Page 76 of Boneyard HEA

I continue. “I’ll need half an hour to figure out the equipment and weapons you can get me. That’s not easy to do in Australia.” He doesn’t even blink. “I have two men who must be signed in on this. A fighter, a pilot, men with skills I need. I need access to Aaron’s house.” I drop my hand. “And if I can get what I want from there, I need you to go visit them so I can find out where they are.”

“That would be a problem. For you. Two reasons.”

“Go on.”

“They always pick me up in their vehicle. I’m searched. A bag is placed on my head.”

“Okay. And?” The things some sick men will do for taboo pussy.

“I’d only be expected to go there if I wanted one of their girls. Juniper is the only one I know of at this moment.”

“Fuck.” I duck my head and scrub my hands through my hair. Better this than dead. “Okay. Say that, just do everything you can not to assault her once you get there. I mean everything.”

“Sure. I thought she was just a fuck?”

That had better not be a slight smile pushing at the corner of his mouth. The sick bastard.

“I said I like her. Also, you said you wanted their video archive trashed, but did you know that video of Riley’s assault is what got this whole thing started and that Juniper had a copy?”

“What? How did she get it?”

No word about why he had me film a sexual assault. I can see speculation in his gaze, like he’s wondering if I’m curious.

“I deleted all my copies, as you said to. Did you know that film was sent to Riley? Who sent it?”

He only shrugs. He knows.

“She was looking at starting an investigation into some of our members. So, I gifted her a curated excerpt from it. How did you I know she had it?”

It was sent as a threat. As in, stop looking into this or it happens again.

Some of our members, and maybe the member was him. Did he arrange that first assault to shut her up? So. Many. Possibilities.

“Like I said, it’s what started this whole ball rolling. She sent it on to Juniper the day she died. It’s how we almost caught Shawn and Zasha.” I’m still running through the implications as I say this. I take a gulp of champagne.

“What? It was meant to have nothing in it except a scare factor. Only Nathan was identifiable.”

I shrug. “I’m good, what can I say?”

“Fuck. Oh well.” He grins and relaxes back into the sofa.

He sent it to scare her into dropping a ‘new’ investigation and…she suicided. The man has fewer morals than a canned sardine.

I’ll deal with him when I have to. This equipment list must be made. “I’ll need to write this down. Pen and a sheet of paper. Burn it later. The faster we can do this the better.” Because I know what those two will be doing, if they don’t decide to kill her straight away.

“I’ll get those for you.”

“Okay.” I watch him go to a desk.

What if Riley was actually the first? If Karsten got me to film that assault due to curiosity, did he find out it was not CNC? And then what?

He joined in. It’s another possibility.

And they filmed him and blackmailed him in retaliation. Maybe he’s tired of them making him help them out and he’s scared the videos will get released. Gossip circulated, years ago, about him going beyond CNC in private rooms at some events.

Him sending me to a job in Europe, for over a year and around the same time as the rape trial, it was deliberate—it’s why the trial was barely on my radar. I should’ve thought, should’ve figured it was suspicious.

My brain is spinning, and I’m going in circles, speculating on his reasons.