Unbridled and Unbroken (21 page)

She hadn’t shared everything about her plight. In retrospect, she likely should have at least told them her real name. Then again, with them being friends with Zachary Barrett, it was better to straighten everything out first and then confess all to them later on.

She hoped they’d be understanding when they found out that her name wasn’t truly Veronica Greenwood.

And that she’d “borrowed” her current identity.

Chapter Eleven

Johnny watched the video surveillance of Veronica running out of the DRMC building the day after her first foray into double penetration sex and public displays of sexual activity for a third time. Clay stood over his shoulder like a mother hen about to peck him.

He knew she couldn’t have been upset about what they’d done in bed because she’d already come back for more. And she hadn’t gotten upset about Adam watching them earlier because she was currently playing a sex game with him at her house.

Relief washed down his body with the evidence that at least she wasn’t upset about anything she’d experienced between the three of them or their lifestyle from the DRMC event. He knew it.

“Okay, I give up. Why do you think she ran out of here? And why do I care.”

“I’ve done a little research since we spoke and I have a theory.”

“Do tell.”

“Unfortunately, for you, I also have some documentation to back up my thoughts and you aren’t going to like the findings.”

Johnny sighed. He didn’t want to be here. He wished he’d blown off this meeting and also the next one he had in just under an hour down the street. His focus remained on a future with Veronica and how to make it happen. He’d lost interest in any theories Clay had. “So why are you telling me if I won’t like it. Save me the pain, why don’t you?”

Clay narrowed his brows and glared. “You should know by now that’s never going to happen. And besides, this is directly related to the DRMC.”

“What? How?”

“She was running from Zachary.”

Johnny shook his head. “She didn’t run when she saw him. Hell, she thought he was a cab driver for Christ’s sake.”

“But that was before she learned his name.”

“And learning Zachary’s name made her run into the street as if she feared for her life?” Johnny rolled his eyes.

“That’s my working theory. Turns out she may have had a very good reason to run.”

“I don’t buy it. Zachary wouldn’t do anything to her.”

“In fact, he would. There’s more you don’t know.” Clay started to say something then stopped.

“Spit it out, Clay. I have somewhere else to be in half an hour. The truth is you’re probably wasting your breath. You’ll going to have a hell of a time convincing me that she’s guilty of anything.”

Clay crossed his arms. “Remember the problem we had six months ago with the sale of the land for our permanent headquarters in Colorado. We only recently resolved it. This week, in fact.”

Johnny rubbed his eyes. “Remind me. Wasn’t the problem about some money slated for the transaction went missing or was embezzled or something?”

“Yes. And she was the one who embezzled it.”

“No, she wasn’t. There’s no fucking way.” He’d had enough. He stood to leave. “If she embezzled it, she’d be in jail.”

“Okay, they couldn’t prove anything, but she was involved. She was definitely the number one suspect at the time. Then she ran. Just like she did when she discovered Zachary’s name. Then she disappeared and no one could find her."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw a report from the insurance investigators.”

Clay dropped a manila file folder on the table. Johnny opened it and found Veronica’s picture attached to the left side with a large paper clip. On the right hand side was a written statement explaining her story of blacking out during the time her key code and password was used. The story seemed familiar. Wasn’t that similar to what she’d told them regarding her past?

“She had her password and key card stolen.”

Clay shrugged. “Or she was in on it.”

Johnny shook his head. He refused to believe she did anything wrong. “She told us what happened.” He gave Clay a short version of her story.

“What if she’s lying to you?”

“She was drugged and couldn’t remember the incident a month later. They only found out after the audit.”

“So she says. They only did the audit that day when we called because our money wasn’t where it was supposed to be and her name was listed as the last person to access the account. Which was to drain all the money out of the account, by the way. The company insurance covered the transaction loss, but as things of this nature often do, it took some time. Zachary had to renegotiate the deal and we had to pay more.”

“She didn’t embezzle any money. She was horrified over the incident, you should have heard her. As a matter of fact, why don’t I call Adam and have him bring her here and she can tell you herself.”

“That would be great.”

Johnny dialed Adam’s number but it went straight to voice mail. He was probably otherwise engaged and ignoring his phone.

Lucky bastard. Maybe Johnny shouldn’t be so willing to give her up or force her to come explain herself to Clay. He needed to get her side of the story first. The whole story, and not just a vague rendering.

Johnny closed his phone. “Adam isn’t answering.”

“Where is he?”

Johnny shrugged. He refused to give information on their love life or Adam’s whereabouts.

“He’s with
her
, isn’t he?”

Johnny shrugged again. “What if he is? With news like this, I’m not inclined to disrupt them.”

Clay stood and leaned palms on the desk. “I believe you should go get her and bring her back with you pronto.”

“Well, given your lust for her blood. It’s not going to happen. I’ll talk to her first before letting you grill her.”

“I’m not going to grill her.”

“It doesn’t sound like you plan to give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s not manipulative. She just...” Johnny trailed off as facts of her life occurred to him. She was hiding out.

“Just what? Can you call her or not?”

Johnny released a long sigh. “Truthfully, I don’t have her contact information. She’s been reluctant to start a permanent relationship with two guys only in town for a rancher’s conference. I find it hard to blame her.”

“I don’t find it hard at all. I don’t think you understand the dire nature of this dilemma.”

“Explain it to me.” Johnny knew that things had worked out. The DRMC had ended up purchasing the land they wanted. What difference did it make now? “What has changed after so long?”

“I just got new information from a source I’m not willing to share. There is talk that new charges have been issued for your girlfriend. She’s wanted for fraud, embezzlement and a variety of other charges.”

“What?”

“Yeah. So now you’re harboring a fugitive.”

Johnny called Adam again. This time he left a message.

Clay says, “I can’t understand why you believe her even though she hadn’t confided her most basic personal information.”

“It’s a gut instinct. The way she talked about her past tells me that she’s embarrassed about her financial circumstances. If she had a big wad of money hidden away, why would she work for a convenience store?”

“Maybe she’s laying low until things quiet down. Once the insurance is paid off and the investigation into the matter goes cold, she can do whatever she wants.”

Johnny gave him an irritated stare. “She didn’t do it.”

“I’m not convinced.”

“Adam and I are planning a future with her.”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up on that account. There’s something else you don’t know.”

“What else?”

“She’s lying to you. Veronica Greenwood isn’t her real name. “

Johnny blinked a couple of times, but calmed his racing heart with the knowledge that she was likely hiding out under an assumed name trying to clear her name. “So she changed her name until she cleared her old one. I’d still be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt at this point.”

Clay was already shaking his head before, Johnny finished talking.

“In addition to all her other ‘alleged’ crimes, she stole the name she’s using.”

“She must have had a good reason.”

“Unfortunately, Zachary won’t agree with you. I’ve called him with the information I collected earlier. He’s checking into what our options are and if he wants to pursue any action.”

“You called Zachary?”

“Yes. He
is
our lawyer.”

“You’re only looking at one side of this whole scenario. I still say she didn’t do it.”

“Then why is she hiding out using someone else’s identity?”

“What? Someone else’s identity? I thought you said she just had a fake name.”

“No. She stole Veronica Greenwood’s identity to hide from prosecution. The real Veronica Greenwood is out of the country doing charity work. Which in my book makes your girlfriend look very guilty.”

“What happened to the money? Why would she hide out as a convenience clerk if she had access to lots of money?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps she has an accomplice.”

“That’s absurd.”

“Is it? And you know this because you know her so well and she’s confided all her personal information to you.”

“Screw you. Sometimes you have to go with your gut.”

Clay gave him a sardonic look. “I don’t believe it’s your
gut
doing the talking.”

* * * *

Adam left Veronica sleeping only long enough to procure a piece of paper and pen from her desk to leave a note of gratitude for when she woke. He headed to an evening conference event in a fog of satisfaction. Being with Veronica was fast becoming his favorite pastime.

Barely noticing his surroundings after leaving Veronica, he found himself in the hotel coffee shop before it occurred to him to check his phone messages.

Shit
. He’d never done that before. Veronica made him stupid in love. He grinned and decided quickly that there wasn’t anything wrong with that.

He sipped his coffee and accessed the list of messages. The first couple were from fellow conference attendees and one from Clay with a simple terse, "Call me as soon as you get this." Adam rolled his eyes but then there were four messages in a row spaced about two minutes apart and in increasing tones of urgency from Johnny. The snippets of news he imparted in each message got worse with each call.

His good mood, now gone to hell, Adam wanted to punch a wall in frustration. He and Johnny were both in love with Veronica. The afternoon spent together further convinced him she should be a part of their permanent future. She couldn’t have deceived them so thoroughly.

Each of Johnny’s messages sounded not only more urgent in tone, but more and more disheartened Adam vowed to get someone on their side. Clay wasn’t the only one with investigative contacts. Before he called Johnny back, Adam brought up a list of business contacts and scrolled through, searching for someone that would be able to help.