Taking On The Billionaire (Redhawk Reunion #1) - Robin Covington Page 0,24
territory. Scary. Enticing. Not a good idea at all.
But she still couldn’t say no.
“Can I think about it?” she asked, inwardly rolling her eyes at her own cowardice at not being able to say what she knew she should. She should just say no.
She was lying to Adam. She was lying when she pored over the all-access files on Franklin he’d given her. She was lying when she tucked away in a private file tidbits about Franklin that she would use later to connect the dots between Franklin’s greed and the destruction of her father. Everyone said to follow the money, and she now had unprecedented access to just how his deep pockets had been filled with dirty money. It wasn’t a complete picture yet and it wasn’t pretty, but she was close. Very close.
This wasn’t going to end well. Not for her and certainly not for Adam when he realized that she was only here, was only helping him because she was looking for any inroad to take down Franklin. There was no love lost between the two men and he might applaud her exposure of Franklin but Adam would never forgive the deceit that made it happen.
“Yeah, sure. You let me know.”
Tess needed to fill the next few moments with some other conversation so that she didn’t say something she knew she would regret.
“How does it go with your brother and sister?” It was a cheap move to change the subject to his newly found family, but she wanted to focus on the one good thing they’d done together. She selfishly needed to be reminded that she’d done something right for Adam.
“Nothing much has changed on that front. We’ve talked on the phone every few days, video called. I’m trying get them to come out here. Roan is on board but Sarina sends me to voicemail most of the time.” Adam wiped his hands on his napkin, picked up his beer and settled back in his chair. He rubbed his face with his free hand, running his fingers through his hair in a mixed move of frustration and concern that told all the tales on how he was handling the extraordinary situation. “Let’s just say that I’m much better at figuring out data analytics and computer coding than I am at being a good brother.”
“No, I don’t believe that.” She interrupted him, not wanting him to put that on himself for one second longer. She moved over next to him, pushing his tousled hair out of his eyes, the black strands sliding silkily against her fingers. “You found them. You never stopped looking for them. That’s being a great brother in my eyes.”
“I’m not so sure that disrupting their lives is the act of a great anything. They were living...doing fine on their own and I sent you to find them, dig up all their secrets and drop a bomb right in the middle of all of it.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I feel like I’m driving this reunion, doing all of this just to make myself feel better. I never had a chance to stay connected to my community, my traditions and my culture. I never had anyone ask about my life before coming to California, never had anyone try to help me remember. So...this feels...selfish. I wonder if I should just leave them alone. Let them live the lives they’ve made for themselves.”
He looked at Tess, scanning her face for an answer she didn’t even know the question for, and her heart pulled tightly for him. This man carried so much on his shoulders, she couldn’t help but reach out and cover the broad expanse with her hand, giving him a squeeze in an attempt to absorb some of the tension coiled there under his skin.
“Adam,” she ventured, breaking off when it was clear he had more to say.
“I found them out of guilt, you know. You never asked and I was glad you didn’t because I didn’t want to explain that it was all my fault. I didn’t want to admit that I was the reason we were taken away.”
This time she wouldn’t be stopped. There was no way she letting him take the rap for what had happened. “Adam, no. Your family was blown apart because some overzealous white social workers decided that you would be better off completely ripped away from your family, your tribe, your history and your culture.” He opened his mouth to speak and she placed a finger on