So, we've seen Ash set her plan in motion. Now it's time to slink with the Lion as he secures his pride and stalks his prey...
The song is Heathens...because...Dev and Leed. I think I'm gonna love this pair committing high crimes together!
Leed
When I can breathe again, I pick myself up off the airport floor, tuck my feelings back behind the ferocious anger still roaring through me, drink two more shots of tequila in the VIP lounge so I don't punch a pap on the way out of the airport, and then I head toward the Valet in the VIP terminal. It's time to go to work, like fucking Riley.
I call the private investigator and demand a report on everything he can find on Varrick Von within thirty minutes.
My next call is to Adam. When he answers with a casual "'Ay man, how was Costa Rica?" I launch straight into business.
"Nevermind that. Our security is compromised. Sentinel is owned by a man that hurt Ashlynn. Stick with your Nashville security firm when you guys make your way out here for rehearsals in a few days. Do NOT leave your family in the hands of any Sentinel employees, not even John Rourke. Not until I figure out how blind his loyalty is to his boss."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Adam says.
"Varrick Von. He bought Sentinel Security last year. He was Ashlynn's...Dom, after she left Trace. That's what he convinced her of, anyway. He constantly abused her. She broke with him, and he chased her around the countryâshe was running from him, not from Trace that whole time. When he caught up to her, and she refused to come back to him, he went full on psycho and carved her up with knife. She has...bad scars and worse trauma. She would never tell me who he was. I just found out today.That's not all. Adam...I'm pretty sure he bought Sentinel right around the time I started visiting Ashlynn at rehab. I don't think it's a coincidence. Not only that...his former college sweetheart went missing twenty years ago. Never found. She looks just like Ashlynn. I think...I think Von killed her."
"Sweet Jesus." After a short pause. "What are you gonna do?"
"What the fuck do you think I'm gonna do, Adam?"
"Hey, hey, hey...be cool. Beating on the dude might be satisfying but that's not the way. He should go to jail, man."
"She won't go to the police. He's threatening to release video of their...scenes. He sent her one today...I...fuck...Adam...it was...rough. I don't know if Ashlynn can take being exposed like that. Kat, her family...seeing it...it might..."
"Give her a real need not to feel," he says grimly. "Send her back to oblivion."
"Yeah."
"Fuck."
Silence.
"Leed? You can't go crazy on this guy, you know that, right? I don't fault you at all for what you did to Cain Gannon in the heat of the momentâI would have done the exact same if I had walked in on him hurting Mac. But if you lose your mind on this guy now, after all this time...that's not the same. Defense is a man's duty, but vengeance is not man's arena. Leave Von to the courts and to God's justice."
I don't care to hear what Preacher has to say about that. My course is set and he can't sway me. I called for a much different piece of advice.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," I blow him off. "Adam...that's not what I'm trying to figure out right now. I gotta bigger problem. It's not just John who's loyalty has to be proven."
"Shit. Ben."
âââââââââââââ
I can't make everything happen at once. That's the problem. If I tell Tam what I know, she will tell Ben, and that might tip Von off.
I don't believe Ben is party to any shady shit, but he's loyal as fuck and I might have a hard time convincing him that Von is what I say he is. If I end up losing my head and doing something stupid, Ben might not take the proper precautions against Von. It might leave Tam and Ollie open to some kind of retaliation.
In the end, I do the only thing Adam and I came up with.
I play the Baby Daddy card.
I call Tam. She answers with her normal tone of slight anxiety, like she never knows how its gonna be between us. She asks how Costa Rica was.
"Well, the last part was a fucking disaster," I confess, and the turmoil in my voice is real. "Ash and I broke up. She left town already."
"Oh Leed, what happened?" Tam sounds concerned, but not overly surprised.
"I'll tell you everything, okay? Will you come to the house? Just you and Ollie? I just...I need my family right now. I know it sounds crazy, but I need to know you and Ollie are...with me."
"Uhhh...yeah, we can do that. Ben went into the city today anyway...they had an in-service day at the office. Something about new procedures...and then a big company dinner tonight at Otium's."
"Listen...I think you and I should have a serious talk. Without him."
I wince. I know what it probably sounds like to her. But I can't think of any other way. I'm probably gonna burn in hell for playin' my Baby Mama like this, but I'll do anything to keep her and Ollie safeâeven lead her on.
"Leed, you're just really upset right now," she says slowly.
"Please Tammie...just give me one evening with my family...you and me and Ollie. Like it should have been."
She makes a sound like she already regretting her answer. "Okay," she says. "I'll meet you there."
"Quick, okay? I'm almost here..." Now that is just a bald-faced lieâI'm still an hour and half away in the airport waiting on my car to be pulled up from long-term VIP parkingâbut I want her there as quick as possible, before Ben gets home. I'm expecting her to hear it in my voice, but I guess I've thrown her so hard, she doesn't read the lie.
"Okay."
"Thank you," I say in relief.
She hears it in my voice nowâthe unsteadiness. "Leed? Are you sure you're okay?"
"I will be, when you and Ollie are home," I tell her.
"Leed," there's an edge of warning in her voice.
"Baby, I gotta make another call, see you and Ollie real soon."
âââââââ
I'm sliding in the seat of my vintage Porsche. My next dial is to Riley. He answers with a chipper, "Oi!"
"Varrick Von was Ashlynn's Dom. And there's more. His college girlfriend disappeared twenty years ago, presumed dead. He was a suspect but there was never any proof. And worst, he threatened Ash at the Vision party and she didn't tell me."
Riley never misses a bit. "I hear Reliant Protection does excellent work. I'll get them on the job, tailing our current Sentinel personnel, until we decide exactly how to play this."
I've already decided, but I'm not giving Riley the chance wear me down over the next couple of weeks with an argument.
"Get them over to my house right now , to secure Tam and Ollie. Somebody on Kat, too. And call that Nashville firm Adam is using and get a full detail down to the Atlanta airport to tail Ashlynn when she arrives."
"Ashlynn's gone to Atlanta, already? I thought that wasn't for a few more days."
"I hope she's gone to Atlanta," I say with a resigned sigh. "We had a fight. She won't go to the police about Von and...alot of angry shit was said...I demanded she go to to the police or else..."
"Ultimatums rarely work, Leed."
"Sometimes, they work too well," I say dryly.
"Hmmmm, I see. You intentionally maneuvered her home to Atlanta."
"She'll be surrounded by family, in a gated community, with security beyond Von's influence, doing a mostly stay-at-home job of nursing Cam. Of fucking course I sent her where she's safest. Von can't exactly snatch her from the bathroom where she's holding Dr. Can't-Handle-His-Chemo's hand."
"Mmmm...consider this: if Marcy runs a break-up story, the paps will be all over her when she does go out. Constant cameras tend to dissuade kidnappers and potential murderers."
The burn in my chest blocks my throat for a long moment, but I force the words. "Make it happen. Then you call her and show her what a real shit a rock star can be. Tell her I approved the story, and that I want an NDA for the time we spent together. Make the full security detail she'll need seems like...Trace's idea."
"NDA? That's a bit harsh, making her feel like a fangirl. Are you sure?"
I sigh heavily. "I'm sure. I need a blow big enough for her to want to stay away from meâstay away from LA. She'll be too focused on taking care of Cam to risk her sobriety, and then in a week or so..."
"He'll be better and consoling her," Riley warns.
"I know. Just fucking do it, okay?"
"Right. One more thing: did the investigator tip you off? I haven't heard from him in days."
"No, it was a cosmic forces thing. We saw a twenty year old flyer of the missing girl in Costa Rica and the truth just opened up from there."
"Hmmm. That's very...serendipitous."
"I know. It almost scares me."
"Perhaps it should, Leed. Don't do anything foolish. I'm looking at Von's Linked In right now. Ex-CIA operative. Tactical and personal combat training. Deeps ops and counter-intelligence. This guy is practically a Jason Bourne. Let me get more investigators on this before we tip our hand."
"Why? You didn't use the best in the first place?"
"PI's live a shady world. Some of the best aren't always ethical. A guy like Von is the real deal. A spider that can feel every pluck of his web, and stays one step ahead of intruders. A spider that knows how to wrap people up in his web."
"Shit," I huff in frustration. "You're saying the PI made him and he bought the guy off."
"Perhaps. Just sit tight, okay. You've got enough to worry about. You can't tell Ben your suspicions. Not yet. If Von even suspects, he may destroy evidence that could lead to a prosecution."
"I know."
"Well, how in hell are you going to keep this from him? You're a horrid liar."
"I'm not gonna lie to him," I say grimly. "I'm going red herring the fuck out of him. I'm gonna go cry on Tam's shoulder and...hope I can keep her close. It won't really be a lie to tell her I need her. I need her and Ollie safe, at my place. What if Von decides to fuck with me through her and Ben doesn't see friendly fire coming?"
"Bloody hell, Leed." Riley sighs dramatically. "I always took you for the guileless one."
"That's Adam. I'll do whatever it takes to defend my family. Even if it means temporarily closing the circle on Ben Sullivan."
"Good luck, mate."
I make a sound somewhere between resignation and horror and I hang up.
ââââââ
I run my hands through my hair at a stoplight, and I make one last call. To a person I've hardly ever called. I'll be asking a lot.
Another British voice answers, its polished accent in odd juxtaposition with his words. "What the fook do you want, Dickhead?"
"What did I do to you?" I say, mildly surprised. Last I checked, DevBlue and I were working our way to being bro's.
"Nothing, that's just the way I greet all me mates, when I'm in London-town," Dev says cheerfully. "Oi...you must be calling to thank me for that bloody fuck ton of grunt work I did with your PI that finally payed off. Blake Rockwell's place-that's where I met that poor darling of yours...you know I much prefer a good stoic bottle of Blue Magic over a gushy thank-you call..."
"I'll be sure to send a case. Listen, how's your rep right now?"
"Weak," he complains. "I've been on my P and Q's trying to court my Princess and it doesn't matter, Matt still stays on my case like a fucking barrister. And you know Mac and I are going to win a Grammy, and it might actually make dear old Dad proud, which I simply can't tolerate. It makes my palms itch to commit a little larceny, you know? Plus, my manager says if we do win, I'll be a sell-out unless I follow it up with serious controversy, and I've really got nothing up my sleeve right now. I haven't seen any good opportunities for trouble lately."
"That's because all you see is Bridge del Marco."
"Well, I'd like to be seeing a bit more of her, if you know what I mean. Her knickers are like Fort Knox."
"Hmmmm..." I really don't want to listen to a lengthy complaint about Bridge del Marco's high-tech chastity belt, or whatever threat of force Matt del Marco is using to keep Dev out of her Paradise. "Look, I need help. It's gonna take some finesse. But when you come over in a couple of weeks for the Grammy's...I have a job for you. And maybe we bring Trace in, too."
"You know Leed, it's almost insulting what you Soundcrush people think of me," Dev has reverted to lofty accent. "I've told you, I don't commit felonies on command. I have to have a bloody good reason to work someone over, and thievery has to be an act on the order of Robin-Hood. Also, it has to be...just that right kind of scrape, you know?"
"You mean the kind your Duke Daddy can pull strings and get you out of, if you get caught?"
"He's a Baron, but yes, you've got the right idea."
"Dev...this isn't a joke. I know who he is. The fucker that cut Ashlynn. And I think he killed a girl that looks just like her, twenty years ago."
"Motherbloodyfucker."
A long silence.
Finally he says, "Well, let me pour myself a G-and-T, and we'll hash it out, yeah?"