Shattered Lies (Web of Lies #3)(83)

“Prove it,” Birch said simply.

“How?” Sebastian asked, getting ready to negotiate.

“Wear a wire with me,” Lizzy said. “We’ll meet with Bertie, and you’ll tell him you caught me spying on your AI for him.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened. “You—?”

Lizzy smiled. “It’s business.” She shrugged.

“And,” Birch said sternly, “that AI software is to be destroyed.”

Sebastian whirled on Birch. “That’s worth billions.”

“What is our friendship worth?”

Sebastian looked ready to explode. “Is that what it takes to prove to you that I never intended to hurt you? That I have been your friend and will continue to be your friend?”

“It’s a start. Furthermore, you’ll help me write limitations of AI use and testify against Bertie.”

Sebastian suddenly looked ten years younger as he slouched. He let the hardness fade from his face as he held out his hand. “Deal. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry you were caught. I’ll believe you’re sorry when your actions demonstrate it.”

“No matter what, you’re still my best friend—my brother.”

Birch smirked and shook Sebastian’s hand. “Shit, I’m the only friend you have.”

“I’ll meet you at SA Tech in the morning,” Lizzy said as Sebastian turned to leave. He nodded and left the room. “Do you trust him?”

“I do. We have a history. But what I said was true. He’s only sorry he was caught. Sebastian will do the right thing. Not because it’s right, but because it’s the smart play for him right now. But it’ll be the right move anyway. And in his own way, he did help bring down Bertie.”

Lizzy walked out of the room with Birch. “Which was the biggest self-serving play of all. With Bertie out of the way, Sebastian becomes the most powerful man in America. Even more powerful than you.”

“So he does.”





33





Tate stared emotionlessly at the car driving Mrs. Mitchell and Valeria to the secret holding facility. In the morning, she would be blindfolded and moved to a secure location to meet with her lawyers. She would be testifying against Bertie Geofferies for treason. The first case to be tried in decades, but Birch was insisting on it. The others were testifying in exchange for lesser charges, but they would still be facing jail time.

Tate slid into the backseat of the SUV driven by her newly assigned Secret Service agent, Ashley Palmer. Tate had handpicked her and so far so good. She hadn’t tried to kill her, so that was a plus.

Mrs. Mitchell had accused Tate of trying to ruin her and her husband’s legacy. She had accused Tate of wanting to be the official first lady. Maybe she had been right. She did want that, but not because of the title. That she would happily hand back. She wanted it because it meant she’d be with Birch. All of this had taught her the world could be a dark place. But when you found light in the goodness and love of another person, it was there you should focus. Otherwise the shadows would suck you in and never let you go.

“To the White House?” Agent Palmer asked.

“Yes, please.”



* * *



“So help me, if you screw Birch over one more time, I’ll kill you myself,” Lizzy told Sebastian as she purposefully taped the wire over as much chest hair as possible.

“Has anyone told you’re sexy when you’re mad?”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve mentioned it before. Whoops, that’s not where I want the wire.” Lizzy ripped the tape off, and Sebastian grimaced in pain.

She used new tape over some more of his chest hair and patted it down tight. Sebastian could flirt his way into getting his way almost every time, but not with her. It didn’t matter that his pecs were sculpted muscle, or that the ridges of his abs begged to be touched. Sebastian lived in the gray area of life, and Lizzy didn’t trust anyone who lived there.

“Ready?”

Sebastian nodded. “The question is: are you? I know Bertie way better than you do, so you better be one hell of an actress or it’ll be you who blows this.”

“Do your worst.”

Sebastian gave a killer smile. “I plan to.”



* * *



Lizzy didn’t have to fake the scream when Sebastian grabbed her arm so hard she fell. Sebastian didn’t stop as he dragged her off the elevator and down the hall toward Bertie’s office. Lizzy also didn’t have to fake the cuss words and threats that came out of her mouth as she scrambled to get back on her feet.

The people in the office stood stunned at the aggressive display, and no one bothered to step forward as Sebastian flung open the office door and literally shoved Lizzy to the floor at Bertie’s feet.

Sebastian stepped forward and threw a punch connecting with Bertie’s face, sending him falling against his desk. Rue jumped forward, and as Lizzy screamed for Sebastian to stop, he broke Rue’s nose. Rue fell back onto the couch, clutching his face.

“I give a million fucking dollars to your little club and this is how you return the favor?” Sebastian pointed to Lizzy. “You bribe one of my employees into becoming a fucking spy so you can be the first person to implement AI in the stock market?”