The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(37)

Evan went through the day in his brain. It played out in his mind like a movie. The morning had started the way every morning started. He’d woken exactly fifteen minutes before the alarm was set to go off at six a.m. He’d trained his body long ago to wake at that time. He’d eaten a breakfast of egg whites, turkey bacon, and mango. It was properly portioned. It was what he ate every day without fail. He’d spent an hour jogging and then headed into the city by train. He’d met with Matt and left before ten to prepare for his online meeting with his South American contact. There was no way they could ever outbid the Chinese, but it never hurt to let the Chinese know he had options. Melissa had picked him up at the office, and they’d gone back to the safe house. He’d spent the rest of the morning on the computer preparing for the meeting. He’d gone over the plans and schematics for the Bryson Building now that everything was in.

It was only as he sat down to his lunch served at exactly 12:30 that he realized something was missing from his case. He’d put it off, preferring not to break his schedule. He’d had a conference with his contact and verified that he had the funds he needed. Then, and only then, was he able to concentrate on the problem of the missing information.

He’d gone through his briefcase exactly ten times. He’d been careful and thorough. It wasn’t there. He’d gone to the van and searched it as well.

It wasn’t as if he needed that one slip of paper. He remembered the address. He remembered everything. Matt had been the one to write it down. Evan had been the one to tear it off that f*cking notepad of his. The last thing any of them needed was a paper trail beyond what was absolutely necessary, but Matt was too stupid to see that. If only he didn’t need his brother…

Evan let the thought go. He did need him, for now. Matt had all the charm Evan didn’t, despite his lamentable drinking problem. Matt had always been the charming one. It was why Evan had been the one to get the majority of the beatings handed out in their household.

He pushed the bad memories away. He didn’t have time to remember his childhood just this moment. If he hadn’t lost the paper in the van or the house, then he’d lost it between the office and here.

He remembered the wind whipping around downtown this morning. Evan closed his eyes and the scene came back to him. He had hurried down the stairs, eager to keep his schedule. He’d passed the new salesmen his brother had hired. They were queer, but Evan didn’t really care about that. He’d passed Grace Hawthorne. Now Grace was someone Evan did care about. Grace might not realize it, but she knew far too much about his dealings. She’d been walking up from the parking lot. He’d glimpsed her briefly and then kept moving.

What if he’d lost it and Grace had picked it up?

That bitch was too close to his brother. How many times was he going to have to explain to Matt that he couldn’t trust Grace? He’d had a mini-breakthrough over the last week. Grace was apparently hot for some client, and it was pissing off Matt. Evan had decided then and there to use it to push the nosy secretary out of Matt’s inner circle. She was too “concerned” for Evan’s comfort. If he hadn’t been sure it would make his brother turn from him, he would have gotten rid of Grace long ago.

“Boss.”

Evan turned at the sound of Melissa’s voice. Now there was a woman. Melissa was an obedient soldier. She was a true believer in the cause. In truth, Evan didn’t give a shit about the cause, but he did find fanatics to be very useful. They were awfully compliant little pawns as long as they didn’t figure out he was only playing a game.

He gestured for the lithe brunette to enter and waited for her report.

“I found something you might want to see on the camera you put in Wright’s office. And, sir, congratulations on getting the deal on the Bryson Building finalized. It will be a glorious day when we take down that monster.”

A little tremble caught him off guard. He hadn’t realized that his brother’s potential betrayal had the ability to hurt him. His years of work should have burned that emotion out of his soul. Everyone betrayed him in the end. Yet, the thought of his brother actively turning against him rankled. Evan didn’t like the feeling. Still, he had a role to play.

“We should all be congratulated, dear. And it will be a glorious day when we bring it down. Now, what has Wright done? Anything that might compromise our mission?” In no way could he allow his connection to Wright to be known. Only he and his brother knew the truth.

“It isn’t Wright. It’s the secretary.” Melissa smiled a bit. She didn’t do it often, and that moderate curling of her lips never warmed her up. “It’s nothing of importance. I just thought you might find it amusing.”

“Did you send it to me?” Evan opened his laptop and had the e-mail screen working in no time flat. Melissa answered in the affirmative, but Evan was already watching. She’d cued it up perfectly. A cold chill went through Evan’s body as he saw that nosy bitch going through the stuff on Matt’s desk. She looked down at the notepad. Evan watched as she took a pencil and revealed the address Matt had written down. Grace Hawthorne didn’t know it, but her Scooby Doo move had just signed her death warrant.

“Please don’t forward any information at all to Mr. Wright. He’s become a bit unstable. Treat him as a hostile but useful ally.”

Melissa nodded as though she’d known all along. “There’s more. You should watch it all the way through. I have some things to take care of, unless you need me.”