Genevieve pulled Noah tight into her arms. Her son squirmed, pushing against her, wanting down so he could toddle over to the pile of toys in the corner and play.
He was completely innocent and oblivious to everything going on around him. To the changes that could potentially rock his world.
Genevieve set Noah on his feet, and he didn’t even look back at her before tearing across the room. If she did go back to her grandfather—and that was a big if—she’d find some way around her grandfather’s demand.
She had to.
Luckily, she didn’t have to make that decision tonight. Or even tomorrow. The Mitchell brothers had generously given her a few days to figure everything out and evaluate what could be salvaged.
Right now, her focus was Noah. Partly because that was easy.
“Noah, you want some chicken nuggets?” The thought of food might make her stomach turn, but her son still needed to eat.
Abandoning his toys, Noah shot back across the room. Bumping into her knees, he wrapped his arms around her legs and looked up at her with a huge smile on his face.
Chicken nuggets were his favorite.
“Dinosaws?” he asked.
“Of course. Go play. I’ll get them ready.”
Confident she was going to get him what he needed, her son went back to his toys. Genevieve went into the kitchen. Keeping an eye on him, she pulled the bag from the freezer and preheated the oven.
The moment was normal and domestic. Something she’d done hundreds of times. But right now, it felt wrong. Because she shouldn’t be doing it alone.
She’d just popped the pan into the oven when there was a loud knock on her door.
With a sigh, Genevieve dropped her head and squeezed her eyes tight. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone, not even well-meaning friends. She’d already called Nicole to say she wasn’t going into the studio tonight.
Standing in the middle of her kitchen, Genevieve contemplated ignoring the knock. Everything inside her balked at the idea of being impolite, but she really didn’t have the energy to deal.
Honestly, she was afraid that at the first well-meaning word from anyone’s mouth she was going to lose it. Right now, she was holding it together for Noah.
But when the polite knock morphed into an insistent pounding that rattled her front door, Genevieve decided it would be easier to open the door and pointedly tell whoever was there to go the hell away.
Whether she would have actually said that or not was a moot point because when she opened the door, she was shocked silent.
Anderson Stone asked, “Can we come in?” but didn’t bother waiting for her answer before scooting by her into the foyer.
The man with him followed silently behind, pausing long enough to shut her front door with a quiet click. It didn’t take a genius to figure out this was probably Gray Lockwood, the third musketeer.
Shaken from her stupor, her words dripped with sarcasm as she swept an arm wide indicating her den. “Make yourselves at home.”
Stone gave her a long look before the corner of his mouth quirked up into a little grin. “Look at that, the mild-mannered thing has teeth.”
“I don’t know what you want or why you’re here, but I’m really not in the mood right now.”
For the first time, Gray spoke. “You’re going to want to see this, I promise.”
His voice was smooth and deep. For some reason it made her think of smoke-filled rooms with brocade wallpaper and filigreed sconces. A twenties speakeasy with gangsters, beautiful women and rich Scotch.
Blond and polished, he was the contrast to Finn’s swarthy, mischievous demeanor. He was also quieter and less assuming than Stone, who always seemed to be up front and in charge.
Not that she particularly cared, but staring at the two men standing in her den, she wondered how the prison they’d been in had survived all three of them. At once. They were gorgeous, cunning and autocratic. Together, she had no doubt they’d been a force to be reckoned with.
They still were.
Turning her attention to Gray, she asked, “What do I need to see?”
Walking into the kitchen and over to the table, Gray set down a laptop she hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding. Popping it open, he clicked a few buttons and began playing a video. Stepping back, he waved her forward so she could get a better look.
A frown pulling at her mouth, she did as he’d indicated. It took her several moments to orient herself to what she was watching. Some context might have been helpful, but probably would have blunted the impact of the images on the screen.
The video was perfectly clear, no doubt because the men standing behind her could afford to buy state-of-the-art equipment. But that didn’t negate the fact that it had obviously been dark whenever the footage was taken.
Despite that, it was easy to identify Nick and her grandfather leaning close and engaging in an intense conversation.
She didn’t need to hear the words being spoken to know that Lackland Reilly was pissed. Mostly because she’d been the recipient of the expression on numerous occasions.
Nick wasn’t exactly happy, either, but he was clearly deferring to her grandfather.
Genevieve understood what she was looking at, but not the implications Gray and Stone were obviously trying to make. She needed more information. Turning, her gaze bounced between the two men as she asked, “What is this? When was it taken? What are they talking about?”
Before they could answer, Noah came bouncing into the kitchen. He gave both men a cursory glance before making a beeline for Genevieve.
“’Saws?”
She’d completely forgotten about the nuggets in the oven. “Yes, baby. I’ll get them out.”
Making a move around the men, she started into the kitchen, but Stone stopped her. A hand on her arm, he said, “I’ll get it. Let Gray explain.”
She watched as one of the wealthiest men in the South scooped her son up, lifted Noah over his head and plopped him down onto his shoulders. Noah squealed, wrapping his chubby fingers in Stone’s hair.
She watched Stone’s tight grip around her son’s back, holding him securely in place. Twisting his head so he could talk up at her son, he said, “Your daddy asked me to keep an eye on you while he’s gone for a little bit. Let’s get you those nuggets, little man.”
Watching the scene before her, it was difficult to reconcile the elegant man in the expensive suit she’d met just a few days ago with the one letting her toddler’s diaper-clad rear bounce up and down against his shoulders as they went to get chicken nuggets out of her oven.
“Cut them up into little pieces and make sure they’re not hot enough to burn his mouth,” Genevieve said, a little bemused.
Stone tossed her a big grin. “We got this, Momma. Listen to Gray.”
Gray took that as his cue. Tapping a few keys on the computer, he pulled up another video feed and pressed Play. A man of few words, he again didn’t bother to tell her what she was about to watch.
The screen was split between two feeds, both of which were of her studio. One camera was clearly pointed directly at her safe, although she’d never seen footage from this angle. The other had a wide view of her back door and the hallway leading into the workroom.
“Finn asked us to set up a couple additional cameras that he didn’t mention to you or Nick.”
“Why?”
Why would he do that? So he could have access to watch the studio that no one else was aware of? But, obviously, someone had been aware of it since Gray was showing her the feed.
His friends had been in on the plan the entire time. That was surely the more logical explanation. However, that didn’t explain why they were both in her house right now.
Unless they were upset that all their hard work had yielded nothing and were hoping to play some other angle.
God, Genevieve was confused. And conflicted. None of this made any sense. Both of the men in her home had enough to money to buy everything she owned, including the jewels Finn had attempted to steal.
Hell, Finn had enough money to buy everything she owned.
And that’s what she kept circling around in her brain. None of this made sense.
So she watched the feed, trying to find some clue that would answer all the questions that kept swirling inside her head.
It took her several moments to realize a dark shadow was lurking in the hallway by her back door. As she watched, it shifted and flowed into her workroom. Her eyes immediately jumped to the second half of the screen, waiting to see what would happen next.
The slim shape paused in front of her safe. The doors quickly swung open. “That was fast.”
Gray hummed, “Almost as if someone had the code.”
She’d given Finn a lot of access, but she hadn’t shared the code for the safe with him. Mostly because it hadn’t occurred to her that she’d need to and he hadn’t asked for it. But he had been in the room when she’d opened it on several occasions. He was smart and observant enough to memorize it if he’d wanted to.
She expected to see the shadow reach inside and start taking pieces. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the person pulled out a tool, the metal glinting for a moment through the darkness, and began systematically ripping her pieces apart.
That had been bothering her from the very beginning. The stones were valuable, but they were already set. Why destroy the pieces? It wasn’t like any of them were notorious—like the Star of Reilly—or would be difficult to fence just as they were. Perhaps down the road it would make sense to separate the stones so they’d be more difficult to trace, but why take the time to do it in the middle of stealing them?
She didn’t understand.
But then, she wasn’t a thief. So maybe Finn had a reason?
Her confusion thickened, though, when the thief took a handful of the gems and sprinkled them across the floor and her worktable like a trail of bread crumbs from a fairy tale.
Then, without taking a single stone, the shadow slipped back out into the hallway. And waited.
What was frustrating was that, even though the surveillance equipment was high quality and the feed clear, the person managed to keep their face hidden by twisting and melting into the shadows.
But that wouldn’t be difficult to do for someone who knew where every camera was placed.
“What’s he waiting for?” Genevieve finally asked, after staring for a couple minutes at footage of the thief simply standing there.
“Wait.”
Suddenly, the shadow moved. Fast. Darting back through the hallway and into the workroom. This time, he didn’t stop at the safe, but ran through, knocking over one of the tables, pulling a rolling table with equipment out into the middle of the room and overturning a couple chairs before racing into the front.
At the same time, motion at the back door caught her attention. Turning her focus, Genevieve let out a gasp when Finn came through. He wasn’t even bothering to hide his face from the cameras. Instead, he was intent on getting into her workroom as quickly as possible.
She watched him survey the damage. His body jerked, as if he’d been punched, and his mouth moved, although she couldn’t hear what he said. She could guess, though.
Racing through, he stopped long enough to scoop up several of the jewels scattered across the floor, stuffing them into the pockets of his pants. He took the same path as the shadow, pushing chairs, table and equipment out of his way.
The feed cut off, but Genevieve continued to stare at the blank screen for several moments, her mind spinning.
Could they have doctored the footage?
She absolutely believed they had the expertise and equipment to do it. But to what end? What did Stone and Gray have to gain from showing this to her?
Other than freeing Finn.
But what did any of them have to gain from stealing her pieces? No, from destroying them?
Nothing. That was the logical answer.
Which left her with the question, who did have something to gain?
Turning slowly, she faced Gray. Arms crossed over his chest, he’d simply been standing and waiting.
“Explain what I just watched, please.”
A frown pulled his brows into a tight V. “Finn didn’t break in and steal from you.”
“Obviously. I mean, what else? Who did break in?” She had no doubt Gray and Stone knew more about what was going on than they were saying. They might be keeping it to themselves because they weren’t certain what her reaction would be, but they were going to have to get over that. “Why did you show me the first video and what does it have to do with everything else?”
“Finn asked us to put Nick under surveillance. He’s had Lackland watched since before he got out of prison.”
Later she’d address why he’d felt the need to do that—and not mention it—but right now it was immaterial.
“How long?”
“Almost a year.”
About the time Gray had been released and several months before Stone and Finn. She’d done her research on all three once she’d realized who they were to him.
“It wasn’t until the last few weeks, though, that we placed Nick under the same scrutiny. Or learned that he met with Lackland. It’s possible—probable—they communicated the whole time. We simply can’t prove it.”
“What can you prove?”
Gray reached over and began clicking a few keys, shutting off the computer. He didn’t look at her as he said, “What you probably suspect. Nick has been giving your grandfather information. He’s also been working with him the last few weeks to sabotage the release of your collection. Reilly is hurting. The last few collections they’ve released haven’t performed as well as anticipated. Competition from companies like Mitchell Brothers hasn’t helped. Your grandfather has been leveraging assets to maintain his lavish lifestyle, anticipating the market would bounce back.”
“Which hasn’t happened.” Genevieve was fully aware of the reputation Reilly had. The company was known for being old-fashioned. However, that wasn’t always a bad thing. It also maintained a reputation for quality and excellence. “I didn’t realize.”
“No one does. He’s worked hard to keep the truth from the board. The problems started about the time you left.”
Which made sense. Up until that point, she’d been the one designing collections, for both their major commercial clients as well as any VIPs.
Genevieve stared at Gray for several moments, letting everything sink in.
“Finn didn’t do anything wrong.” Relief flooded through her.
Finn hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d been right to question the evidence in front of her.
She should have trusted him. Trusted her own instincts more. She owed Finn a huge apology. And she needed to stop questioning his motives and trust he only had her and Noah’s best interests at heart.
She simply wasn’t used to anyone else caring enough about her to place her needs first. Or hell, second or third.
“Nope, he didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I heard that cop. They’re not going to listen when he tells them the truth.”
“Nope.”
“I assume you’re going to use this to prove he’s right?” Genevieve asked, waving her hand at the computer on the table beside them.
“Yep.”
“I want to come with you. I want to be there when they let him go.”
Gray nodded. “You realize this implicates Nick and your grandfather. I have other evidence I plan to turn over.”
“Good.”
“They’re both going to prison, but the police will want you to press charges.”
“Happy to.”
“Nick’s been one of your closest friends for the last several years.”
“Apparently not.” Genevieve’s face scrunched into a frown. “Are you trying to talk me out of doing this? Do you think it matters to me? My grandfather is a despicable man and always has been. And if Nick let him influence his choices, then he has to deal with the consequences.”
In the kitchen, Noah’s peel of laughter pulled her attention for several seconds. Watching her son, light filling his perfect face, her chest tightened.
“Despite everything, I love Finn. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. He’s charismatic, charming and mischievous. He has this uncanny ability to draw people to him. And more importantly, he recognizes strength inside of me when I can’t see it for myself.”
Gray’s hand on her shoulder startled her. His gaze was steady and calm when Genevieve looked back to him. This man had deep wells of patience and understanding. The intelligence behind his eyes would have been intimidating if his demeanor wasn’t so calm and assured.
“I know.”
A relieved smile curled her lips. “So let’s go save his impulsive ass.”