The By Request Collection. Kate HardyЧитать онлайн книгу.
locked it behind him. That was when the reality of what had just happened hit her full force, and she started to shake from the inside out. What could ever possess Dax to treat her that way? To bully and threaten her.
She felt betrayed and used and so stupid for not seeing sooner what he was really like.
And why were her copies of the files so critical? They were no different from his. At least, they shouldn’t be.
Something was up, and she had the feeling that it had nothing to do with his innocence. If people were out to get him there must be a damned good reason. And she wanted to know why.
She collapsed onto the couch and sat there for several minutes, trying to calm down, stuck somewhere between grief and fear and hurt. The sharp rap on the door several minutes later nearly had her jumping out of her skin. Was that Dax’s colleague already? Was he there to rough her up?
It took all her courage, but she got up and with shaky knees walked to the door, checking the peephole this time.
It was Roman. She went limp with relief. She threw the door open, hurled herself into his arms, knocking the bag of food he’d brought right out of his hand, and started to cry.
“Gracie, what’s wrong?” Roman asked, holding her tight, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
She buried her face against his chest and sobbed, clinging to him like he was her lifeline, trembling all over.
He walked her backward into the apartment and shut the door behind them. When he’d pulled onto her street he had seen a man, one who’d looked an awful lot like Dax Caufield, leave her building and climb into a limo, but he’d been too far away to tell for sure.
Now he knew.
He wanted to know what had happened, if Dax had hurt her, but she was in no shape to explain. So he held her tight until the sobs subsided and she stopped trembling.
“Are you okay?” he asked, holding her away from him and cradling her face in his hands so he could see her eyes, which were all red and puffy.
“I am now,” she said, sniffing and wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Dax came by.”
His heart skipped a beat. He should have gotten there sooner. He should have gone straight to her when he left the FBI. To protect her. But there had been no way to know Dax would be so bold as to show up at her apartment. “Tell me what happened.”
She told him how Dax had arrived unannounced and harassed her, even threatened her, for the flash drive from his campaign. That he would flat out threaten someone of Grace’s social standing disturbed Roman more than anything. Dax was either running scared and desperate and making mistakes, or so arrogant he thought he was invincible.
“Did you give him the flash drive?” he asked her.
“I told him I didn’t have them.”
“Do you?”
She nodded. “In my file cabinet. Something isn’t right, Roman. He has the same copies of everything that I do. Why is this so important that he would threaten me? I thought he was a decent guy. How could I have been so wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. He didn’t know what else to say. At this point there was nothing else he could say. He was bound to secrecy by the FBI. His hands were tied. “Maybe it would be better if I held on to them for you. Just to be safe.”
She shook her head firmly. “I refuse to let him intimidate me. I’m going to go over every single one of the files and see what it is he’s so anxious about.”
That was not a good idea. Roman didn’t know what was in the files and he didn’t want to take a chance on her seeing something she shouldn’t and putting herself in even more danger. “Maybe you shouldn’t.” And he couldn’t even explain why he was saying that.
“Roman, I have to. I have to know what’s going on.”
He knew that once Gracie set her mind to something, changing it was next to impossible. But he couldn’t let her do this alone. “Then would you at least let me look at them with you?”
She seemed relieved. “Of course. Maybe you’ll see something I would have otherwise missed.”
“Get dressed and pack a bag,” he said.
She frowned. “Why am I packing a bag?”
“Because you’re staying with me until we sort this out.” There was no way he was taking a chance and leaving her alone. He had friends in the security business. If necessary he would hire someone to shadow her when he couldn’t be there.
“I can’t let him scare me out of my home. If I keep the door locked—”
“Gracie, the sort of people we’re talking about won’t be stopped by a locked door. And they won’t hesitate to hurt you if they don’t get what they want.”
Gracie looked so confused and hurt when she said, “I didn’t even know that he had connections to people like that. Maybe he really doesn’t, and he was just trying to scare me.”
Roman seriously doubted it. He’d done a bit of digging and talked to a few people after his meeting with the FBI. Everyone agreed that while Dax had a stellar public persona, he also had a dark side, and reputed connections to some very bad people. Not just corrupt public officials and businessmen but the mob, as well. But no one as of yet had been able to prove it. “I’m not taking that chance,” he told Gracie. Agent Crosswell had forbidden him from telling her about the investigation, but he couldn’t stop Roman from protecting her. “Now pack some things. We’re leaving.”
* * *
Grace had only lasted an hour or so before the adrenaline rush of being threatened by a man she thought was her friend left her completely drained of energy. Roman had tucked her into his bed, then sat at his desk and got back to work. By 5:00 a.m., he had a pretty good idea of why the senator was so hot to get his hands on Grace’s files. After comparing them to the documents on public record, there were major inconsistencies.
Until the senator got what he wanted, or the FBI nailed Dax for his crimes, Gracie would continue to be in danger. And Roman would do anything necessary to keep her safe. Even if he had to do it covertly.
The only way to put an end to this was to hand over everything she had to the FBI. The quickest way would be to make copies of the flash drive, and Gracie would never be the wiser. But while he could view the information on his computer, the flash drive was locked with a code and couldn’t be duplicated or altered in any way. The only way to prove the senator’s guilt was to take the original flash drive and hand it over to Agent Crosswell. But Roman would have to do it behind Gracie’s back. Meaning he would be forced to lie to her.
Just like before.
The realization had been like an arrow through his heart. This was supposed to be their second chance. But it was the only way to keep her safe.
“Good morning,” he heard Gracie say, and looked up to find her standing in his office doorway, wrapped in a blanket, her hair tousled from sleep. “Have you been up all night?”
He nodded, wondering what the hell he was going to do next.
“Did you find anything?”
He’d given this a lot of thought, and he’d made a choice, one that could save Grace’s—and his own—ass.
“Nothing,” he told her. “I found nothing at all.”
* * *
Confused, Grace said, “Nothing? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
She drew in a deep breath then blew it out. “Well, then, what was the big deal