Cutthroat: Sutton Capital Series, Book Eight Page 14

  “I will. I swear. I’m just going to need a minute to work up to it.” He couldn’t tell her that the words the man had said in the video played in his head again and again, never letting up.

  I just need a little video for your boyfriend.

  The police in Hartford were looking into the attack, but they hadn’t found anything. The cameras in the stairwell had been broken before the attack. They knew the man was large. That was all the cameras showed as a masked man busted them up.

  Jarrod had the police tech people looking into the video Jax had received but Jax already knew they wouldn’t find squat there. He’d let Sam have his phone. Samantha might work at Sutton Capital and be married to one of Jax’s friends, but she was also one of the most talented hackers in the country.

  She’d traced the text back to a burner phone. Sam said it was unlikely the police would be able to find out anything more than that, and he believed her.

  “Well, take a deep breath, and prep yourself, handsome. I gotta get to work.” She looked pointedly down at his hand, clenching hers.

  “Sorry.” He kissed her softly and stepped back. “Have someone walk you to your car.” Not an unreasonable request since whoever had done this was still out there.

  “I will. Promise. And I’ll see you in New Haven around seven.”

  “Okay.” She stepped into her car and shut the door. “Text when you’re on your way,” he called through the window.

  She laughed and rolled it down. “I’ll call you and talk to you for the whole drive, if you want.”

  Good. That was good. Unless she was joking.

  He watched her pull out and wondered if she had been joking. Hell, he’d call her either way.

  Chapter 27

  Mia felt Jax squeeze her hand and looked over. That smile was something she knew she’d never get tired of seeing. The door opened and a tall man stood in the doorway. Beside him, a very pregnant—and nearly as tall—woman smiled at Mia and Jax.

  After introductions, the woman reached out and pulled Mia in. “I’m so glad you guys could make it before the baby came. I’ve been dying to meet you.”

  “Me, too,” Mia said and realized she really meant it. Jax had told her a lot about Sam and Logan, and she was only now realizing how much she’d kept people at arm’s length much of her life. It was the same thing she did with Nick, and with the people she worked with. Never getting really close. Never truly letting them in.

  Mia had a feeling it was because of her dad. If she didn’t get close to people, it wouldn’t hurt so much when they left.

  Letting Jax into her life had been a risk for her, but it was one she found she was glad she’d taken. It was like some veil had been lifted and the world just looked brighter, felt brighter somehow. Richer.

  Samantha led the group into a welcoming living room, and Mia and Jax watched as Logan helped her sit. Mia understood why Jax had said it was fun to tease the tough former SEAL. He looked like he wanted to dote and hover over his wife, but the glare she gave him had him moving back.

  “So, I have to be blunt here,” Sam said and Jax laughed.

  “When are you not?”

  “True.” She gave him the kind of genuine smile that said they were used to ribbing one another. “But, listen, I’ve been craving pizza lately. Like, a lot of pizza. I ate it for breakfast this morning, but I’m craving it again. And I’m a crappy cook. So we ordered pizza. It should be here soon. Sorry we’re not doing something more presentable, but that’s just not me.”

  Mia felt an immediate connection to this woman who seemed to accept herself for who she was and assumed other people would too. Mia certainly would. She liked Sam.

  The night continued from there in similar fashion with Mia grinning nearly nonstop at Sam’s upfront manner and Jax’s mostly successful attempts to get under Logan’s skin.

  They ate pizza and then had ice cream, because Sam insisted that’s what “knocked up people” should eat. At one point, Sam pulled down the collar of her shirt and showed Mia moon shaped scars she had on the tops of her breasts. They were thin and faint.

  “Trust me, they were a lot worse than that. I’ll send you the name of the stuff I used to get them to fade. You’ll want it for your forehead.” She pointed to the spot on Mia’s head where stitches nestled into the still-bruised landscape of her face.

  Somehow, Samantha’s comments didn’t bother Mia. She believed it was Sam’s way of reaching out to help her, even if most people might not raise the issue of scarring with someone they barely knew.

  The woman’s directness was refreshing.

  And then it was time for Logan’s revenge on Jax.

  The group stood near the front door to the condo saying their goodbyes when Sam doubled over, gripping her stomach. Pain creased her face and she cried out as Logan put his arms around her, taking her weight against him.

  Mia froze, not sure what to do, but Jax sprang into action right away.

  “Logan, move her to the couch and talk to her. Get her through this contraction, then we can see how far apart they are and call the doctor.”

  Mia stared at him. He was so calm. So in charge of everything. She knew Jax had jokingly told Logan he wouldn’t be delivering Sam’s baby in the living room, but when push came to shove, he was a rock. It was beyond sexy.

  Of course, she supposed it was highly unlikely he’d actually be delivering this baby. If Sam was just having her first contraction, she’d have hours before she delivered. They had plenty of time to get to the hospital.

  “Well, that was a let-down,” Samantha said, standing suddenly, the pain gone from her face.

  “Yeah, no kidding. When she did it to me, I damned near shit my pants. You’re no fun.” Logan looked at Jax like he’d stolen his puppy or something.

  Mia turned to Jax to find him looking at her, the same shock she felt apparent on his face. She burst into laughter, only to be joined by him a second later as he shoved Logan on the shoulder.

  “How many times did she do it to you before you stopped racing to get the car?” Jax asked Logan.

  “Four.” Logan’s grin was big and Samantha looped her arms around his bicep and smiled at them. She was having entirely too much fun faking labor.

  “You need to do that at the office Monday morning,” Jax said over his shoulder as he and Mia headed out the door. “Right in front of Jack and Chad.”

  “You got it,” Samantha called out behind them, a little too much glee in her voice.

  Chapter 28

  Darla heard the last of the nurses leaving. The beeps of the alarm being set and the click of the lock in the door were the final indicators that the building was empty, save for her. She knew she had two hours before the cleaning staff came into the clinic.

  The staff did a sweep of the building before locking up, but she’d been smart. She’d slipped into one of the bathrooms, then waited for them to move down the hall before hiding in one of the cabinets in the staff kitchen. No one would think to look in the cabinet with the coffee creamer and straws before closing up for the night.

  Her heart pounded in her chest and her knees protested the cramped space, but she waited for several more minutes before climbing out. Jax and Mia had said they were talking to a detective about Jimmy’s death, but she hadn’t heard back from them in over a week.

  It wasn’t fair for Jimmy to be dead and no one be doing anything about it. It just wasn’t right. She’d seen Max with one of those pill bottles, too, this morning. She’d tried to warn him, but he’d told her to mind her own business.

  If the clinic and the cops didn’t care that good people were dying, she’d do something about it. They were still giving out them pills. She wasn’t going to let them do that. She might not have anything left in the world with Jimmy gone, but she had guts, and that was what she’d use to stop them. She’d get in there and find out what they were doing. There had to be evidence somewhere. This time, she’d go to the police station herself.

  Darla
climbed out of the cabinet and made her way down the darkened hallway to the offices.

  Her heart raced just at the thought of going to the police. Darla had been picked up a time or two for prostitution until she’d found Jimmy. He’d protected her. Gotten her out of that. Made sure she had what she needed.

  She laughed to herself. Now that he was gone, she was too damned old to go back to prostitution as an option. But that didn’t mean the police didn’t still freak her out. She would go to the police station this time, though.

  She owed Jimmy that.

  She opened the door to the office she’d seen Jimmy come out of twice when they’d come to the clinic to pick up his meds. She didn’t have a flashlight and turning on the lights wasn’t an option.

  “Damn,” she muttered. She shoulda thought of that. She made her way to the desk and felt around. A bit of light came into the room through the slats in the shades, and her eyes were adjusting to the dark.

  She turned toward one wall that looked to have filing cabinets standing against it. Would they keep files documenting what they were doing? She didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure how she’d even read them in this dark, but she moved toward them. Maybe she could grab a handful of them and go out into the hallway where the lights had been left on and read them there?

  She saw the movement right before she felt the pain in the side of her head. Stars exploded as she went down and she hit her chin on the corner of the desk. Pain radiated through her jaw as her teeth clacked together in a ferocious snap. She looked up and saw a man lean over her. He was nothing more than a shadow, but he was tall. His silhouette was the last thing she saw before he kicked her in the head. Once, twice. She gasped at the pain and fought to keep her eyes open, but darkness closed over her and she was powerless to fight it.

  Chapter 29

  He hung up the phone. This was the last thing he needed now. He’d sent Sykes over to the clinic last night to tie up loose ends, not make more of them.

  What the hell had Sykes been thinking grabbing the woman? He sent a few texts to get the right people lined up and everything in place for cleanup. Ten steps ahead had included lining up the paid muscle he would need for this job, too.

  Ten steps ahead always paid off.

  One last text to Sykes. Leave her at the factory and get to the cabin. I’ll meet you there tomorrow.

  He didn’t wait for a response before dialing Coleman.

  “Meet me in twenty minutes.” He hadn’t bothered to tell Coleman who it was. The man would know.

  “What? I can’t just leave the clinic any time you call.”

  “I’m heading to the factory now, Coleman. If you’re not there, I’ll have the man I’ve got following your wife and daughter bring them to me instead.”

  A string of curses came through the line and he felt a flash of remorse for bringing the daughter into things. Only a flash, though. He didn’t regret what was going to happen to Coleman, although perhaps he should have. The doctor really was nothing more than collateral damage. But Coleman had brought this on himself with his gambling.

  If Coleman truly loved his family, if he really was a good father to his daughter, he wouldn’t have leveraged everything he had for the high he got from gambling. A father should be stronger than that.

  He tuned back in to Coleman’s useless rant. “You son of a bitch. I swear to God, if you touch one hair on her head—”

  “The factory, Coleman. I’ll see you at the factory.”

  Coleman was stupid enough to believe he’d actually be there. The doctor would never see it coming.

  * * *

  Mia gripped the steering wheel tightly as she watched the clinic, then glanced at the dashboard as her phone buzzed in its holder.

  Sorry, meeting ran over. Be there in fifteen. Wait for me!

  She’d taken a half day at work and Jax was meeting her so they could try talking to Dr. Coleman directly. She wanted to look in the doctor’s eyes as she asked how her father had died and see for herself if he was involved in whatever was going on. She needed to know.

  She and Jax had argued over whether it was a good idea. She’d finally won the argument when she’d said Jax could come with her and they’d confront the doctor at the clinic. Even Jax had to agree that was safe. Besides, Dr. Coleman didn’t seem dangerous. If anything, he might be the weak link who could be pressured to open up and tell them what was going on. If he was giving people experimental drugs that were leading to their deaths, it would go against everything he’d sworn to when taking the Hippocratic Oath. It went against everything a doctor stood for.

  There was simply no way the doctor could be doing this on his own. He had to have some company providing a test drug. Not to mention they’d need to have some plan for how they’d get this drug approved.

  That was one thing Mia didn’t understand. “How do they plan to get the drug approved someday? It’s not like they could go to the FDA and say here’s this data from this fake test we did. This illegal fake test. They can’t do that, so what’s the point? What’s the end game here?”

  She had no idea who they were, but talking about the issues out loud helped her work through them.

  She looked at the locks on her doors again. She’d been checking them obsessively every few minutes. She was locked in. No one could get to her in her car. As long as she waited for Jax, she was safe.

  Mia eyed the time. Another ten minutes until Jax would arrive. She swallowed hard, planning what she would say when they were able to get in to see the doctor.

  A man came storming out of the building, looking over his shoulder as he walked to the parking lot, then dialed his phone. She was too far away to hear, but he was yelling something, and his face was filled with rage. She knew from his picture on the clinic marketing and fundraising materials that he was Dr. Coleman. That was the man she’d come to confront.

  And he was about to drive away.

  Mia bit her lip, looking at the time again. At least five minutes before Jax would arrive, and something told her she needed to see where the doctor was headed in such a hurry.

  “Why would he leave in the middle of a work day?”

  Biting her lip, Mia started her own car as he pulled out of the parking lot and fell in a few cars behind him.

  “What are you doing, Mia?” She asked herself.

  She would text Jax when the doctor stopped and let him know where to meet her. Whatever was happening didn’t add up. The doctor wasn’t acting the way she expected a doctor to act. It was a Friday afternoon. He should be in the office seeing patients, not running out of the building and speeding down the street.

  She followed several cars behind, heading straight through neighborhoods that were seeing the early stages of gentrification. They entered areas that hadn’t seen even the early stages of that process, and Mia thought of turning around. This wasn’t safe. But she’d grown up in some areas that were less than safe. She could handle herself. Or at least fake her way out of a situation with tough talk and bluffing. Maybe.

  The doctor pulled into the old Smythe Repeating Arms Company building. It was actually a series of four buildings that took up a four block radius and had been empty for well over a decade. The few houses around it looked like they might fall down with a simple gust of wind and she knew they must have been condemned. She had heard something about a plan to tear the entire area down and build an apartment complex with restaurants, a park for children, and a small grocery store, but that hadn’t happened yet.

  Mia circled around the block and back to where the doctor’s car was parked. A flash of the white shirt the doctor was wearing told her he’d just entered one of the old buildings. She pulled over on the street and parked, then texted Jax.

  Followed Dr. Colemen to Smythe Arms Bldg. Come there?

  Chapter 30

  “Really? That’s him?” Cal looked over Jarrod’s shoulder at the computer screen.

  “Not what I expected, either.” Jarrod had thought Warrick Staunton
would be a lot older than the man in the photo. “He’s what? Thirty, if that?”

  Cal shrugged. “Maybe he looks younger than he is. It’s a family company, right?”

  “Yeah. Started by this Staunton’s great uncle on his mother’s side. That’s where the name Simms comes in. Her maiden name is Simms.”

  “Who’s this guy?” Cal pointed at another name along the left hand side of the screen where the menu showed company profiles. “Jonathan Simms? Carissa Hastings mentioned a Jonathan, too, when Jax heard her on the phone, right?”

  “Yeah,” Jarrod looked down at his notes. “No last name, but this could be him.” He clicked the link and the face of a man in his fifties filled the screen. The men were quiet as they skimmed the bio. Simms was Warrick Staunton’s uncle, and a researcher in the company.

  “I wonder why he isn’t running the place?” Cal asked absently as Jarrod printed photos and company information.

  Cal grabbed the stack of printouts and tossed them on his desk. “I’ve found several other companies that fund the shelter or the clinic. Simms is one of the heavy hitters, for sure, but Branson Medical and Tyvek Technologies donate a big chunk of money, too.”

  Cal shuffled through the papers lining the side of his desk. He wasn’t nearly as neat as Jarrod. Jarrod believed in file folders and drawers. Cal was one of those people who swore he knew where everything was even if there was no rhyme or reason to it all. “Here it is.”

  He pulled out a sheet and handed it to Jarrod. “Tyvek Technologies and The Victoria Tyvek Staunton Memorial Foundation are the other two big donors.”

  Jarrod raised a brow. “Victoria Tyvek Staunton? Any relation to Warrick Staunton?”

  Cal nodded. “Wife. She died in a car accident three years ago.”

  “Wow.” Jarrod clicked the back button on his browser, looking at Warrick Staunton’s photo again. “This guy’s a widower?”