Rulers of Deception (28 page)

His cell phone went off in his pocket. He didn’t recognize the number and was tempted to not answer, but his curiosity won.

“Yeah?”

“
Heya boss. How’s it goin’?
”

Wyatt grimaced. “I thought I told you not to contact me anymore?”

He heard Jimmy chuckle on the other line. “
I know, I know. But hey, I caught wind of what happened to your old lady. I’m real sorry, Wyatt. It’s a shame what some assholes will do to get with a woman.
”

“How do you know about that?” Wyatt’s gut tightened and twisted, images of Franco flashing in his mind.

“
I got eyes and ears all over this town, boss. Word gets around
.”

“Did Franco put that jackass up to this?”

“
I dunno. Makes sense though, don’t it?
” Jimmy sighed. “
I told you to be careful. He’s gonna get the Vassers first. Then he’ll come after you
.”

Thinking of the bloody message on his boat, the boat named after his wife, sent chills down Wyatt’s spine. That was the warning. The assault was the act of revenge.

“Shit,” Wyatt muttered, running a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and silently punished himself. “I let this happen to her. I couldn’t protect her from him.”

“
Don’t be so hard on yourself, boss. There wasn’t much you could do,
” Jimmy offered. “
Besides, she’s a tough gal. She’ll pull through.
”

“Until he hurts her again,” Wyatt realized, feeling defeated. “I don’t know how to stop this, Jimmy. I don’t know what to do.”

“
I know, pal. There isn’t much you can do. Franco won’t stop until it’s over.
”

Without saying goodbye, Wyatt hung up the phone and let it fall to the floor. Burying his face in his hands, he let out a frustrated groan and cursed the world.

“I can’t believe
this happened to her,” Lynette said quietly, still in shock. She perched on the edge of the sofa in her apartment with Linc beside her.

He nodded, feeling cagey and violent. Grant’s plan sounded reasonable, but it was also a few days away from implementation. Until that happy moment, he found himself drowning in rage and regret. “We’re gonna get Daniel soon. And when we do, I want to personally watch the fear fill his eyes as the cops take him away.”

“Why did he think he could get away with this?” Lynette wondered, shaking her head. “Did he think there would be no consequences?”

Linc shrugged. “He probably thought it couldn’t be proved or that she’d keep quiet, which she would have if there hadn’t been photographs. Then again, it seems he staged the entire thing just so it
could
be photographed. So I don’t really know what was going on in that sick, twisted brain of his.”

“Does he really hate us that much?”

“I know he wants to blow up our merger, but that’s just him being a selfish prick,” Linc told her. “And it was obvious he had some sort of crush on Mads, but I never thought he’d do this. It’s just so
stupid
…”

“Not to mention illegal,” Lynette added, reaching for his hand so he’d meet her eyes. “You will get justice for this. I promise. Guys like him are not smart enough to get away with it.”

“I know.” Linc squeezed her hand, accepting her comfort. “I wonder what the fuck Reed’s gonna have to say about this when he finds out.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“No, I’m gonna let the cops do that. It’ll carry more weight that way.” A vengeful gleam came over Linc’s eyes at the thought. “It really is too bad, though. Reed’s a great guy. I don’t know how he raised such an asshole for a kid.”

“It isn’t the first time that’s happened,” Lynette mused. “I just hope this doesn’t backfire on the company.”

“We’re going to keep it hushed up as much as we can. Veronica should be able to help with that.”

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and lifted it out to check the caller-ID. “Speaking of Veronica…hey man, how’s it going?”

He could hear Greg breathing heavily on the other line, as though he’d just run a marathon. “
She’s been fucking someone else. It’s fucking over. Goddamnit.
”

Concern darkened Linc’s eyes as he shot a worried look at Lynette. “Veronica did? What happened?”

“
I’m such a goddamn idiot. I should’ve known she was only with me to get to you. God Linc, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.
”

“Wait, what?” Linc shot to his feet, furious. Lynette watched him with distress from the sofa, helpless to do more than listen.

“
I went over there to take her out for dinner, and there she was. In bed with some asshole. I just turned around and left. I couldn’t even bring myself to say anything to her.
”

Linc could hear the tinge of alcohol in his friend’s voice and felt a spark of pity among the sea of rage that filled him. “What kind of information did you give her, Greg?”

“
I just don’t get it. What the hell is wrong with me?
”

“What the fuck did you tell her?” Linc shouted, unable to keep it in any longer. Lynette flinched at his outburst, but he didn’t have it in him to care. He was ready to run out the door and hunt down Veronica that second.

“
She asked me little things, stupid things. Like where Lynette usually had rehearsal and what street Grant lives on. It didn’t seem to matter then. But I guess she was just using me to pry into your lives. Get an inside perspective.
”

“Was that all you told her?” Linc settled back onto the sofa, his temper cooling.

“
Yeah, man. It’s not like I know much else, anyway. What could I have told her that she doesn’t already know?
”

Linc thought about Wyatt’s involvement with the cartel and the murder accusation against Marshall, but knew Greg had no way of knowing about either. And he couldn’t think of a reason why Veronica would send slanderous photographs of Quinn, Lynette, and Madison, though he couldn’t rule it out completely. His only option was to confront her on it personally.

“
I’m really sorry, Linc.
”

Rubbing his left temple, Linc sighed. “It’s okay. You got screwed worse than I did.”

“
I feel like an asshole.
”

“Well, you are an asshole,” Linc joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little. “Why don’t you go out to Lucille’s and hook up with some hot young blonde and forget all about Veronica?”

“
I probably should. Drinking alone sucks.
”

Linc said goodbye and hung up the phone, then stared at the device in his hands for a few moments while he collected his thoughts. Lynette hovered anxiously beside him, having only heard his side of the conversation.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, unable to wait any longer.

He let out a heavy sigh, not really knowing the answer. “Yes and no.”

“I take it Greg and Veronica aren’t together anymore?”

“Nope,” Linc replied curtly, heat in his eyes as he stared at her. “She screwed some other dude. And he came clean that she’d pressed him for information on us. Surprise, surprise.”

Lynette pursed her lips. “What a vile woman.”

“That vile woman is in a very powerful position right now,” Linc reminded her, sitting back against the sofa and cupping his hands behind his head. “She’s writing a piece on us, a piece that’s almost ready to be published. If I rock the boat now she might turn sour and ruin the entire thing. It could get really ugly.”

“You really think she’d do that?” Lynette tucked her legs under her and curled up beside him.

Linc snorted. “She’s no angel, that’s clear. Something’s off with her. I can’t seem to figure out her angle in all of this.”

“You made it sound like she admires all of you.”

“Yeah…it seems that way.” Linc lost himself in thought, plagued by the uncertainty of it all.

Lynette sighed, wishing there was more she could do to help him. Then it hit her. “You know, daddy has contacts in the press that he trusts. I can ask him to poke around and see what he can turn up on Veronica.”

Linc shifted so he could look her in the eye. “That may not be a bad idea.”

“I’ll call him right now.”

As she wandered off to call her father, Linc sat in silence, wondering if there was some big piece of this puzzle he was missing.

G
rant arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes early out of habit. He let himself be led to a high-walled booth in the far back corner, tucked away from sight. Sliding into the smooth leather seat, he began to silently run through the talking points he’d prepared.

The lights were dimmed to a seductively low level, with candles glittering to life on every table. A soft concerto played in the background, formal and well suited to the upscale Italian décor. He didn’t bother glancing at the menu, not even remotely hungry.

He carefully removed the tape recorder from his pocket, turning it on before concealing it beneath his burgundy napkin. When the waitress came by, he ordered a glass of Hennessy and waited impatiently for her to return with it. Checking his watch, he noted it was nearly time. What he had to do next wasn’t going to be as easy as it was necessary.

Daniel arrived just as the waitress dropped off the cognac, dressed in his usual prim business suit. She took his order of a dirty martini and left him alone with Grant.

“I’m curious why you wanted to meet with me,” Daniel greeted with a snide smile, settling into the booth and avoiding Grant’s eyes. There was no attempt by either at a handshake. “We haven’t had much to say to each other before.”

Grant watched him carefully over the rim of his cognac, his hand perfectly steady despite the desire to throttle the man in front of him. “I think you’d be surprised how much we have in common.”

“How so?”

“I understand your desire to keep the McAllister name on your hotels,” Grant explained. He kept his eyes focused on Daniel. “I know how it feels to have pride in your family name and to want the glory associated with it.”

Daniel snickered, chancing a look at Grant. “I don’t see much glory in the Vasser name. Not anymore, anyway.”

“You would be surprised what the public is willing to forgive,” Grant replied smoothly. “We are what we are. I’ve never been ashamed of it.”

The waitress delivered Daniel’s drink, which he accepted gratefully. His brows drew together as he leaned in closer to Grant. “Really? After everything your grandfather did you don’t feel the least bit ashamed?”

“No. We all have our vices and our methods.” Grant toyed with his snifter of cognac, letting the amber liquid catch the light. He seemed thoughtful as he downed the last of it and set it aside. “Cyrus was a ruthless man. He never let anything get in the way of what he wanted.”