Without another word, Alethea and Marc headed out of the office together. “Come on, I know where we need to start.”
Alethea fell into step beside him. “Where?”
“We need to talk to Stephan.”
Oh really? As they headed down in the elevator to the parking garage, Alethea asked, “What happened to that idea being explosive and there being other, better ways, to deal with this?”
“This is different.”
“Really? How?” Because now it’s your idea?
“We’ll be talking to him together.”
Together.
A word that was every bit as terrifying as it was meant to be reassuring.
As the elevator stopped and opened out onto the parking garage, Mark held his arm in front of the door and motioned for her to step out. “Ask him what you had planned to. Let’s see what his answers reveal.”
Somewhat bemused, Alethea stepped into the garage. Marc fell into step beside her. “And what are you going to do?” she asked as they reached his car.
He opened the passenger door for her. “Make sure he doesn’t kill you.”
See what sex gains you? No threatened truck ride for me today.
Alethea shook her head. Now is not the time for quirky inner dialogue. Focus. She slid into the passenger seat and watched Marc quickly cross in front of the car, open the door, and join her. They were out of the bunker and still together.
Well, sort of together.
Once again, an outside force postponed what she knew was coming: the awkward promise to call that neither of them would follow through with. Last night hadn’t changed the fact that they had no business being together.
Her phone rang. It was Abby.
Abby?
Had Lil tried to call her all night because something had happened to her? Oh, God, my best friend is dead and I was too busy screwing Mr. “I’m Back in My Suit So I’m All Business” to answer my phone.
No, wait. If Lil was dead, Jake would know.
Breathe.
She swiped her phone to answer. Marc looked at her for confirmation that they could pull out. Alethea waved for him to go and mouthed, “It’s probably nothing.”
“Abby,” Alethea said in a tone she hoped sounded welcoming.
“Alethea, I wasn’t sure you’d answer a call from me.”
I live my life on the edge. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Lil said you’re not answering hers.”
Alethea looked across at Marc and said, “I lost my phone for part of yesterday, but I have it now.”
“I’ve been there. There’s nothing worse than losing your phone.”
As they left the garage, the bright daylight blinded Alethea momentarily. If you only knew where I’m headed. “Yeah, nothing.”
They were awkwardly, uncomfortably silent for a few minutes, and then Abby said, “I’m calling to invite you to my house for tea tomorrow afternoon.”
“Tea?” Alethea choked on the word in surprise.
“Yes. Listen, I’m just going to be blunt here. Lil told me about the fight the two of you had and even about your latest—let’s call it—concerns with someone we both know would never do what you think he did.”
With an impatient sigh, Alethea was instantly defensive. “I never said he did it. In fact—”
Marc laid a hand on hers. She met his eyes. With a shake of his head and a slicing motion of his hand near his neck, he told her to keep her next words to herself.
Maybe he’s right. Involving Abby could blow their chance to confront Stephan alone. Gritting her teeth, Alethea said, “I don’t see how tea with you would help this particular situation, Abby.”
“It won’t be just me, Alethea. I’ve invited Marie, Nicole, and Lil. Let’s talk this out and put it behind us.”
Oh, hell no.
“Wow, tempting,” Alethea said slowly. “Still, I have to decline. My schedule right now is . . . hectic.”
“This is important, Alethea. You’re the one who always says that your friendship with Lil is a priority to you. Show her you mean it. Come for tea tomorrow. I promised her I would be in your corner, and I will be. But you have to want to make this work, too. I can’t fix this for you. And unless we all find a way to get along, I can’t see things getting better. I, for one, am ready to forgive and start fresh.”
Alethea held up the phone and, with her hands wrapped around it, made a motion like she was strangling it. Saint Abby is ready to start fresh? And what? Forgive me—for which crimes exactly?
“So, will you come tomorrow around two?”
“Sounds wonderful,” Alethea said. And highly unlikely to ever happen since by then, there was a chance that Dominic and Abby would be frantically trying to bury a body. “See you then.”
When she hung up, Alethea directed some heated expletives at the dark screen. “Who the hell does she think she is? ‘Come for tea.’ ‘Let’s fix this.’ I don’t need her approval or her help. I’m not even sure I need Lil anymore.”
Marc pulled the car over to the sidewalk. “Then walk away. Get out, call a taxi, and fly off to some international job. Why meet with Stephan and remain involved if you have no investment in the outcome of the situation?”
Alethea spun in her seat and snarled, “I should. They never thank me. They treat me like I’ve wronged them in some way when all I’ve ever tried to do was be a good friend to Lil.”
“And keep her safe.” Marc said softly.
“Exactly,” Alethea said.
“And to be safe, she shouldn’t trust anyone you don’t. She shouldn’t let others close enough to hurt her.”
“You’re twisting this around.” She reached to unbuckle her seat belt, but he blocked the move by grabbing her hand. “The last thing I need is for you starting to judge me.”
“Hey,” he said, “I’m on your side.”
“Really?” she growled. “It doesn’t sound that way.”
“You love Lil. For whatever reason, she has become your family. You’re close to losing her over this and it scares you. If you want to be alone, really alone, then go. I won’t try to stop you. But it’s a choice you’re making, not something Abby is doing to you. If you can walk away and watch this family implode from a distance, then Abby is right—you don’t deserve to be part of it.”
Alethea glared at him. “You’re probably the only person in the world who could make staying involved and risking my life sound like the right thing to do.”
“Because it is. They need you.”
“And if I’m wrong? If this all blows up in my face and we discover that Stephan is a sociopath who wasn’t smart enough to take Dominic down when he had his best opportunity?”
“Then you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go have some fucking tea, because your friend Lil is going to need you even more when her sister loses control of the husband she thinks she has tamed.”
“I really do hate you,” Alethea said, but a corner of her mouth curled in a suggestion of a smile.
He pulled back into traffic. “I don’t mind that,” he said. “It makes me imagine all the ways I could win you over again, slowly—all night, if that’s what it takes.” He shifted in his seat and smiled at her. “Don’t distract me. We have to stay focused.” He put his hand on her thigh and gave it a sensual caress. “At least until tonight.”
Tonight? One last booty call for the road? She put her hand on his to stop its progress. “I’m going with you to talk to Stephan and then I’m going home, alone. As in, not with you. Last night was great, but it’s over. Now get your hand off me before I break it.”
With a quick move that took her by surprise, he turned his hand and laced his fingers with hers. “I love it when you talk tough, but save it for tonight. We really do have to focus.”
She looked down at their linked hands in confusion. It was over, wasn’t it? He didn’t mean what he said about not going anywhere, did he? “What are we doing?”
He raised her hand to his lips an
d kissed it. “Who the hell knows, but it feels good, doesn’t it?”
She had to agree he was right.
Well, agree silently, in her head.
She wasn’t ready to give him that.
Not yet.
Chapter Thirteen
Walking into Stephan’s office building was an entirely different experience for Alethea with Marc at her side. He called up to Stephan and was waved on by the security at the entrance. Alethea didn’t bother to hide her irritation as they rode up in the elevator. “Of course he has time for you.”
With a flash of a smile, Marc said, “Temper, temper. When all this is done, we’ll see about getting you off the naughty list.” A teasing light danced in his eyes.
She was about to tell him where he could shove his offer, but the elevator door opened and then all that mattered was confronting Stephan. Without looking at Marc, Alethea said, “Let me do the talking.”
Marc put a hand on her lower back and spoke softly into her ear. “I had every intention of doing just that.”
She looked up at him quickly in surprise. “Really?”
A hint of a smile pulled at one side of his otherwise firmly set mouth. “Absolutely. There is no one better than you when it comes to pushing someone’s buttons, and the angrier he gets the more likely he is to have an honest response.”
We’ll have to talk about your backhanded compliments later. Alethea frowned. “Not funny.”
“Because it’s true,” Marc answered, his expression purposefully blank, but she saw the hint of humor in the line that appeared near one of his eyes as he fought back what she would have bet her life was a smile.
They didn’t need to announce their arrival to the secretary since Stephan was standing at his office door. “Come on in.” His eyebrows shot up when he recognized Alethea. “I have about fifteen minutes before my next meeting. What brings you two here?”
Marc stepped forward and shook Stephan’s hand. “Thank you for seeing us with so little notice.”
“Anytime, Marc. You know that.” He looked at Alethea with a less friendly expression. “You’re keeping interesting company lately, though.”
Alethea held out her hand to Stephan and didn’t lower it even when he didn’t immediately move to shake it. “I almost came to see you yesterday, but things didn’t work out.”
Stephan met her eyes, acknowledging that he was aware of what had happened, and shook her hand for no other reason than that she refused to lower it. Their touch was brief. He turned and led them into his office, telling his secretary to hold his calls.
He sat at his large glass desk, leaned forward on his elbows, and motioned for them to sit in the pristine white chairs before it. “Well, you’re here now. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Alethea sat first, waited for Marc to take the seat beside her, and then said, “I was wondering if you and Nicole have set a date for your wedding.”
Stephan steepled his fingers. “Why the interest? Are you looking to work it?” He looked at Marc. “No offense, but I have my own people.”
“None taken,” Marc said and sat back. Simply watching.
“You and Nicole seemed so in love the last time I saw you together, I figured you’d be married by now.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we decided to wait for the excitement to die down a bit. We’re happy, no need to rush. Nicole wants to let Abby have her time with the baby and help plan Lil’s wedding.” He looked at his watch. “Listen, I have to be somewhere in ten minutes. Get to the point of your visit, because I highly doubt it is to ask where we’re registered for gifts.”
“Is it difficult seeing Dominic as happy as he has been? You hated him for a long time. I know you’ve said that’s a thing of the past. But you can’t truly be happy for that bastard. He beat you.”
Stephan stood. “I don’t like where this is going.”
Alethea smoothed her linen pants and shot Marc a deliberately sly smile. “You don’t have to pretend with us. We hate him, too. The way he flaunts his wealth. The way he uses his power to manipulate those around him. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of being forced to worship at the altar of the Mighty Dominic Corisi. I’d love to see him humbled a bit.”
Glaring at them, Stephan said, “Marc, is this some sort of sick joke?”
Marc shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
Alethea pushed her agenda. “Think about it, Stephan. Right in this room we have three people who have different ways to access his defenses. He’d never see it coming. You could finish what you started, and we could make sure that he wouldn’t be able to retaliate.”
Stephan searched both of their faces. “You two are serious.”
Alethea stood, preening herself deliberately. “We couldn’t be more so.” She walked closer to Stephan and leaned into his personal space suggestively. “Nicole is wonderful, but I’m sure the thrill of being with her has worn off. You’ve had time to think about how close you came to beating Dominic, haven’t you? And you regret not following through. I don’t blame you. He may love your family, but he’ll never accept you. Not really. And watching him with your father, that can’t be easy. He’s exactly the son your father always wished you were, isn’t he? Strong. Perfect. A winner. How does it feel always coming in second to him, even with your own family?”
Red spread up Stephan’s neck. He walked away from Alethea and went nose to nose with Marc. “I’d expect this from her, but you? After everything Dominic has done for you? I hope for your sake that you’re armed today and willing to shoot me right now, because neither of your lives will mean much after today. You don’t mess with my family. I would kill you, but you’re not worth the jail time.” He pressed a button on his desk and said, “Anita, have security come to my office. I’d like to have some trash taken out.”
Four men arrived. Two flanked Alethea and two Marc.
With a sigh of relief, Alethea looked across to Marc. “He didn’t do it.”
Marc nodded in agreement. “Thank God.”
Stephan crossed the room to confront Alethea. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Marc positioned himself just off Alethea’s side—close enough to intervene physically if necessary. “Someone has been accessing Dominic’s server and planting coding errors using your IP address.”
Alethea faced Stephan: chin high, eyes unrepentant. “We had to know if you were involved.”
Stephan looked at his security men, then the duo in front of him. Then he waved the men to the door. “Give us a few minutes.” Once they were alone again, he said, “How do I know you’re not lying right now? I haven’t heard about any problems at Corisi Enterprises.”
Marc met his eyes. “What would I have to gain by hurting Dominic? He’s made me a very rich man.” Stephan nodded at Alethea. Marc shook his head. “Not even for her.”
Alethea threw her hands up in the air. “Seriously, you can believe I am after Dominic but not Marc?”
A glimmer of the man she’d seen in the bunker surfaced as Marc postulated the reason. “People naturally trust me. It’s my strong jaw.”
Alethea rolled her eyes. She had to admit to herself, though, that watching him hold his own with Stephan was turning her on. Like her, he wasn’t intimidated by wealth or power, and it made her impatient for a repeat of last night.
Stephan cut into her burgeoning erotic fantasy. “If there are problems with Dominic’s server, why are you two here and not with him?”
Alethea scolded her raging libido. Now is not the time to lose focus. Stop imagining Marc naked. This is important. She directed her next comment to the man in the room she didn’t want to pounce. “We think you’re innocent.”
“You?” Stephan repeated with growing anger. “But not Jake and Dominic? Or did they send you?”
Marc raised one hand hastily and said, “Let me take over, Alethea. No one knows we’re here. Jake is trying to clear you. Dominic is . . .”
“Plotting my death,
probably.”
Another realist. Her opinion of him rose a bit. “You can’t blame him, really, after what you did . . . or tried to do to him last year. And the cyber trail leads directly to your doorstep.”
Stephan turned away and slapped his hand forcefully down on his desk in frustration. “I made a mistake last year. A horrible mistake, one that almost cost me Nicole and my family, but things were different then. I was different. I don’t know how this is happening, but it’s not me.” When he turned around his face was twisted with torment. “Does Nicole know?”
“Yes,” Alethea said quietly. The sadness in Stephan’s eyes tore at her conscience.
“When? How long has she known?”
Alethea looked at Marc for help, but when none was given she admitted, “Two days. I told her two days ago.”
Stephan moved back to the seat behind his desk and slumped into his chair. “That’s why she’s been weird.” He searched Alethea’s face with an expression akin to desperation. “What did she say when you told her?”
She’d always felt that whatever was gained by speaking the truth outweighed any hurt it caused, but she was having difficulty meeting Stephan’s eyes. What if Nicole left him over this? I shouldn’t have involved Lil. I should have handled this myself. Alethea searched for what to say that would alleviate some of Stephan’s pain. “She said she didn’t believe me. Accused me of making it all up to cause trouble.”
“It must be eating her up to not ask me.” He shook his head sadly. “She’s been hurt so many times by those who were close to her. Even me. I swore I would never hurt her again. Who would do this? How could they do this? I have state-of-the-art firewalls. I’ve never had an issue.”
Alethea walked to the front of his desk and said, “What can you tell us about the man you gave Dominic’s access codes to last year?”
Stephan stood, suddenly alert again. “You think he’s involved?”
Alethea nodded. “He worked for you, didn’t he?”
“Yes, for a short time. He was one of the best coders I’ve ever met. When he left two years ago, he sent me a prepaid phone and gave me a phone number to call. He said he could plant a virus that would take Dominic’s whole server down. Then he gave me the number of someone who would get me the information he needed to do it. At the time it sounded tempting, but something I would never actually do. I should have thrown the phone away. I was wrong not to. I was obsessed with beating Dominic. You were right about that, Alethea—I hated coming in second to him. I thought he deserved what I did. I was wrong. When I tried to call off the deal, he said he’d make me pay if I did. He could be behind this.”