Page 47 of Reckless Seduction
SEVENTEEN
Her words hangheavy in the air around me.
Choking me.
Suffocating me.
Suddenly, it feels hard to breathe as denial and panic surge through me. This can’t be right.
Because he’s the one who started it.
I stare down at the file I left disregarded on the table in favor of my coffee. It sits there, taunting me, but I can’t bring myself to open it. The table is quiet. My father is no saint, but these people, thesecriminals, are accusing him of being a monster.
A trafficker.
The very men he seeks to put away. Men like the ones surrounding me. My father is nothing like these men. He can’t be.
“Open the file, Bailey.” Liam Kavanaugh’s voice brooks no argument. Gingerly, I set my coffee down on the table and slide the file toward me. With shaking fingers, I open the folder, the blatant truth staring back at me.
What journalists call a smoking gun.
Still, this can’t be what they think it is.
Dashkov didn’t pull any punches when he put this file on my father together. The first paper that rests on the top of the stack is a photo of my father at the Ward stables they blew up a few weeks ago on Mercer Island. He isn’t just admiring the horses.
“For fuck’s sake,” Seamus growls, grabbing the photo from the top, only for it to be replaced by a worse one. A strangled cry escapes me at the sight of it. “Dammit, Dashkov.” He grabs the file and sorts through the photos, pulling out the ones that clearly show my father nailing underage girls in various positions. My stomach turns, bilious and sour, bile creeping up my throat. I barely hold it back.
“Was that really necessary?” Liam raises an eyebrow at the Russian. Dashkov shrugs. “No use in sugar dusting.”
“Coating,” Liam corrects, receiving a sneer from his son-in-law. Glaring at the Russian, Seamus places the folder in front of me, sans photos. Steeling myself, I pull up the mental walls I’ve learned to erect, pushing forward with a dissociated interest.
It’s just another story I’m writing.
None of the documents makes any sense to me. There are shell corporations on top of shell corporations, mixed in with a few subsidiaries I don’t recognize. I’m not sure what they want from me. My father doesn’t involve me in his business.
“This might as well be Greek,” I admit as I scan through the documents. Fuck, there are so many. “I don’t understand what you want me to do. You have those—” I swallow back the bile in my throat. “—photos. Why don’t you just turn them in?”
Matthias scoffs. “If I wanted him to go down for fucking underage girls, I would,” he sneers. “But those charges wouldn’t hold, and we both know it. He’s got every judge in his corner. He’d be out on bail before the ink is dry on his arrest certificate.”
“I still don’t understand what you expect me to do,” I bite out. “If you think for one second that my father involves me inanything other than to be the billboard for his campaign, you’re wrong.”
“I don’t need him to tell you anything.” He smirks. “I need you to access his safe, where he stores his little black books. He’s got blackmail on almost every politician in the state and some of the local gangs.”
I snort. Very unladylike, but who cares.
“Sure,” I drawl sarcastically. “Let me just go and grab my safe-breaking kit from my little Mini Cooper, and Jason Statham and I will get right on that.”
Blank faces all around.
Shit. What a wasted line. That is such a good movie.
“We have someone who can take care of that.”
“Better be a damn good person,” I mutter. “It’s an electronic safe. Passkey protected on a local network that can’t be hacked from an outside source. It would require a direct line using a verified ID card.”
“Taken care of.” The son of a bitch sounds so matter-of-fact that it makes me want to strangle him. Problem is, I wouldn’t be able to get both of my hands around his meaty Russian neck. Does the man have any body fat to speak of?
“Oh, well, if you say so.” Kiernan’s hand tightens on my leg when I roll my eyes. One look from him tells me he doesn’t appreciate eye rolling. Even if he isn’t on the receiving end. Which means he wouldn’t appreciate me sticking my tongue out at him.
