The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(46)

Why had he mentioned that? There was nothing else to do but tell him the truth. “I found it in Grace’s briefcase.”

Ian’s fingers ran roughly through his long blond hair. Normally it was pulled back in a queue, but tonight it was around his shoulders. Sean often thought his brother had let his hair get long for one reason and one reason only—to distance himself from the soldier he used to be. “So let me get this straight. Grace controls the money at Wright Temps.”

“Sort of. She writes out the checks. She’s not the accountant.”

That single eyebrow arched, and Sean got the feeling he was being herded. “According to Jake, accounting reports to her. She writes the checks, and she’s walking around with a bunch of account numbers for banks in the Cayman Islands. Your girl is laundering money, Sean.”

“You don’t know that. Besides, the fact that accounting reports to her is just for show. As far as I can tell, she simply sends that on to Matt. She’s just the gateway to the boss.” But even he was starting to think now.

Ian’s fists slapped against his desk and he stood, his tense body a testament to his rapidly declining patience. “How na?ve are you?”

“Hey, he’s not na?ve, he’s just studying all the angles like you taught him to.” Eve stood in the doorway. She leaned against the door frame, her lovely face the only calm thing in the room.

Ian frowned at her. “I didn’t request your presence at this meeting. I merely called you in to discuss your profile of Grace.”

“Understood, Ian, but you’ll be grateful for my meddling when you don’t completely alienate your brother.” Eve sighed as she looked at them. “Sean, Ian is worried about this case. There are several things that don’t add up, and he would rather you came in. That sixth sense of his is working overtime.”

Ian’s instincts tended to be impeccable. He had an eerie habit of knowing when things were going bad and being able to dodge the bullets that came his way. It was what had made him the Army’s go-to-guy for tough ops, and the nation’s intelligence gatherers still kept him on their speed-dials. When Ian said something was up, Sean listened. “What’s wrong, bro?”

His face opened slightly as he put a hand on a stack of file folders. Sean had the feeling he’d been pouring over them all night. “I don’t know. Some things don’t add up. Why is an ecoterrorist laundering money? Eve’s profile reads like a biography of the Unabomber, so why is he hanging out with corporate types? I just don’t like it. Something else is going on, and I don’t trust Black.”

Sean didn’t either. He never trusted anyone who came out of Langley. Unfortunately, Mr. Black was the client. Ian seemed calmer now that they were talking about the case again, rather than Sean’s involvement with Grace. The situation was deflating. “Have we rechecked all the information we got from Black?”

“Of course, and it all checks out. But you know that’s meaningless, too. If Black wants to hide something, he has the resources to do it. When Adam gets a minute or two, he’s going to run a deep trace. He’s going to look for any trace of someone tampering with Patrick Wright’s records. Of course, that is if I can get him to stop talking about how amazing Grace Hawthorne is.”

Sean groaned inwardly because he knew exactly where Ian was going. He was not the most trusting of souls. “She’s not some Mata Hari, Ian. She’s not trying to seduce your team.”

Ian’s mouth became a stubborn, flat line. “That’s not what it looks like from where I’m standing. I’m just glad Jake seems to be able to retain his common sense around the woman.”

Sean could be stubborn, too. “The only way to figure this out is to stay close to Wright. The way to stay close to Wright is by staying close to Grace. I’m the closest one to Grace. I’m in the best position to watch her.”

Ian turned to Eve. “Tell me, Eve, if I leave Sean in, will he be able to behave in a professional manner?”

“Of course.” There was no hesitation in Eve’s manner. Sean relaxed slightly. At least he had someone on his side.

But Ian wasn’t done. “Around Grace? Will he be able to make logical judgments concerning his own safety and the safety of the members of his team when weighed against the welfare of Grace Hawthorne?”

Eve’s shoulders slumped forward slightly, and Sean knew he had just lost the battle. “No. He meant what he said. He’s in love with her. You should pull him.”

Ian nodded slightly. “Jake is erasing all traces of him at that woman’s house even as we speak.”

“Fuck you, Ian.” Sean felt his face go stubborn, his jaw clenching, his eyes narrowing. That woman? It was utterly insulting, and he wasn’t about to put up with it. “I quit. Now I’m not your employee. Try keeping me away from her now.”

Sean turned to walk out the door, no thought at all except to get back to Grace. Ian’s next words made him stop in his tracks.

“Then I’ll call in the cops and have her arrested now. With the evidence Black already gave us on the company combined with those accounts that I’m sure Grace writes checks from, she’ll spend some time in jail, just being questioned if not actually arrested.”

Sean turned and faced his brother. “You wouldn’t.”

“If you can say that, then you don’t know me at all, little brother. I’ll fabricate evidence against her if I think it will keep you alive. Here’s my offer. I’ll let you stay on the case. You brought me the address, you can go check it out. You can also take over surveillance on Grace. That way you can watch over her. You are not to contact her in any way. The minute you do, I call the cops in. Jake and Adam will take over the close cover.”