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And she did. Watching his jaw twitch through almost every word, all the way from the shady fraudulent contracts Jed made her sign to the warrants to the kidnapping of her mom.
He smacked the wheel with his palm. “How can he possibly have that much influence over the Reno police? You don’t think we can go to another precinct for help?”
She shook her head. “Not easily. What police station would outright believe the Reno police have that powerful of fraudulent connections? More than likely, they’ll think I’m lying, but even if you or I plant a seed of doubt, they’ll arrest me on the spot because of the warrants and tell me to deal with my concerns in court.” She huffed out a breath. “Jed will never let me go to court, especially if he suspects I have an ally. He’ll have me transferred to Reno, or his thugs will intercept me from wherever I’m locked up.”
“I have a hard time believing that’s possible.”
“It is. He always finds a way.” She tossed up her hands. “Welcome to my world.”
“That’s crazy—the corruption, the fractures in the police, the crime rings—all of it. He’s crazy!” He drew in a deep breath. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of this mess. I just need time to process and problem-solve.” He pounded the steering wheel a few more times. “Damn, I’m having such a hard time accepting that this guy can get away with so much unchallenged. He has to have cracks in his network.”
Genevieve glanced at his fuming face, another bout of guilt racking through her. “I’m sure he does, but Mr. King, I caution you to tread carefully when you talk to anyone, law enforcement or otherwise. I don’t want you getting hurt trying to help me. Most people I’ve met aren’t like you or your friends—they’re inherently selfish, even if they appear not to be. Money and power talk, which I know you already understand since you help people expand their wealth, but endless greed is a filthy animal. Everyone wants more, but those who earn things the dirty way won’t take no for an answer. Nothing is ever enough. I’m sure you’ve sued people who’ve tried to break into your programs for fraudulent financial gain, so you know shady dealings are out there, but to live trapped within it really opens your eyes—believe me.”
She sighed, wishing she didn’t have to challenge his altruistic perception of human nature. “As you’re well aware, you have to be talented and skilled to earn millions, and Jed Marshall is too. He’s like a modern-day American Mafia Don. He manipulates, he controls”—she squeezed her eyes shut—“he possesses. He’s not like you. You’ve earned your millions through legal channels. To get what you want, you earn it, and you choose to live with things that are out of your control—taxes, regulations, laws, people’s choices. To get what he wants, he demands it, and he doesn’t live with things being out of his control. He takes them anyway, and that includes me.”
“Well,”—Mr. King sharpened his gaze on the road—“that bastard’s about to have one hell of an obstacle out of his control because he just messed with the wrong man.”
Genevieve stared at him in agape wonder. Mr. King’s cocky confidence was so freaking hot he lit her core on fire along with her ambition for the future. She blew out a tentative breath, daring to hope that Brendan King was her knight in shining armor. But the jury was still out…
He hadn’t met Jed Marshall yet.
Six
BRENDAN
Brendan’s first guess after he’d observed the man tailing them in Gigi’s car had been one of two things—a stalker or a jealous ex-boyfriend. But this was worse. The casino owner slash drug lord she just described sounded like the biggest obstacle he’d ever faced. Building a multi-million-dollar startup company in ten years was nothing compared to this.
He’d been preparing himself. For over a year, Brendan had trained on skills he didn’t have. He’d hired a personal trainer at the gym with a boxing background and worked on speed of movement and martial arts. And if he never needed to help protect her, well, at least it had been more interesting than running on a treadmill and lifting weights. But though throwing a few punches might come in handy with what Gigi just described, it wasn’t enough. A friggin’ empire needed to be taken down with roots so deep one person couldn’t tackle it alone. No wonder Gigi’s eyes had glazed with fear day after day.
For months, he’d watched her look over her shoulder and jump at the slightest out-of-place noise like a ghost might flutter into the office or an alien might drop in from another planet. A hundred scenarios had flipped through his mind, almost always landing back on an unpaid debt, a criminal record, a jealous ex-boyfriend, or, most commonly, a stalker. But he never imagined her ghost was a combination of all four of those scenarios.
“We can make it about three hundred miles before I’ve got to charge. If this Roman guy is smart?—”
“He’ll have called Jed by now.” She released a reluctant sigh. “And Jed is both smart and ruthless, in case I didn’t make that clear enough.”
Brendan tightened his grip on the wheel. He would find a way to make this guy pay. He didn’t know how yet, but he’d do it. “So am I,” he ground out. “He’s met his match.”
“I think that might be true.” A hint of a smile brushed her lips.
His male ego jumped up a notch. If he had a chance with Gigi, there’s very little he wouldn’t do—other than break the law. Or would he? If it meant protecting her?
“I was concerned that I was getting you in over your head”—she paused and nibbled on her delectable lower lip—“but these past few hours have changed my mind. I think if anyone can partner up with me to take Jed on, it’s you. Still, even working together, we’re at a disadvantage here. They’ll be at least two steps ahead of us.”
“Not surprised based on this Roman guy’s determination alone. So then, Jed has considered that I need to charge. You think he’s already looked up the Supercharger stations and relayed them to Roman?”
“No.” She shook her head and then switched to nodding. “I mean, yes, but not Jed. Luke will be on top of that, and he’s got his own team. If I remember correctly, at least four or so people report directly to Luke and the people beneath those people have reports, too—several of them are moles. We’ve got multiple brains and networks working against us.”
Brendan tensed. “Who’s Luke?”
“Jed’s right-hand man. When we were together, he referred to him as his head informant. He digs for information, watches for threats, hacks into people’s computers, tracks people, those kinds of things.”
“Fuck.” Luke sounded like a corrupt version of Quill.
A strained but sweet laugh bubbled out of Gigi. “Mr. King!”
“Brendan, please. Sorry, I just…shoot…this is a lot to take in. This guy’s network is insane.”
“I was teasing you. It’s not any kind of language I didn’t hear on a regular basis in my Reno life. But from you, well…”
