The Mogul and the Muscle - Claire Kingsley Page 0,74

force you off the road. Or just keeping eyes on you. It’s hard to say.”

“God, that was scarier than the hit and run.”

I reached over and took her hand. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

She squeezed back. “I know you do.”

I checked the mirrors again. Something still felt off, like the wind had shifted. The air buzzed with a heightened sense of danger.

Those had been professionals.

“You don’t happen to have secret dealings with a mafia group that you’ve been keeping from me, do you?”

She laughed softly. “No. Definitely nothing like that.”

I cracked a smile.

Her phone rang again. “Hi, Brandy, sorry, we were—what?”

The alarm in her voice sent another hit of adrenaline running through my veins.

“Oh my god,” she said, her eyes darting to me. “Someone broke into my office. We’ll be there soon. Be careful.”

Oh shit.

“What did she say?”

“Someone was in my office. The door was closed so she didn’t realize it right away, but she went in and it’s trashed.”

“Well, that escalated quickly,” I said, making another turn toward her office building.

“I can’t believe this is happening.”

I took her hand again and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay, Cameron. I swear.”

She nodded, but her eyes shone with fear.

27

Cameron

My office was a disaster. Papers strewn everywhere. Monitor on the floor, the screen cracked. Drawers emptied of their contents. My favorite lady boss coffee mug smashed.

IT had already taken my PC to examine it for signs of tampering. They’d locked down the network and sent a team to check all the computers on this floor.

Two police officers had already come and gone. I’d sent out a company email to keep everyone informed and sent most of the employees on this floor home early.

No one had seen anything. The intruders had tampered with the security cameras. Gotten in and out sometime overnight. Brandy had found the mess when she’d opened my office door, and called me while Jude and I were being followed.

It was early afternoon, and I’d already been tailed on the way to work and found my office trashed. But apparently that was my life now.

“This is fucked up,” I said, staring at the mess.

Jude picked through the debris, carefully inspecting everything. He’d already gone through the whole room with some kind of handheld scanner he’d produced from his backpack. “Fucked up, indeed.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Trying to find the reason they did this.”

“The police said they were probably looking for something.”

He put his hand inside a file cabinet drawer and felt around. “That’s one possibility.”

“What’s the possibility you’re looking for?”

“I’ll tell you when I find it.”

I glanced at Brandy. She stood leaning against her desk, her arms crossed.

“You should go home.”

“I’m fine. I can stay.”

“Really. The only thing I need you to do is touch base with Everly to see how things are going in Seattle. You can do that from home.”

“But you have a meeting with Derek Price and the PR team, not to mention—”

“Brandy. Do I have to fire you?”

She tilted her head and gave me a wry look.

“You’re fired until morning,” I said. “Go home. Hug your son. Make out with your husband.”

“You know, one of these days you’re going to fire me for real and I won’t know the difference,” she said with a grin.

“Not going to happen.” I narrowed me eyes. “Unless you’re really the mastermind behind everything and you’re out to destroy me.”

“You see right through me, Whitbury.” She grabbed her purse. “I’ll touch base with you tonight or first thing in the morning.”

“Thanks, Brandy.”

She gathered the rest of her things and left.

I leaned against the doorway to my office, my arms crossed. Jude was still searching.

He pulled his hand out of one of my desk drawers and put his finger to his lips, then came out to his desk. He stretched out his hand, revealing a tiny device sitting in his palm. It was smaller than a dime with a one-inch wire sticking out.

He turned the device over and popped off the backing, then took out the disc-shaped three-volt battery.

“This is what I was looking for,” he said, picking up the device between his thumb and forefinger.

“Is that a bug?”

“Yep.” He eyed it carefully, turning it so he could see both sides.

“And you took the battery off so they can’t hear us now.”

“Exactly. Unless there are more, but I’ve checked everywhere. I didn’t find any camera lenses, either, but we’ll want to get a team in here to search the floor. I know a guy who can handle that kind of sweep and