Page 129 of Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Duet 7)
ISAAC
“No luck, Isaac.” Ransom’s disappointment echoed in my ear.
I’d spent the better part of the afternoon making calls, promising favors I feared I would one day be called on for in the hopes of finding Vernon and Thomas Hathaway.
“Something clearly spooked Daddy Dearest,” Ransom explained. “When the police got there to serve the warrant, he was gone. They searched the house, took the wife into custody, but she denies knowing anything about it.”
“They believe her?”
“If she’s not telling the truth,” Ransom said, “then she deserves a fucking award for her acting abilities.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly.” He took a deep breath. “Look—”
“No,” I snapped. “We’re not discussing it again. I’m not using him as bait.”
“I get it, Isaac, I do.”
I sat up straight, gripped the phone hard enough to shatter it. “No. You don’t get it, Bishop. You don’t have a fucking clue.”
Ransom growled. “You don’t give me nearly enough credit. I do get it.”
Not caring that I was unleashing my frustrations on a good friend, I seethed. “One day you might get lucky and fall in love, but until then, Bishop, don’t even pretend to know how I feel.”
Ransom was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, there was a restrained edge in his voice, something I’d never heard from him before. “Just because I haven’t taken a submissive doesn’t mean I don’t…”
“Don’t what?”
“Nothing. Forget it. We’ll figure it out. But Isaac, I can’t keep posting men outside your house. This is costing a fucking fortune. It doesn’t matter that it’s your fortune. I’ve got jobs to deal with, ones those men need to be assigned to. Not to mention, I need you and Ian out on one by the weekend. I can’t put it off indefinitely. We’re running out of time.”
Feeling rightfully chastised, I fell back in my chair. “I’m sorry.”
Ransom exhaled roughly. “Let’s just find a way to settle this. I’ve got a few ideas of my own, but I figured I owed you the courtesy of running it by you first. And before you tell me you’ve got some ideas, I’ve talked to Liam. He warned me of what your options are.”
“They’re still options,” I told him.
“No. That kind of debt … no. You want to spend the rest of your life waiting for the axe to fall, sure. You can call in the Irish mob, Isaac. You want to live happily ever after and not worry about Everly and Dante, you forget that shit once and for all.”
He was right. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of hearing me say so.
“I’m gonna take care of this,” Ransom said, his tone steely. “I want you and your new family to sit tight. Together. Understand?”
I could read between the lines as well as anyone else. Ransom was ordering us to be one another’s alibi.
“I understand.”
“At the house,” he clarified.
“I hear you.”
“Cameras record things,” Ransom added.
“I get it,” I huffed.
“There doesn’t have to be fireworks and drama, Isaac. It’ll be handled quietly and efficiently while you … do whatever it is the four of you do.”
“I’m not worried about what we’re doing,” I assured him. “What are you going to do?”
“Let’s put it this way, you’re not the only one with connections.”
Before I could protest, the call disconnected. I slammed my phone on my desk.
“Problem?”
I snapped my head up, stared at Ian, who’d obviously been eavesdropping from where he sat on the stairs.
“Let me guess,” Ian mused as he got to his feet and walked down the stairs. “Ransom wants us to make a sex tape.”
I choked out a laugh. “He didn’t exactly suggest that.”
Ian smirked. “Maybe not. But he certainly wouldn’t mind some time-stamped video as backup.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Fine. You don’t want to talk about it.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “I’m going to spend some time with Everly. In the library.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
His grin widened. “I was wondering if perhaps you’d want to join us.”
Admittedly, I was still getting used to this new dynamic. While we hadn’t discussed what was going on, Ian and I didn’t necessarily need to. I knew the moment he’d carried Everly into my room two nights ago that everything we’d ever thought we wanted had merely been a romanticized role-playing exercise. There was no way to map out how things would go when it came to love. Everly was our case in point.
“I’d like that,” I told him, realizing I really would. “I’ll be up shortly. Fifteen minutes?”
“We won’t wait for you,” he said with a chuckle.
He moved with purpose, calling out to Everly when he got to the top of the stairs. I listened to the rumble of voices, and when they disappeared, I made my way upstairs and headed for Dante’s room. At his request, I’d given him space, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about him.
