Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Look, I’m not here to help you work out your relationships. That’s on you, not me. I’m here to protect my family. I’m here to find out what your father’s up to and how it affects my family.”
“I’m really sorry.” She sniffles. “About the atropine and your uncle.”
“You know what? I don’t really care if you’re sorry, Brittany. You need to own what you did. And so does your father.”
“Well…” She gulps. “If I have to own what I do, then so do you. And so does your father.”
She’s not wrong. But my father knows how to take care of himself.
At least I hope he does.
I still can’t get the image of him holding a gun to another man’s head out of my mind. It’s something I’ve never seen before—something I never imagined I’d see in my lifetime.
“So you really don’t know what your father’s been up to?”
“Why would I know anything like that?”
“You work for him, Brittany. You have access to his files.”
“He doesn’t show me everything.”
“What do you know about the Fleming Corporation?”
She doesn’t reply at first, but then— “I know we get payments from them. That’s all I know.”
“How often do these payments come?”
“Quarterly,” she says.
“And what are their amounts?”
She swallows, and her face goes white.
“Brittany…”
My phone buzzes.
Jesus fuck. Really?
I pull it out of my pocket to find a text from Rory.
Hey you. Turns out I’m leaving early in the morning to go to Utah. How’s everything going in Wyoming? Love you.
How’s everything going in Wyoming? Man, is that ever a loaded question.
And now she’s leaving… Going on tour with her brother as originally planned and then not planned and then planned again.
I need to allow her this. This brief respite. She deserves it. Hell, we all do, but at least I can give it to her.
I type a quick response.
All is good here so far.
God, I hate lying to her.
You be safe on the road. I love you.
I shove my back phone into my pocket.
Brittany is wringing her hands together, her thighs trembling.
“Can you help him? Can you help my father?”
“I don’t think I can, Brittany. Not any more than you can help mine. But here’s the thing… If your father is doing what I suspect he is? He’s going away for a long time. The best way you can help him is to tell me what you know.”
“How would that help him?”
“Maybe there are mitigating circumstances. Maybe you know something I don’t. I’m sure you do, actually.”
“I’ll never betray my father.”
“Won’t you?”
“Of course not.”
I pause a moment. “Would he do the same for you?”
“Of course he would. Everything he does is for me. I was left motherless as a small child. He raised me. I owe him everything.”
“Which is why you’ve never questioned anything. Why you’ve never wondered where those large payments from Fleming Corporation come from, and what they’re for.”
“I never said they were large…” she hedges.
“I can easily find that out.”
“How exactly?”
“I have my ways.”
I can hire the best hackers in the business and find out everything I want to know. Hell, we would’ve done it before now if we had thought for a second that Doc Sheraton was truly behind this.
“It would be easier, though, for you to tell me now. Easier on you and on your father.”
“They’re high. Around ten thousand dollars.”
Okay, not a lot of help. Those may seem like high payments to Brittany, but I know for a fact that if Doc were truly engaging in anything related to human trafficking, the payments would be a lot higher.
“You look disappointed,” she says.
“No, but I just had a thought. Fleming Corporation may pay in a different manner.”
“What do you mean? Money comes to the bank.”
“Money has many forms, Brittany. Does your father ever get paid in cash?”
“Well, sure. Some of the people in Snow Creek pay with cash. Some of them pay him in fresh eggs, beef. You know the drill in a small town.”
“I’m not talking about his veterinary patients. I’m talking about other kinds of payments.”
“You’re asking about jewelry and stuff.”
Give the girl a gold star. And since she knew to mention jewelry, I’m betting she knows more than she’s letting on.
“Right.”
“I honestly don’t know.”
I sigh. Okay. I’ve done about all I can. Either she truly doesn’t know, or she’s a damned good liar. I’d put money on the latter, but until I can figure out a way to get more intel out of her, I need to let her rest.
“Fine. We’ll leave it at that—”
I stop talking when Doc Sheraton emerges from the hallway, my father still holding a gun to him.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
RORY
All is good here so far.
You be safe on the road. I love you.
I smile at Brock’s texts, and then I reply.
I will. Love you too.
It’s early yet, but I’m tired. I’m all packed, so it’s best to just go to sleep. I’ll have to get up early and shower if Jesse truly wants to be on the road by eight o’clock.