Page 128 of Riptide
"Jessica Forsythe was here," Cara said.
The reaction was immediate. Wade straightened. Reagan's arms dropped to her sides. Tom's mouth dropped open. Piper's eyes went wide.
"Here?" Tom demanded. "In the bakery? While you were alone?"
"She had a gun," Cara said. "But she didn't use it. She just wanted to talk."
"Back up." Reagan held up a hand. "Jessica Forsythe. The accountant. She was here in Haven Cove, and nobody spotted her?"
"She’s been here for days. We just didn’t catch on." Cara took a breath. "She was wearing a wig. Glasses. No makeup. She looked like..."
She watched the realization dawn on their faces, one by one. Wade got there first—his jaw tightened. “Huh.”
“Are you kidding me?” Reagan closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly.
Piper was the one who said it out loud.
"The artist. The tourist lady with the paintings." Her voice was barely a whisper. "She was in here like three times this week. Italkedto her about her brushes."
"We all walked past her," Cara said quietly. "None of us saw it."
"That was her. The whole time." Cara took a breath. "We were right about her being Blaire’s virtual assistant. She confessed to everything. Putting Thorne on Blaire’s trail, infiltrating her operation, luring her to the cliffs. The push."
"And you're just telling us now?" Piper's voice was sharp. "She could have hurt you. She could have?—"
"She didn't." Cara held up a hand. "She didn't come to hurt me. She came to explain. And to tell me the blackmail is over. For good."
She walked them through it—Jessica's six months as Blaire's assistant, the failed attempt with Thorne, the night on the cliffs. The files Jessica claimed to have destroyed, every backup, every copy. The fact that Jessica was gone now, vanished into whatever new life she'd planned.
When she finished, silence filled the basement.
"So it's done," Tom said. "Blaire's dead. Jessica's gone. The operation's finished."
“If we can believe her,” Wade added.
Reagan shot him a look. “It’s not like we have a choice.”
“True,” the big man muttered.
"And Gabe?" Reagan asked. "Does he know?"
"I called him right after she left. Told him everything." Cara paused. "Well. Almost everything."
Tom's eyes narrowed. "Almost?"
Cara met his gaze. "Jessica gave me a USB drive. Just my file—what Blaire had on me. She said she'd destroyed everything else, but she kept mine separate. Thought I deserved to see how close Blaire had gotten."
"And?" Piper leaned forward. "What did you do with it?"
"I read it. Then I deleted the file and destroyed the drive." Cara kept her voice steady.
Another silence. Heavier this time.
"Tell me you didn't share that little detail with Gabe," Reagan said.
Cara looked around at her team. "He started to ask—I could see him putting it together. But then he stopped himself. Chose not to push."
"He's protecting you," Wade said quietly. "Even from himself."
