Trusting You (Second Chances #2)(52)

Claire waved him off and smiled half-heartedly. “Oh no, it’s not the only one. My mother also has one locked away in a safety deposit box that only her and I had access to. Daniel didn’t know we had our own little secrets. So either way he couldn’t have destroyed the truth.”

“Smart girl,” I added.

She snorted in disgust. “I learned at an early age not to trust my brother.”

We had just landed and were waiting to get off the plane. Mason was staring at his phone, scrolling through what must have been a gazillion text messages. He took a deep breath and said, “Well, it appears old Danny boy has been embezzling money from his clients from what I’m gathering with this text I just got. Jacob, my partner at the PD, has been doing some investigating while I’ve been gone. It looks like Daniel has an extra account that siphons money from his business accounts. He’s going to try and find out more information on it. He’s getting blocked from accessing it, but he’ll be able to figure it out soon. It’s only small amounts at a time that he’s stealing, but definitely substantial enough to equal out to a very large sum once it’s all said and done.” He huffed and shook his head. “Is he really that cocky to think he could get away with something like that?”

Claire and I both snorted. “You know the answer to that, Mase,” I muttered.

“I was being sarcastic,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, once we get the will on file and find out who Daniel’s lawyer is that helped him then we should be ready to arrest his sorry ass for fraud, forgery, and embezzlement.”

“What kind of sentence will he serve?” I asked.

Mason shrugged and sighed, sounding defeated. “With who Daniel is in the community he would probably serve hardly any time. Maybe a year at most, if that. The main thing with this would be his credibility. No one will ever trust him again with their money so therefore leaving him jobless and broke basically once he paid off all he stole.”

“Well, he shouldn’t have been so stupid, especially when it came time to build on my land. It would be kind of hard not to notice that if he was trying to keep it a secret from me,” Claire explained.

“It would’ve been your word against his,” I informed her regretfully. “If he’s buying people off then whose side do you think they would take? Definitely not yours, babe.”

She groaned. “Shit, you’re right. I wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”

We exited the plane, with Mason and Claire walking side by side while Brett had his arm around my waist. When we got to baggage claim I turned into him and put my head on his chest, breathing him in. “When do you think you’ll talk to Daniel again? I’m sure he’s going to call soon and ask how it went in California.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I’m not sure, but …” He stopped and grabbed his vibrating phone from his pocket. When he saw who it was he huffed and gritted his teeth. “Well, what do you know? I’ll be right back, firecracker.”

Brett marched over to a quiet corner and answered the phone. His stance was tense, but I could tell he was working the conversation over like he didn’t have a care in the world. As soon as he got back, my phone rang and I knew who it was going to be.

“What did he say?” I asked, sending my phone straight to voicemail. I had to know what he talked about to Brett first before I spoke to him myself.

Mason and Claire had joined us with our bags and came to stand beside us. I mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to Mason for grabbing mine and Brett’s luggage. Brett took a deep breath and began, “Well, it looks like Daniel and his investor are throwing a party together tomorrow night and they both want me to be there. His client wants to officially meet me.”

“Are you going to go?” I asked.

“Are you?” he countered. “I know he was the one who just called you. I’m sure he’s going to ask you to go, too.”

I shrugged. “If I go then Mason will be my date.”

Mason smiled and cracked his knuckles. “If we get all of our information together by tomorrow night it’ll be the perfect time to take Daniel out. Just imagine his face when we handcuff him in the middle of his party.” Frowning, Claire turned her head and sighed. Mason put his arm around her and apologized, “Look, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that, but the guy deserves everything he has coming to him.”

“I know,” she breathed, smiling sadly at him. “Unfortunately, he’s the only family I have left.” Mason frowned, but I knew it was because he knew exactly how that felt. I was basically his only family left.

As we walked out of the airport and through the parking lot to my car, my phone rang about three different times. “Is that him calling you again?” Brett asked incredulously.

I threw my phone back in my purse. “Yep. He did the same thing in college until I caved and gave in to him.”

“Are you going to call him back?”

I sighed. “Yeah, when we get to my house. I didn’t want to talk to him in the loud airport where you just got through talking to him at. He might’ve recognized the background noises.”

Brett winked. “Smart thinking, firecracker.”

We loaded up the trunk of my car, and Mason and Claire squeezed into the backseat. I looked in the rearview mirror at her. “If I go to the party tomorrow night what will you be doing? Are you going to let Daniel know that you’re here?”