IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN (23 page)

Four more weeks of bidding his time. It would be hard, but he’d force himself to exercise the patience needed so his body could heal and he regained his full strength. 

Silently, Ray vowed to find out who was responsible and why.

A
round nine the next morning, Ray smiled down at Laney. She was still asleep, so he decided not to disturb her. They’d get a chance to talk whatever time she woke up. Going to the authorities to find out who’d attacked Laney was out of the question. The moment a police report was filed, the media would get their hands on it and everything Laney had done to keep his whereabouts under wraps would’ve been in vain. He had to find the bastards, but how? Before he had a chance to ponder the question further, the phone rang. Rolling to his side, he answered on the first ring.

“It’s your dime. Talk to me.”

“Hi, partner. Before I go any further, how’s Laney?” Alex asked, concerned.

“She’s sleep right now.” Ray proceeded to tell Alex what Laney said her attackers told her.

“Now the dots are connecting,” Alex muttered.

“
Mon frère
, talk to me.”

“Listen, buddy, this isn’t a discussion we need to have over the phone.”

“Meet me over at my house in an hour.”

~ ~ ~

About an hour later, Ray opened the front door at his home the moment he heard Alex’s car pull into the driveway. The reason he’d felt comfortable leaving Laney at Olivia was because Big Eddie and Nicki were guarding her like she was gold stashed at Fort Knox. The dark circles under Alex’s eyes were visible from ten feet away. “Tell me how you want it?”

Alex offered a slight grin and walked inside. “The same way I like my women. Strong and black.”

Ray led Alex to the kitchen. While the coffee brewed, Ray braced his hip against the counter, feet crossed at the ankle. Alex slid his long frame onto one of the kitchen bar stools on the opposite side of the countertop. A few minutes later, Ray poured two cups and handed one to Alex. “Start talking.”

“This is preliminary, so don’t quote me. The announcement will be made at a public news conference in a couple of days, but O’Reilly Enterprises closed the deal to purchase Universal Entertainment yesterday.”

With his mouth wide open, Ray stared, stunned. “When did all of this go down?”

“The balling started rolling right after I first told you and Laney about Evangeline’s inquiries.”

Ray snatched his glasses from his face, jamming them on top of his head. “Red didn’t tell me she was going to do this, too.”

“I’m guessing it was her ace in the hole to be sure Evangeline stayed off your trail. And trust me, it worked. If she hadn’t done it, I’d still be piecing this puzzle together.”

Ray knew Laney was tough, but it wasn’t until that very moment he understood how much. In hindsight he should’ve known better than to underestimate Laney. She’d done what she needed to do in order to protect him when he couldn’t do it himself. No other woman he’d known had ever gone to bat for him the way Laney had. She’d placed herself, her wealth, her career, everything she had between him and those who dared harm him.

“Well, I’ll be daaayuuum,” Ray muttered.

“Hey, partner,” Alex probed. “You okay?”

Still astonished, Ray slipped his glasses back on and nodded. “Yeah.”

Alex released a hard breath. “Finding the bastards who attacked Laney will be tough.”

“I don’t care how tough it is, I’m going to find them.” Ray sucked his teeth. He knew Evangeline and Ashton Bryant were somehow connected in all of this, but wasn’t quite sure how. “Take this from the top.”

Alex grimaced. “It ain’t pretty, trust me.”

“Talk.”

“You might want to sit down before I tell you this, counselor.” Alex massaged the back of his neck and waited for Ray to settle on the stool next to him. “Who do you want to hear about first? Ashton or Evangeline?”

Ray held Alex’s gaze and smiled. It wasn’t just any smile. It was the kind that would cause a chill to race down a serial killer’s spine. The calmness in his voice was as smooth as a gentle caress. “Bryant disrespected my woman. What do you think?”

“That’s what I thought.” Alex blew out a hard breath. “From what I’ve been able to piece together, the day you put Ashton in check outside of Laney’s office is when everything started. Bryant comes from old money and his family is pretty well connected, too. The problem with friend is that he’s lazy and has never been the sharpest pencil in the box. However, as the saying goes, money talks. That’s how he’s been able to keep his gig as a researcher…until Laney came along.”

Ray frowned. “I’m not following you here.”

“After Laney’s mother died, Bryant wanted to take over the research project she’d begun to discover the cure for amniotic band syndrome.  He figured if he was able to make the discovery, he’d be a powerhouse in the medical community. But partner didn’t have the muster to cut it and the research department canned the project.  Fast forward a few years, and up pops Laney.  She’s a young, talented researcher who lands the project he’d always wanted. Plus, she gets her current job, which is the one he’s been after for years.  He’s pissed, but really can’t do anything about it. That’s the reason he’s always had an attitude with Laney. And what makes matters even worse is that now he actually has to find money for his research projects.”

“So player recognizes me and drops dime to Evangeline, right?”

Alex shook his head. “I was able to get a hold of his phone records. Bryant doesn’t have a connection to Evangeline. He dropped dime to someone who used to work for Evangeline.”

“Who?”

“Ever heard of a Dave Nelson?”

The coffee in Ray’s hand dropped against the countertop and his eyes flared when he recalled Laney telling him that the CEO who’d given her a hard time at the presentation was named Dave Nelson. In turn, he’d dropped his company from consideration. He then shared the information with Alex.  “So that’s how Nelson was able to make the connection between Laney and O’Reilly Enterprises.”  

Alex nodded. “Bingo and that was the nail in the coffin, so to speak.”

Ray frowned. “Why do you say that?”

Alex chuckled. “After the presentation, Laney had him investigated.”

Ray groaned. “So how are Nelson and Bryant connected?”

“Nelson’s mother and Bryant are sister and brother.”

“Mon frère, none of this makes any sense.  Why would Bryant go to Nelson and tell him about me?”

“You’re getting ahead of me, partner,” Alex chuckled.  “I’m trying to paint the entire picture for you.”

“Well paint faster!” Ray ordered.

“I was able to determine that Nelson and Evangeline communicated regularly until O’Reilly Enterprises initiated the buyout.”

“So why did they stop?”

“Ray, it’s hard to fend off a buyout when the SEC is on your tracks at the same time.”

Ray’s eyes never wavered from Alex. “How’s the SEC involved in all of this?”

“You know the boys snoop around when the probability of manipulating stock options is at a record high.”

“
Daaayuuum
!”

Ray had heard rumbles through the corporate grapevine about how corporate executives, most times without board approval, would backdate stock options, which netted them inflated profits. He narrowed his eyes as the scenario of events became clearer. “I’ll bet everything I own Evangeline was planning to pull the same shit at Universal Entertainment when she and Perry landed there.”

“You think! What she hadn’t counted on was Les Croisés not staying on.” Alex paused and sipped his coffee. “Also, got a chance to check out girlfriend’s employment record, too. It was her last two gigs that caught my eye. Two employees were always hired shortly after she arrived. Anton Perry and —”

“Nelson,” Ray interrupted.

Alex nodded. “Nelson worked as the CFO at Evangeline’s last gig. He, along with the general counsel, were her foot soldiers. Between the three of them, they kept half the board of directors in their hip pocket because they wanted them to rubber-stamp everything they presented.”

“This Nelson character. Is he shady?”

“Pitch black is a better term,” Alex snorted. “Friend is known for cooking the books.”

“So how did Nelson end up with his own company?”

Alex chuckled. “Patience, counselor.  I’m getting there. Apparently, before Evangeline got fired from her last gig, she netted a five million dollar paper profit and I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts Nelson and Perry had their hands out for a piece of the action. I’ve got to give it to girlfriend, though. She put a new spin on the game.”

Ray frowned. “How?”

“Unbeknownst to several other board members, Evangeline waited until the label announced they’d signed several top artists. Of course, she knew the news would send the price of stocks through the roof. Plus, all of this conveniently went down around the time she was due to receive a performance reward. Basically, she got a fat payday based on performance because it appeared she’d increased profits—”

“When in actuality she hadn’t,” Ray finished off the sentence.  He frowned. “What I’m not getting is why no one has caught on to Evangeline yet?”

“Aaah, that’s where the plot thickens and you get the answer to your question about Nelson. From all indications, a red flag went up with a couple of the board members who never got along with Evangeline from day one. They asked for a review of the books. When one and one added up to three, they got enough votes to send her packing. The general counsel sees the writing on the wall and high-tails it out of Dodge. That leaves Nelson holding the bag, but he wasn’t going down empty handed. Quiet as it’s kept, Evangeline used her contacts to help him get his label off the ground along with some start-up money from his family. The problem was that he could never attract the big name artists and in turn, didn’t make the profits he thought he would. And when the label starts to go belly-up, his family starts getting shaky and puts the pressure on him to turn things around and get some well-known artists.
That’s
the reason Bryant past your name along to Nelson.”

“So you believe Nelson’s been blackmailing Evangeline?”

“Absolutely. Think about it, Ray.  Nelson has sunk millions of his family’s money into a label that’s hanging on by a thread and needs to right a sinking ship. He’s got the goods on the kind of activity that causes blackmail to reach an all-time high and that will also bring in some major cash quick. Things took a nosedive for Nelson when O’Reilly Enterprises initiated the buyout.”

Alex sipped the remains of his coffee. “Here’s my theory. Evangeline couldn’t keep Nelson’s palms greased any longer when the buyout began and he’s desperate. Then he discovers Laney owns O’Reilly Enterprises. Between him and Bryant, they make the connection back to you and get pissed that their plans for a financial road to recovery has gone up in smoke. The bastards who showed up at your house weren’t after Laney per se, but you. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

He paused, deep in concentration.  “Now getting Bryant and Nelson to admit all of this…well that’s an entirely different story.  If we can substantiate their involvement, it’ll lead us to finding out the hood rats they sent after you. But the problem in unraveling all of this is that you’ll need to deal with Evangeline.”

Ray snorted. “Uh…
mon frère
, there’s no problem. There are only two things on my agenda right now.” He touched one finger to the other as he named them. “One, getting Evangeline to spill her guts.  And two,
finding out the names of the bastards who hurt Red.
That’s it and that’s all.” He turned sideways on the stool to get up.

“I wouldn’t confront Evangeline if I were you,” Alex warned, yanking the tail of Ray’s shirt to halt his movement.

Ray peered at Alex over the top of his glasses. “Roll that by me again?”

“As for Bryant, Nelson, and the bastards who attacked Laney, I say go for what you know. Things are a little more complicated when it comes to Evangeline,” Alex explained.

Ray cut the detective a savage look, indicating he thought his last statement was utterly ludicrous. Although it went against his grain to back down from trouble, this wasn’t about him. It was about Laney. By God, the persons responsible for laying their hands on her would answer to him. “Hold up, m
on frère.
Two thugs rolled up on
my
woman at
our
house and hurt her, not to mention that Evangeline can lead me to them.
And you’re sitting here telling me I can’t make her tell me what I want to know with the information I’ve got on her?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“Oh,
hell
no!” Ray threw his hands in the air, frustrated. “
Mon frère
, you’ve got me mixed up and confused with somebody else. I plan to get the truth out of Evangeline and put Bryant and Nelson on full blast.”