step back. “You believe him,” he said, considering the possibility that he’d been wrong about Harrison and Aiden Winters.
“I do. I do believe him. I looked, and I never found anything on Aiden. On any of them. They may not be saints but they’re fair. Aiden’s been more than fair with me.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Chase scoffed. “Like he doesn’t have an ulterior motive for that.”
“Don’t be an asshole,” I said, poking him in the arm. “He asked me out to dinner.”
Chase rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if imploring the heavens for patience. “Vivi. Can’t you find another guy? Maybe you’ll meet someone when you go back to school.”
“I didn’t say I was going back to school,” I protested. “I’m looking for a job. I just need to build my savings back up a little bit and then I’ll go.”
“You are going back to school,” Chase said, implacable. “Your savings would be fine if I hadn’t fucked up and gotten you screwed out of your shares of CD4 Analytics along with my own. If the sale had gone through the way it was supposed to, you would have had more than enough money to go back to school. This is my fault, and I’m paying your tuition.”
“Chase, stop blaming yourself. It happened. It’s over. You’ve looked out for me since Mom and Dad kicked me out. You gave me a place to live. You gave me a job. It’s not like I didn’t get paid every day I worked for CD4, and the company before that. I’m not mooching off you for school, too. I can work.”
“This isn’t a discussion,” Chase said. “I already sent for information from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Emory. I set up appointments at all three for next week so you can talk to someone in admissions about transferring your credits.”
Hands on my hips, I didn’t bother to hide the aggravation in my voice when I said, “Chase, stop organizing my life. I can do this on my own.”
“I know you can, Vivi. But you’re taking too long, so I did it for you.” My annoyance didn’t ruffle Chase. He just gave me a cool stare, and before I could respond, a hand closed over my shoulder. From behind me, Aiden said, “Not UGA. The commute to Athens is too far. I’ll talk to someone at Emory. She won’t have any trouble transferring her credits.”
“Because a Winters can take care of this with a phone call,” Chase said, with a sneer.
“Both of you, shut up,” I said. I’d had enough of bossy men for one day. “I don’t need either of you fixing everything for me. Just back off.” Looking at Chase, I went on, “Talk to Aiden about the company. I’m going to go brush my hair and then we can get lunch.” To Aiden, I said, in a softer voice, “I don’t need your help with school. I can do this on my own. What time are you picking me up for dinner?”
Aiden’s eyes softened, and he raised one hand to stroke my cheek. “How’s seven-thirty? Nothing fancy unless you want to get dressed up.”
I shook my head. “Casual is good for me.”
“Then I’ll see you at seven-thirty.” He dropped his head and pressed a light kiss to my lips. I tried not to feel disappointment when he pulled away. Making out in front of my older brother would not smooth the way between the two of them.
I left the room to brush my hair, hoping I wouldn’t return to a fist fight in progress. I was only gone a few minutes, but when I came back, Chase was alone.
Before I could ask, he said, “We have a meeting tomorrow afternoon. Aiden, his cousin Gage, and me. He said we’d work things out.” Chase shrugged. “We’ll see. I don’t like you going out with him.”
“I know you don’t,” I said, giving him a quick hug on the way to the front door. “Good thing I’m not asking for permission.”
I ignored his big brother glare and slipped out the front door on the way to the car. Considering the way the day had started, things were looking up.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aiden
Gage answered my call with, “Are you planning on coming back to the office anytime soon? Or am I handling these meetings on my own?”
I ignored his sarcasm and said, “Neither. You’re canceling our meetings. I’m headed to the Sinclair Security offices. Meet me there.”
The sarcasm fell from Gage’s voice. He was all business when he said, “Why? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.”
“Cryptic much?” Gage complained.
“I have to call Cooper. I’ll explain when I see you.”
I thought about the comb in my pocket, carefully wrapped in tissue, and Violet’s brother, a carbon copy of my cousin Vance. A little older. But the same blue eyes. The exact same shade of blonde hair. The same build, the same chin, the same nose. He was the right age.
I wasn’t ready to hope we’d found what we’d been searching for. I’d considered verifying his identity before telling Gage, but I wouldn’t shut Gage out. We were in this together.
Wondering if I was jumping the gun, I called Cooper Sinclair at Sinclair Security. Cooper and his brothers had taken over the company from their father and grown it into the premier security company in the southeast, arguably in the entire country.
We’d grown up together. The Sinclairs were like family. Ever since we’d discovered Gage’s mother, my aunt Anna, had given up a child for adoption when she’d been in college, we’d been searching for him. We’d lost enough family already.
My parents were gone, Gage’s parents were gone, all four of them killed over a love affair gone wrong. Anna’s missing child was the root of it all. My aunt Anna and uncle James had met in college while she was dating James’s best friend, William. For reasons none of us had discovered, Anna broke up with William.
She took a semester off, and while she was away she fell in love with James through long letters and brief visits. She’d returned to Atlanta engaged to James. They’d married a short time later and from all reports, and my memory of childhood, had been deeply devoted to one another.
It wasn’t until Charlie stumbled upon the adoption records that we’d learned Anna hadn’t just broken up with William, she’d had his child and given it up for adoption. William, for his part, played the devoted family friend for years, brushing off Anna’s defection as ancient history. All the while he’d been seething with envy and rage.
William had been responsible for James and Anna’s murders. He’d stalked my cousin Annalise for years, transferring his obsession with Anna to the daughter who could have been her twin. When my parents discovered the truth, William had killed them rather than face the scandal.
So many lives torn apart over love and jealousy.
Whoever Anna’s missing child was, he was walking into a mess. We were desperate to find him, but he might not be happy to learn that while his biological mother was one of the best women I’d ever known, his father was a murderous psychopa
th.
None of us believed in the sins of the father. We didn’t blame Anna and William’s child for William’s insanity. We just wanted to find him. But Anna had given her newborn son to Maxwell Sinclair to hide. Even back then, she hadn’t wanted William to know where their child was.
William had seemed to take her engagement to James in stride, but some instinct had driven Anna to keep the child from his father. Maybe she’d suspected he’d hold the baby over her head or use him to drive James away. Instead, they’d all remained good friends; my parents, uncle James and aunt Anna, William Davis, and Maxwell Sinclair.
We’d never known the tensions simmering beneath the surface of those lifelong relationships. Had William known Maxwell had hidden his child? Had Maxwell suspected William of my parents’ deaths? We had no answers.
Anna and James had died because of William. William himself had murdered my parents. And Maxwell Sinclair had disappeared. The official story was a car accident. He’d driven off a bridge into a river, and his body had never been found.
I’d known Maxwell my entire life. He was intelligent and he could be ruthless. His death seemed a little too convenient.
Since we’d discovered William’s secret life we’d learned that nothing was as it seemed. Maxwell hadn’t been content with running Sinclair Security. He and William had been neck deep in a whole line of criminal enterprises, including arms dealing, money laundering, and a series of private adoptions that involved huge sums of money. Cooper, Knox, Evers, and Axel were still digging into their father’s death.
Some days it seemed like every secret we uncovered only exposed more lies.
In the face of so much deceit, it seemed naïve to hope I’d found my missing half-cousin. I was too cynical to plan for good luck, but I couldn’t deny Chase Westbrook’s uncanny resemblance to my cousins. He wasn’t just a mirror image of Vance, I could see Annalise in his high cheekbones in the shape of his eyes, Gage in his build, Tate in the sound of his voice.