The Assistant's Secret

by Emerald O'Brien

  “I should have been honest with you.” Tackman wraps his hands over my arms. “I’m sorry.”

  “No.” I shake my head, the guilt stopping me from enjoying this moment. “I wouldn’t have understood. I still don’t. The man in the tarp?”

  “Cami’s husband,” he says. “He was a drug dealer from New Gilford, Ari, and he was moving drugs into Copperfield County. I intercepted a load and took them too.” He tilts his head to the side, behind him. I peer over his shoulder at them, but Tackman moves in my line of vision and waits until I’m looking him in the eye to continue.

  “Ari came looking for them, like I knew he would. I told him if he stays out of Copperfield County, he could have them back, but I was keeping his stash. That wasn’t going to work for him, so I had the cameras installed, and he came the day you came to apologize. We saw him coming, and I was ready for him. That night, that’s who you saw in the tarp.”

  Protector of Copperfield and the people here. He had a choice, but nothing could have protected more people than the decision he made.

  I shake my head. “They have the same tattoos?”

  “A lot of them. They’re a gang.”

  “How does Cami factor into this?”

  “She was my brother’s girlfriend, became like part of the family, and she met Ari through him. After Nico died, she got together with Ari, got married, and I came to find out he abused her the whole time. She’s an addict too, and she doesn’t want help. She doesn’t understand, but when Ari went missing, she knew I was part of it somehow.”

  “You didn’t tell her.”

  He shakes his head. “She won’t understand. She still wouldn’t think that man deserved to be buried in the dirt. All she needed to know was that he wasn’t going to come back and hurt her anymore. When someone finds their bodies, she’ll know, and she knows I’ll be here for her if she needs me.”

  I nod, my gaze falling to his chest. I wouldn’t have either.

  “Do you know that now?” he asks me.

  I stare up into his eyes.

  He risked their lives for me and saved me. I can’t lie to him about why this happened, but it’ll hurt him so bad.

  “What?” he whispers with a little smile and frowns. “You’re going to be okay. I’m taking you to the hospital myself right now.”

  I lick my lips and swallow, the pain in my neck biting, threatening me if I tell him, expose myself, I’ll risk everything.

  But when I told Maggie I was safe, I meant it. I feel it with him.

  “I let him go.” I stare into his eyes. “It was a mistake. I thought he needed help.”

  He frowns and leans back, letting his hands drop from my arms as Danes walks back into the foyer and a car’s tires squeak to a stop outside.

  “It’s Carver,” Danes says. “Be right back.”

  I keep staring into Tackman’s eyes, but understanding seems to flash across his gaze as he processes my confession.

  “I heard you with Danes in the study. I heard you say you were going to kill him.”

  Tackman runs his fingers through his beard, his eyes turning dark. I press my back against the cold wall behind me as he leans down, his nose almost touching mine.

  “I know.” He holds something white beside our faces.

  I turn, my neck throbbing, and come face to face with the white keycard. I turn back to him with confusion.

  “It was in your purse,” he says, his hot breath on my face.

  Fear fills me as I realize he grabbed my purse for me, for the phone, and must have found it in there.

  He knows I betrayed him.

  “Now what?” I press his shirt into my wound, volume edging back into my voice to accompany my fear. “What are you going to do?”

  He wraps his arm around my side and heaves me up, leaving me breathless as he wraps his other arm under my legs, hooking it behind my knees. I wrap one arm around his neck, keeping the other with his shirt pressed against my neck. He carries me through the foyer, out the front door, and into the fog where Danes and Carver stand by one of the black trucks.

  “She okay?” Carver nods to me.

  “Better than okay.” Tackman carries me down the driveway, past them. “You know where to leave them.”

  “We got this, Boss,” Danes says, and they walk back up to the house together.

  Tackman stops at his red Camaro and eases me down by the passenger side door. I catch my footing, and he keeps one arm around me, staring down into my eyes, drinking me in.

  “Do you forgive me because I told the truth?” I stare up at him, searching his eyes for my answer, but I can’t read him.

  “Who says I forgive you?” A hint of a smile emerges beneath his mustache. “It was a big mistake.”

  “It was a big mistake,” I whisper and nod. “Who says I’m sorry?”

  His eyes light up, and he leans down toward me, holding me tighter. I close my eyes, and as our lips meet, the hum of danger lingering between us melts into one.

  Don’t miss the rest of

  the LOCKE INDUSTRIES series!

  If you enjoyed The Assistant’s Secret and are dying to learn more about the insidious Locke Industries, I’m thrilled to tell you about The Nanny’s Secret by Kiersten Modglin.

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  Acknowledgments

  To my co-writer, beta reader, collaborator, and friend, Kiersten Modglin, thank you for igniting the spark that started the fire for this series. The exciting idea of creating this world together brought my focus back to writing for the first time since the pandemic began. I’m grateful for your friendship and this supportive, motivational, challenging, and beautiful experience together.

  Thank you to my formatter and cover designer, Tadpole Designs, for the exceptional visual components of this novel. To Krista at Mountains Wanted Publishing, I am grateful for your professional editing services and the extra support you’ve given me through these years.

  Thank you to my colleagues in the book community for your support, encouragement, and sharing your knowledge with me. I’m proud to call you my friends.

  For the continued support of my family and friends, I am forever grateful, and I love you all. Each and every person in my life who has supported me and my writing career hold a special place in my heart.

  Thank you to my true-blue readers, newsletter subscribers, and my reader group on Facebook for sticking with me and for your company on this journey.

  Don’t miss these suspenseful and unpredictable reads by Emerald O’Brien

  The Knox and Sheppard Mysteries

  The Girls Across the Bay (Book One)

  Wrong Angle (Book One Point Five)

  The Secrets They Keep (Book Two)

  The Lies You Told (Book Three)

  The One Who Watches (Book Four)

  The Avery Hart Trilogy

  Lies Come True (Book One)

  Bare Your Bones (Book Two)
<
br />   Every Last Mark (Book Three)

  The Complete Avery Hart Trilogy

  Standalones

  What She Found

  Closer

  All the Dark Corners

  To view the complete list of books and purchase links, please visit: http://www.emeraldobrien.com/books

  About the Author

  Emerald O'Brien was born and raised just east of Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from her Television Broadcasting and Communications Media program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario.

  As the author of unpredictable stories packed with suspense, Emerald enjoys connecting with her readers who are passionate about joining characters as they solve mysteries and take exciting adventures between the pages of great books.

  When she is not reading or writing, Emerald can be found with family and friends. Watching movies while cuddling with her two beagles is one of her favourite ways to spend an evening at home.

  To find out more, visit Emerald on her website: http://emeraldobrien.com

  If you enjoyed Emerald’s work, please share your experience by leaving a review where you purchased the story.

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