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Gavin had demoted Dodd Espenson from head of security to bouncer, and Arthur’s payments had started the day after. Now I just needed Sienna to confirm that Dodd still could have gained access to the club after hours.
I hated waking her up, but this was something she needed to know, and we required that confirmation as soon as possible.
After brewing a pot of coffee, I made my way back to my bedroom and crouched beside the bed. Seeing her lying on her stomach, the blanket barely covering the swell of her ass, the bare skin of her back practically begging to be kissed, I was tempted to crawl in beside her and wake her in the most torturous way. But I knew her well enough to realize she’d be furious if she found out I’d lingered.
Reminding myself that we had plenty of time for such indulgences, I brushed some hair from her face and lightly touched her cheek.
“Sienna, time to wake up.” She stirred but didn’t wake, so I tried again. “Sienna, sweetheart, you need to wake up. I have something important to tell you.”
Her breathing changed, and even with her eyes still closed, her expression shifted. I waited until her eyes fluttered open.
“Get dressed and meet me in the living room. I’ll have coffee ready for you.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead before heading back out to the kitchen.
By the time she stumbled into the living room, still looking half-asleep, I had a cup waiting. She smiled gratefully at me and took the drink, sipping it as she settled on the couch, tucking her feet under her in a casual gesture that made my heart swell.
It might have been too soon, but I loved seeing her feel at home here.
But I couldn’t dwell on that. We had work to do.
“I found something,” I said.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Don’t keep me guessing.”
“First, a question just to be sure,” I said. “Would Dodd Espenson be able to get into the club on his own?”
I watched realization dawn on Sienna’s face with every word I spoke after his name. I didn’t even need her to respond to know I was right.
“What did you find on Dodd?” she asked.
“So that’s a yes?”
She nodded, setting down her coffee, her expression serious. “Why were you looking into him?”
“I wasn’t,” I said with a sigh as I sat down beside her. “I was investigating Arthur Dalton and with the help of Jules and her hacker friend, Gianni, we discovered two large transfers he made around the time the club was vandalized. Gianni traced those to an account that also had regular deposits from Arthur’s account. It belonged to Dodd, and those deposits began the day after he was demoted.”
She closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” I allowed her some time to process.
After a minute, she looked up, resolve etched on her face. “He’s the weak link.”
“What?”
“Dodd,” she clarified. “The guy likes to talk big, but he’s all about himself. If he thinks he’s in trouble, he’ll sell out Dalton.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well, the thing is, what we did to find that information wasn’t exactly legal. We can’t go to the cops with it.”
She grinned at me, as if my admission only made her like me more. “Dodd’s not the brightest bulb in the box. We can make him believe it.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Now we just need to find him.”
Her smile widened. “I can help with that. I have his employee file on my computer. It’ll list his address.”
“All right then,” I said. “Let’s grab some breakfast, then we’ll head over to Dodd’s place and see if we can get him to spill on Arthur.”
She stood up. “How about we grab something on the way? Traffic’s going to be a nightmare, so we might as well eat while we wait.”
I agreed, and she went to change clothes. Thirty minutes later, we left my car in a public parking garage and walked a block to the building Dodd lived in.
