Indecent Danger (Danger Incorporated #3)(33)
Shane settled himself on the adjacent sofa cushion. “I’m kind of surprised by that as well. Nothing in her personal history indicates that she has psychological issues. If anything it would be the opposite. She worked hard in school to get good grades, worked hard in her career and climbed the ladder until she became an assistant to a powerful businessman. That’s how she met Bruce.”
“He was doing business with her boss?”
“He was doing research on the firm for Martin. It looks like they hit it off right away and have been seeing each other on and off since then.”
Aubrey shuddered, her lip curled in distaste. “Is it wrong of me to feel kind of sorry for her? Bruce was never known for being a very sensitive or even nice guy. It’s hard to believe he was good to her.”
Shane chuckled as he studied the contents of his glass. “It depends on what her goal was. If it was true love? I’m guessing it was a complete failure. If it was money? She hit the jackpot. Before she met Bruce she lived in a rat-infested four-story walk up apartment with three other women. Now she lives alone in a lovely two-bedroom on the West Side. Plus she owns a timeshare in St. Augustine, Florida. She definitely moved up in the world.”
Whistling between her teeth, Aubrey moved restlessly on the couch. So many questions and hardly any answers. “Travis said that she was probably holding Bruce’s money from the illegal trading. It sounds like she spent some on herself.”
“Someone else was benefiting though. Every two weeks she made a wire transfer to a numbered bank account in the Caymans.”
“Was Bruce planning on running away?” Aubrey set her half empty glass on the coffee table and stood, too keyed up to stay still. “Do you think he was going for some big score and then he and Iris would make a run for it?”
Rubbing his stubbly chin, Shane shook his head. “If I were to guess I would say that he was planning to make a run for it before the authorities figured out what he was doing. But I doubt he was planning to take Iris. I think she was meant to be left holding the bag, so to speak. There’s no honor among thieves, my dear. None at all. They’d throw each other under the bus for a little financial gain.”
The whole thing was sad. “Poor Iris. She sounded like she really loved him, although it’s hard to believe. Still, there’s someone for everyone I’ve heard.”
“Honey, I’m not sure you need to feel sorry for someone that in all probability knowingly broke the law and profited from it. Not to mention she was sleeping with a married man. A married man with a very sweet wife. Bruce couldn’t pull the ‘my wife’s a bitch’ card with Iris. Caroline’s one of the nicest people I know. She sure as hell didn’t deserve to be treated this way.”
“I didn’t realize you knew her so well. Did you used to date her?”
Everyone in Tremont knew that Shane Anderson was an inveterate womanizer. An unapologetic one too. He made no secret of his admiration for the fairer sex, nor how much he enjoyed the pleasure of their company. His declarations of staying single and free sounded sincere and Aubrey had no doubt that he meant every word.
“Caroline?” Shane laughed, that Anderson dimple peeking out of his right cheek. “She’s a friend but there’s never been anything between us. We’re like brother and sister. I feel the same about her as I do about you.”
“She’s going to have a tough time of it.”
“Caroline will be okay. She’s coming out to the ranch for a while. Travis’s mom and dad and my parents will cluck over her like mother hens. They’ll spoil her rotten like they never did their own kids. Hell, Dad would have us out chopping wood in the middle of January.”
“I’m sure it built character,” Aubrey teased with a smile. Travis had told her plenty of stories about the crazy adventures of the Anderson clan. “Did you walk five miles to school in the snow? Both ways?”
“With no shoes,” Shane replied outrageously, his grin growing wider. “Seriously, Mom and Dad were tough on us. Travis had an especially hard time.”
It made sense as Travis was the oldest of the four children and all the cousins. “He seems to have weathered it all right. Both of your parents are wonderful people.”
“Hey, they didn’t beat or starve us or anything.” Shane drained his soda and hopped up to refill his glass at the bar. “They loved the hell out of us. But they expected us to work hard on the ranch and work hard at school too. Sports and clubs were encouraged and good grades were a must. You know the old saying about to whom much is given much is expected? Well, that was our childhood. They made sure we knew how damn lucky we were and didn’t take it for granted. I know it couldn’t have been easy to, either. I think they fought their natural inclination to make our lives easier than theirs had been, to give us all the things their newfound wealth could provide. I have to give them credit that they didn’t turn us into entitled spoiled *s. But it was Travis that really had all expectations of greatness on him. He knew from the day he was born he was meant to take over the family business.”
“You all work in the business to some extent, even West and Jason in their way.”
“Sure, but Travis is the lead. The brains. He’s what makes Anderson move forward. Our dads are pretty much retired now and it all rests on Travis’s shoulders. It’s a big responsibility. He can’t do the stupid shit that the rest of us do. He never could.”