Bryce: The Project (Indie Rebels Book 3)

by Miranda P. Charles

  Don’t be a fool, Emma!

  “How could you tell that Bryce would be like Dad?” she asked, needing to hear—but hating to know—Myra’s answer.

  “Just trust me on that—”

  Myra shut her mouth when Roger got up from his seat.

  Emma glanced at the man as he went to the kitchen to place his empty plate by the sink. Had Roger heard them? They’d been speaking in low voices, but there had been a couple of times when Emma worried she’d gotten carried away and had forgotten to whisper.

  Ugh. Roger probably reported to Addison everything that Myra did. How stifling. She felt sorrier for her future stepmother.

  Roger hovered around too closely for the rest of the afternoon, and Emma was disappointed she couldn’t continue her heart-to-heart talk with Myra.

  She’d gleaned a lot from the short time they’d been able to speak freely. Myra wasn’t happy with her father, yet she was choosing to stay, possibly because of Jill and a wealthy lifestyle.

  And their chat had helped Emma make a decision. She’d insist on Bryce contacting her. She had to know where she stood.

  How could she ever have peace of mind every time he had to go on a trip?

  She couldn’t. It didn’t even matter if he was cheating or not. He’d lied about where he was going. Why?

  Unless he had a perfectly good answer, she was done.

  Emma grabbed her ringing phone from her bedside table and exhaled with disappointment. She’d hoped it was Bryce. She’d been waiting for hours for him to respond to her text to call her urgently. But it was from a private number, so it was probably her dad or Myra.

  “Hello?”

  “Em, it’s me.”

  “Bryce! I didn’t think it was you. It said Unknown.”

  “Yeah. My phone ran out of battery so I borrowed a colleague’s phone. How are you?”

  Emma’s eyes narrowed. Whose phone was he using? Who’d let him borrow a phone at ten-thirty at night? “I’m fine. What are you doing?”

  “Still working. But I thought I’d give you a call.”

  “How’s Auckland?” she asked casually.

  “Good, but very busy, like I said. Are you okay?”

  “No. Are you cheating on me, Bryce?” She shut her eyes as she waited for his answer.

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “What are you doing in Auckland?”

  “I don’t understand your question. You know I’m working.”

  Emma shook her head. “Please. Please. Stop lying. I know you’re in Manila.”

  Silence.

  “How did you know?” Bryce said in a low voice.

  “What are you doing there?” she asked coldly, anger holding the tears at bay.

  “How did you know I was here, Emma?” Bryce asked insistently.

  A sob escaped her. What, he didn’t even have the decency to sound guilty?

  “Babe, how did you know?” Bryce said in a much softer tone.

  “Don’t you dare call me that again,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m not your babe anymore. I’m no longer your anything.”

  “Emma…”

  “Why did you lie to me?”

  “It was a last minute decision by my client to send me to Manila. They have a branch here too that’s affected by the main problem.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? How hard is it to send a quick text, even?”

  Bryce let out a harsh exhale. “I’m really sorry.”

  “How can I keep trusting you, Bryce? How do I know I’m not being taken for a ride over and over?”

  “It’s all work,” Bryce said pleadingly. “I couldn’t tell you.”

  “Why not? What do you think I’ll do with the information?”

  Bryce didn’t answer.

  Tears cascaded down her cheeks. Even though Bryce had never uttered those three little words, she’d truly believed he was in love with her. Clearly, she’d been wrong. How could someone love a person and yet lie to them like Bryce had? He hadn’t even wanted to admit to his deception until she’d confronted him.

  “Emma, I’m so sorry. But please tell me how you knew I went to Manila instead.”

  She exploded. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Bryce. Is that all you’re worrying about right now? How I found out you’re a big liar? Kallan saw you at the airport, okay? He saw you take a flight to Manila, not Auckland. I wish I’d never met you!”

  She hung up and threw her phone on the table. And her living room filled with the sounds of her sobs.

  Chapter 19

  Bryce stared at Ernie’s phone, his eyes smarting. He wanted to call Emma straight back and try to explain himself somehow. He’d been so taken aback by her confrontation that he’d simply been unprepared to answer.

  What was he going to say to her, though? Addison had not given him a chance to call anyone by ordering Ernie to sequester his phone. The bastards hadn’t even told him he was going to Manila, not Auckland, until he’d met Ernie at the airport. It was all part of his “initiation”.

  Luckily, Addison appeared to be happy with his performance in Manila. Bryce had called out a supplier there who’d tried to dump low quality drugs on them. He’d been uncompromising on behalf of the Fixers, to Addison’s immense satisfaction. But even after that, he hadn’t been handed his old phone back. Ernie had said he hadn’t gotten Addison’s confirmation yet, but had agreed to lend him his device to call Emma. The guy knew how important Bryce’s relationship with Emma was to the Fixers’ operation.

  He’d flown back to Sydney an hour ago and Ernie had driven them to a warehouse not far from the airport. Unfortunately, he’d happened to be the first to exit the plane and Ernie had whisked him away so fast that he worried the IR agents shadowing him might have lost him. He could be on his own. The IRs might not know where he was.

  He and Ernie were to receive several drug shipments arriving in an hour. They were to ensure the Fixers got what they’d paid for, and to hide drug parcels in a secret underground basement accessible by an impossible to spot trap door that blended so perfectly with the tiled flooring.

  Bryce was standing in that windowless, air-conditioned basement right now. It was the size of a big bedroom and was sparsely furnished, with just a round table in a corner with six chairs around it. There was a locked door at the far end, though. Bryce guessed that was where valuable stuff was hidden.

  They were expecting at least forty crates to arrive today. Only a small percentage of the content would be drugs, but they’d still be worth millions. Bryce and Ernie had to retrieve the valuable packages from the shipment and lock them in this basement.

  Bryce was relieved he’d been well and truly accepted as a Fixer now. He wouldn’t have been given this particular job if Addison still had doubts about him.

  But his excitement at these promising developments had evaporated. While Addison’s trust in him had solidified, Emma’s had crushed to a pulp. She was so upset and hurt. Could he ever make it up to her?

  Time was his enemy. He couldn’t go and explain himself until Jester had been unmasked and neutralised—unless he gave her more lies, which he didn’t want to do. What would be the point when it would just lead to Emma hating him even more down the track?

  “Oy, what’s your problem?” Ernie called from above.

  Bryce looked up at the top of the ladder. “Nothing.”

  Ernie stared at him. “Don’t tell me your conscience is attacking you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You look guilty.”

  He snickered. “I’m not guilty.”

  Ernie continued to scrutinise him.

  Fuck, he couldn’t let this idiot start to doubt him. Not now, when he’d been making big progress with his infiltration. “I’m not guilty, I’m sad. Emma just broke up with me over the phone.”

  Ernie’s brows lifted. “Why?”

  “She found out I went to Manila instead of Auckland. She thought I lied to her. And she probably thinks I was chea
ting on her too.” His heart twisted.

  “How did she find that out?”

  “Apparently, Kallan saw me board the plane to Manila.”

  “And he told Emma?”

  “Obviously—the bastard. Why would he do that?”

  Ernie let out a tsk. “Addison asked Kallan to pick up Myra, Jill and Roger from the airport that afternoon. He must have decided to get there a lot earlier. Anyway, you shouldn’t worry. Very soon you’d be able to tell Emma what really happened. Addison will back you up. He likes you for his daughter. So snap out of your broken heart and get your ass up here. We need to move a few things.” Ernie gestured for him to come up urgently before walking away.

  Bryce rubbed his face with both hands.

  Emma.

  He wanted to cry to alleviate the tightness in his chest, but this wasn’t the time and place to deal with his grief. His job was far from done. Jester was getting closer and closer to breaching the Indie Rebels’ systems, and Emma was still in grave danger of falling into the Fixers.

  What if he couldn’t stop her from being roped into her father’s syndicate? She might refuse to believe that her closest family members belonged to a criminal gang headed by her dad. And when she discovered the truth, it would be too late for her. She wouldn’t be allowed to leave.

  He filled his lungs with air. When the IRs finally found Jester, could he walk away from Emma, knowing she’d be a prisoner of her own family? What if, even if he had the chance to whisk her away to safety, she refused because of Jill?

  “Bryce!” Ernie yelled.

  “Coming!”

  He shook his head to clear it. All his mind could seem to do right now was ask questions to which he had no satisfactory answers. One thing he was sure about, though, was that every second that passed without him knocking on Emma’s door to beg for a second chance was another nail in the coffin of their relationship.

  He should have told her he loved her. Damn it, he shouldn’t have waited. Now he’d lost his chance.

  “Bryce!”

  He climbed the ladder, reminding himself he had an important role to play. He couldn’t afford to stuff up, for the IR’s sake.

  Another man was walking in just as Bryce was coming out of the basement. What the hell was Kallan doing here?

  He narrowed his eyes at the man. “Kallan! I want to have a word with you.”

  Kallan and Ernie laughed out loud.

  “Bryce thinks you told Emma he went to Manila instead of Auckland,” Ernie said to the new arrival.

  “What business do you have telling Emma anything?” Bryce demanded. “Aren’t we supposed to keep our mouths shut about any aspect of the operation?”

  Kallan frowned, walking past him to open the trap door down to the basement.

  Rude bastard. What the fuck was the matter with him? “Kallan. Can we talk?”

  “What did Emma tell you?” Kallan asked.

  He huffed. “That you saw me at the airport boarding a flight to Manila instead of Auckland. Of course I told her I was going to Auckland. That’s what Addison said originally. I didn’t know I was going to Manila until I met Ernie at the airport.”

  “What the hell was Kallan doing in the airport that early?” the newcomer said.

  Bryce paused. This wasn’t Kallan. And he’d thought the man simply had had a haircut. “Kerrod?”

  Kerrod nodded. “What’s his level?” he asked Ernie, indicating Bryce.

  Ernie shrugged. “Addison trusts him. But I don’t know if we can tell him about Project J yet.”

  “What’s Project J?” Bryce asked. He wasn’t at all surprised that Kerrod was a Fixer too. This was Sharryn’s fiancé, and Sharryn appeared high up within the syndicate.

  “Yeah,” Kerrod agreed. “Sorry, Bryce. No more questions. Good to meet you, by the way. Sharryn thinks you’re okay.”

  He smiled. “Good to meet you too. So what are you doing here?”

  “No more questions, remember?” Kerrod climbed down the ladder.

  “Hey,” Ernie called out to Bryce. “We need to make room for the new crates.”

  Bryce helped Ernie move empty wooden boxes onto the back of a truck. “Kerrod’s going into that locked room, right? What’s in there?”

  “Just computers and stuff. He’ll be down there for a while.”

  Bryce’s heart jumped. He kept his expression neutral. “You mean he’s doing work down there? In that windowless place? How suffocating.”

  Ernie chuckled. “I don’t know how he does it either. But, yeah, he can stay down there for hours. Mind you, he’s got a TV and bar fridge inside.”

  “Must be some important task he’s doing.”

  “Very. But Addison’s getting impatient, so Kerrod’s feeling the pressure.”

  “Does he have a deadline?”

  “Weeks ago. But I believe he’s getting closer.”

  “Project J, huh? I wonder what that means.”

  “Ask Addison. We don’t wanna get in trouble.”

  Bryce nodded. Project Jester. He had a strong feeling he’d finally found the man he was looking for.

  He had to get this intel to the IRs as fast as he could. Then, he might still have a chance to save Emma from the point of no return with the Fixers—and win back her heart.

  “Addison!” Ernie said. “What are you doing here?”

  Bryce whirled around in surprise, and his breath hitched.

  Something was wrong.

  Addison was marching towards him with a murderous look on his face.

  Chapter 20

  Emma groaned as she noticed her phone vibrate. That had to be Myra again. She’d tried to call a few times.

  She appreciated her future stepmother’s concern, But Emma just wanted some time alone to process things. She checked her phone screen anyway to ensure it wasn’t from someone else.

  Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open at the text she’d received.

  Hi Emma! It’s Holly Stirling. Just wanted you to know that Jax and I will be having dinner at your restaurant on Tuesday at 7. We’ll be in one of the private rooms. Hope you can pop in and say hello. You’ll be on duty then, right?

  No way! She couldn’t believe Holly Stirling had just sent her a message.

  She’d had a great time with Holly and the rest of Bryce’s friends during Eve’s birthday party. They’d been so warm and welcoming, and they’d made her feel like she was already one of the gang. She’d love to say hello to Holly and Jaxon, but…

  She’d broken up with Bryce. Did they know?

  Her eyes filled once again. Damn this. She’d been crying on and off for an hour. She was so tired and achy.

  In any case, she had to respond to Holly. And she’d just be blunt.

  Hi Holly. So nice to hear from you. Yes, I’ll try to say hello to you and Jaxon on Tuesday night. By the way, I’m not sure if you already know, but Bryce and I just broke up.

  She sent it before she changed her mind.

  Five seconds later, her phone rang. Her hand went to her mouth. She couldn’t believe this. Holly was calling her.

  Well, she couldn’t not answer it. “Hello.”

  “Hey, Emma,” Holly said sympathetically. “I’m so sorry to read your text. What happened?”

  “Um… I think you should ask Bryce.” She didn’t think it was her place to tell Bryce’s friend what a liar Bryce was.

  “How are you?”

  “Like crap, to be honest.”

  “Oh, Emma. Whatever happened, I hope you and Bryce get through it. Actually, I know you guys will sort it out. You’re made for each other. And I’ve never seen Bryce so happy with anyone.”

  Emma couldn’t help her sarcastic snicker. “I doubt that very much.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Bryce… He’s not… He lied to me,” she blurted.

  “He did? What happened?”

  She let out a sigh. “Holly, I really think you should talk to Bryce.”

  “I want to hear your side
of the story.”

  Emma felt her resistance melt at Holly’s declaration. So she gave in, telling Holly every detail she could remember.

  “Oh, Emma,” Holly said in dismay. “I’m sure Bryce was telling the truth.”

  “How do you know?” She sniffed.

  “Because I know about that particular client. I was the one who introduced them to Bryce. And the CEO is so anal about security he drives everyone mad. I’m guessing Bryce was forced to lie to you. If the current matter is concerning enough, I bet the CEO gave everyone involved a directive on what they can reveal. You see, for this particular company, rumours that they’re having issues with their security can have a negative effect on their business. It was probably a tactical thing to say the problem is with their Auckland branch, even though in reality, it’s the Manila branch having issues.”

  Emma’s heart pounded hard. She was stunned.

  “Emma, has Bryce told you how he feels about you?”

  “No,” she said in a small voice. “Has he told you guys?”

  “No. But he doesn’t have to. We can tell. What can you tell from his actions—apart from this…misunderstanding?”

  Emotions rose up Emma’s throat, and tears escaped her eyes once again. “I thought he loved me. But how do I know for sure?”

  “Sometimes,” Holly said in a soft tone, “we get so used to listening to our hurts that the good parts we experience get drowned out by our fears of experiencing more pain. I think, deep in your heart, you really know the answer.”

  Emma sniffed again. Was it really that simple? Could she have overreacted? Had she been unfair to Bryce? “Maybe I’ll call him. Give him another chance to explain.”

  “Great. And if he doesn’t pick up, don’t worry. Trust me when I say he’s working on a very difficult and very complicated project.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Say hello to me and Jax on Tuesday, okay?”

  “I will. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”