Synergy: New Adult Romantic Suspense (U-District, #1)

by Ashland, Jodi

  “Shuah, no problem.”

  As the minutes ticked by, Jade tapped her fingers on her desk.

  If Zach had told anyone else about the laptop, they could be responsible. No wait, it would have to be one of the five who had admin access. That narrowed it down considerably. She prayed Zach had mentioned it to one of the five suspects. As long as it wasn’t Bryce.

  Could Zach have done this? No, she couldn’t even go there in her head, but that might be a mistake. Jade picked up the phone on the first ring.

  “Boss, Timothy said Zachary left in a hurry, said it was an emergency.”

  “An emergency. Is he okay?”

  “Dunno, that’s all anyone knows.”

  “Did you try his parents?”

  “Yeah, no one answered.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Jade hung up.

  Why would Zach leave so suddenly, saying it was an emergency? Could he be the one? No, he was helping her, wasn’t he? What if he’s lying, what if there was someone else on the admin list? Or maybe, someone figured out he knew too much and they got to him? Jade agonized over each possibility. She couldn’t come to grips with Zach being responsible for stealing from her any more than it could be Bryce.

  Still, she’d call Neal and report it. Zach might be in danger.

  HE’D JUST BEEN BUMPED TO THE TOP of the suspect list. Bryce ended the meeting early. He couldn’t think about work right now. It was no coincidence that the detective had asked about his silver dollar. There could be only one reason: it must have been found at Jade’s after the break-in, most likely in her bedroom. Bryce couldn’t recall dropping the coin at her place. And even if he had, how had it ended up in her bedroom?

  Jade knew more than she was telling him; he could feel it. Why didn’t she trust him?

  Because up to this point he hadn’t given her a reason to, that’s why. He shouldn’t have held back; he should have told her he loved her.

  There had been fear in her eyes when he’d touched her in her office. She’d pulled away, for only an instant, then restrained herself and tried to hide it from him. He couldn’t blame her; he’d certainly given her reason to think he could hurt her, after what he’d done to Steve, after he’d forced himself on her in his office.

  He needed to talk to her, to make her understand he would never hurt her. He could protect her, if only she would let him.

  SPOOKED WASN’T A STRONG ENOUGH WORD to describe how Jade felt when she walked into her condo for the first time since the robbery. Black or white fingerprint powder covered every touchable surface. Contents of drawers and closets were strewn everywhere. Her place looked worse than it had after the robbery. Jade went straight to her closet to pull out what she needed.

  She grabbed her suitcase and shoved clothes into it, wanting to get the heck out of there. It would have been best to wait for Neal to arrive, but she’d talked herself into coming inside anyway. Neal wouldn’t always be there to watch over her, and she didn’t want to be spooked out of her own home—even though she was.

  The front door closed.

  Her shoulders relaxed. Neal was finally here. Her smile faded when she turned and came face to face with Bryce.

  Her pulse jumped.

  His hair was standing up in places it shouldn’t and the brown in his hazel eyes had turned dark as mud. “I need to talk to you, Jade.” He stepped toward her and stopped when she backed away from him.

  “I’m just getting a few things. Neal will be here any minute to take me to my parents.”

  “Why are you afraid of me?” He held his palms out and his shoulders sagged.

  Jade tried to smile. Could she really be in danger? Her heart said no, but she’d seen the way someone had hacked away at her desk. She didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that kind of desperation. She had to stay calm, to convince him that nothing was wrong. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m just tired and a bit jittery, considering the circumstances.” She pointed to the empty jewelry box on her dresser.

  Bryce didn’t look away from her. “You’re not being straight with me, Jade. I can see it in your eyes. What happened at Johansson Tek? You haven’t been the same since you left.”

  “Nothing. I told you already. I felt obligated to tell Greg we would be getting competitive bids in the future.” She looked past Bryce, hoping Neal would show up soon.

  “I don’t buy it. Detective Hawkins asked me a strange question today. He asked me about my silver dollar.”

  Jade’s heart stammered in her chest.

  He inhaled deeply. “I could kill the person who’s put this kind of fear in you. What lies has Hawkins been feeding you? Why do I seem to be his number one suspect?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jade tried to keep her voice from shaking.

  Anger burned in his eyes, his hands clenched into fists, and he stepped toward her. Her heart lodged in her throat. Was he the one? She retreated until her back hit the wall.

  Bryce gripped her arms. “I won’t hurt you, Jade. Dammit, I love you.”

  Her heart leapt the moment he said the words. She wanted to put her arms around him and tell him she loved him too. But her mind overrode her heart. He could be lying. No matter how much she wanted to believe him, he was still a suspect.

  His fingers dug into her shoulders. “We can get through this together, you and me. We’re a team. Why are you shutting me out? Dammit, Jade, tell me what you know.”

  NEAL AIMED HIS GUN at Radisson’s head. “Step away from her now!”

  Radisson let his hands fall and took a single step away from Jade.

  “I said… move away from her… now.” Neal held the gun with both hands, standing with his feet planted firmly apart. He’d used his gun only once to shoot a perp. He didn’t want to have to do it again, unless it was absolutely necessary.

  Radisson turned to face him. “I don’t give a damn what you want me to do. You’re wasting time trying to pin this on me when someone out there is trying to hurt her.”

  Jade grabbed Radisson’s arm to stop him from moving toward Neal. “Bryce, wait, look at me. Neal, please?” She motioned for him to put the gun down.

  Neal lowered his weapon, but was ready to react in an instant.

  “Bryce, I’ve uncovered something.”

  “Jade…” Neal warned.

  “He deserves to know.” She took both of Radisson’s hands in hers. “Someone has been stealing from the company for years.”

  “And you think it’s me?”

  “I don’t know what to think. All I know is the more I dig, the more your name keeps popping up. Every time I try to prove it’s not you, I only prove it still might be you.”

  “How can you think I would do that to you? To Gloria?”

  “Why did you meet with Stan this week?”

  “I—how do you know about that?”

  “It’s one of many facts that point in your direction.”

  “He wanted to meet with me to apologize and let me know we did the right thing by firing him.”

  “Why?”

  “He knew something was wrong at Synergy, but he’d been concentrating on Gloria’s health and had put that first. He didn’t realize he was getting in your way until you fired him. I confronted him about your attack. He was clearly shaken and concerned about you. I don’t think he had anything to do with it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “I didn’t want to upset you. I figured you wouldn’t believe him anyway.”

  “My heart tells me it’s not you, but the facts say you’re still a possibility.”

  “Who else—”

  “Jade.” Neal stepped forward. “That’s not something you should discuss with Mr. Radisson.”

  “I know. I can’t, Bryce, I’m sorry. You already know you’re a suspect. I don’t want to lie to you. You need to stay away from me until Neal and I figure this out. I need to prove you aren’t responsible for this.”

  Radisson rested his forehead on hers
. “And if you can’t prove it?”

  She shook her head, her eyes filled with tears. She kissed Radisson softly on the lips. “It will break my heart.” She pulled away, picked up her bags, and walked past Neal without another word.

  Neal waited for Radisson’s reaction. He expected anger, at least heated words. Instead, Radisson stood with his shoulders slouched in defeat, staring at nothing, complete anguish on his face.

  After a moment, Neal holstered his gun, which brought Radisson out of his trance.

  “Find him before he hurts her,” Radisson said firmly.

  “I intend to. If you’re innocent, stay away from her, and let me do my job. If I see you near her again, I’ll put you behind bars and ask questions later. I care about Jade.”

  Radisson glared at Neal. “Not as much as I do.”

  Neal escorted Radisson to his car and locked the door of the condo. He followed Jade to her parents’ house, where she parked in their long circular driveway. He waited ten minutes for her to get out of the car. He wanted to ensure she got into the house safely.

  She never moved.

  Out of concern, Neal parked his car, walked over to Jade’s, and opened the door.

  She was sobbing uncontrollably.

  He pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried. He’d give anything to get rid of her pain. Hadn’t she endured enough? First her grandmother’s death, then becoming a young CEO, and now finding out that someone was stealing from her company.

  Despite all that, he was sure her pain came from feeling she’d betrayed Radisson. Am I trying so hard to find Radisson guilty because I want him to be? After seeing him today, he knew better. Radisson would never hurt Jade. He might steal from the company, but he wouldn’t physically hurt her.

  Jade pulled away and wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blubber all over you.”

  “Hey, it’s okay. It’s been a pretty intense few days. What you need to do is spend the weekend with your parents and get some rest. I have a few things I need to look into. We know what we’re looking for now, and it’s only a matter of time before we nail him.”

  “I can run those reports for you tomorrow. I should be able to narrow it down.”

  “Not tomorrow, Jade. I want to put armed guards at your company until we find out who’s behind this.”

  “I can’t have armed guards at Synergy. What would that look like?”

  Neal suppressed a laugh. She was more worried about her reputation as CEO than any danger she might be in. “They’ll be undercover. Your HR manager can say they’re new employees or something.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow to see how you’re doing. Get plenty of rest, and on Monday you can start digging into the reports. I should have answers about the holding company early next week. This will be over soon.”

  Neal walked her to the door. As soon as she was safe inside, he headed back to the station. He had more research to do.

  CHAPTER 30

  SUPPOSING BRYCE WASN’T STEALING from her, could he ever forgive her? If the situation were reversed, Jade would have a hard time forgiving him. Why would she expect anything different in return? Hadn’t she just lectured him about needing to trust her when it came to Steve, and now she didn’t trust him?

  Jade stared at the bedroom ceiling. Her chest ached. He’d finally said the three words to her that she’d dreamt about as a teenager. I love you. How many times had she fantasized about him saying those very words? And when he finally did, all she could do was accuse him of stealing from her.

  She had to prove his innocence, even if he never forgave her. She had to know it wasn’t him. Could she forgive him if he was guilty? It was just money—love was more important, and without a doubt, he was in love with her. It wasn’t something either of them had planned. In fact, she was pretty sure he’d done everything he could not to fall for her.

  Still, it had happened.

  In the last month, profits had risen slightly. Was that his way of starting to make amends, to return to the company what he’d stolen?

  How much has been taken?

  If he stopped padding the prices, slowly profits would increase and his stealing would stop.

  Again and again she asked herself the question. Could she forgive him? The only answer she came up with every time, no matter how many scenarios she devised in her head, was no. No, she couldn’t forgive him for stealing from Gran.

  She had to face the facts. Bryce wouldn’t be able to forgive her either, no matter the outcome.

  An image of a beautiful woman walking down the aisle with Bryce burned deep into her mind. Jade couldn’t go there. And she couldn’t give up. She had to focus on the here and now. She couldn’t give up on Bryce; she had to prove his innocence, and she had to pray that he could forgive her in some small way. She needed to run those reports so that Neal could cross-check them with the companies related to the fraud.

  Jade couldn’t wait until Monday. She’d start this morning after a steaming hot shower. A quick glance at the clock told her it was four-twenty a.m.

  Just a few more hours until she’d know whether Bryce was guilty.

  THE SMELL OF COFFEE WOKE BRYCE out of his drunken stupor. He opened one eye. Apparently, he’d passed out on his couch. Five empty beer bottles sat on the coffee table and a sixth oozed into the carpet. Two beers was his normal limit, so he felt like crap, and his mouth tasted like regurgitated hot dogs. The clock on the cable box said it was seven-fifty a.m. It felt much, much earlier.

  Thankfully, it was Saturday.

  There was no way he was going to his game today. Trying to ignore his throbbing head, he sat up, accepting the ibuprofen and the mug of steaming coffee that Kenzie handed him. “I’ve lost her.”

  Kenzie didn’t respond. She just sat next to him and listened.

  “You know, when I first started having feelings for her, I knew they were strong. But last night, when she was afraid of me, when she looked at me like I might hurt her, it ripped a hole right through me. I know now that I’m in love with her, but it’s too late. It’s over.”

  She placed her hand over his. “I’m sure it’s not that bad. Did you two have a fight?”

  He chased the pills down with the coffee. “No, it’s not like that. Someone’s stealing from Synergy and trying to stop Jade from finding out. I’m the primary suspect.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous.”

  “Try telling that to Jade and Detective Hawkins.”

  “Why would Neal think you had anything to do with it?”

  “What, you’re on a first-name basis now?” Just great. “Jade said every lead she finds points to a few people, and I’m on top of the list.”

  “Who else is on the list?”

  “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.”

  “So find out.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “If someone is stealing from the company and she figured it out, there must be records of it somewhere.”

  Bryce ran his fingers across the stubble on his chin. “The financial database—she’s been spending all her free time running reports and looking at the data. She said she was trying to figure out why our profits are declining.”

  “So stop wallowing in self-pity and go look at the financial information. Figure out who’s trying to hurt Jade and stop him.”

  “You’re a genius.” Bryce kissed her hard on the forehead. “I love you, you know that?”

  “I know. I love you too.” Kenzie reached for a beer bottle.

  “No, don’t clean up after me. I’ll take care of them when I get out of the shower.” Bryce dashed into the bedroom and caught her picking up the bottles out of the corner of his eye.

  He soaked in the hot shower, letting it clear his head. He had to prove to Jade that he wasn’t guilty. More importantly, he needed to stop whomever was trying to hurt her. The break-in happened the day she went to see Johansson, the same d
ay she figured out someone was stealing from her. Could Joshua Greenberg be involved?

  Whoever it was knew Jade was getting close. He’d seen the desk when he’d walked into her condo. Someone had hacked away at it violently. It was a miracle that the culprit hadn’t decided to hack Jade up too. Anger simmered in his gut. He had to figure this out before someone seriously hurt Jade. He focused on her visit to New York.

  What does Johansson have to do with someone stealing from the company?

  Jade mentioned something about letting them know she was going to start getting competitive bids. She’d mentioned the cost of goods was reducing profit. Okay, so that meant Johansson’s prices must have been significantly higher for her to meet with the CEO in person.

  So why would the costs be higher?

  She mentioned something about a sole source provider. If Johansson was the only one providing the material, they could charge whatever price they wanted to. But that wasn’t stealing. Unless… someone at Johansson was in on it with someone from Synergy.

  Who had the authority to require a sole source provider?

  Stan came to mind first, then Timothy, who was in charge of Purchasing. That’s where Bryce would have to start. One way or the other, he was going to nail the thieving bastard.

  NEAL HAD WORKED THROUGH THE NIGHT. He rubbed his neck, which was stiff from sleeping at his desk. It was just after eight a.m. Taking Bryce out of the picture caused Neal to reexamine his list of suspects and review the copious notes he’d kept. His list was small, so why couldn’t he pin it on one person?

  He got up to get a cup of coffee.

  Shit.

  The coffeemaker was empty. He threw in extra coffee grounds, dumped in water, flipped the switch, and leaned against the counter to wait. Neal ran through the facts one more time.

  Zachary Miller in IT had administrative access along with the others. He was trusted by Jade, still living at home with his parents, and after Neal had talked to him, he’d been the lowest on Neal’s list of suspects. Now suddenly, Miller leaves work for some sort of emergency? Neal needed to find out if Miller had surfaced.