Nothing To Lose: A Grey Justice Novel (16 page)

Without taking his eyes off his target, Nick snarled at Justice. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You set us up.”

“Lower your gun, Gallagher.” Justice said. “It’s not what you think.”

“No way in hell am I going to lower my gun. You’ve got exactly one minute before I put a hole through one of you.”

Throwing Justice an “I told you so” look, Eli Slater said, “This wasn’t exactly how I had planned to meet with you two, but Grey has his own way of doing things.”

“We’re down to thirty seconds,” Nick said. “Somebody better start talking.”

“You heard the man,” said a shaky but determined voice behind him. Then her voice lowered. “I’ve got my gun on Justice.”

Even though he was furious at himself, he felt a flash of pride at her readiness to help.
 

“All right, Gallagher,” Justice said, “since you’ve limited me on time, I’ll be succinct. Eli is not part of his family’s evil empire. For the past three years he’s been working with me to destroy their illegal operations.”

“What proof do you have?” Nick asked. “How do we know this isn’t just a trick to get us to tell you what we know before you kill us?”

“Because both of your deaths could have easily occurred without much effort on my part,” Justice said. “We’ve known who you were from the beginning of your investigation, Mr. Gallagher. And we know you don’t have anything against Slater or you would have tried to use it already.”

“What about you, Slater? Why would you turn against your father…your family?” Nick asked.

“It would be easier to converse without having a gun pointed at me. If you’ll both lower your weapons, perhaps we could sit and I’ll tell you everything.”

Though still on edge and wary, Nick was beginning to accept this astonishing development. However, he wasn’t the only one involved in this. His gun still targeting Eli Slater’s chest, he said, “Kennedy? What do you think?”

“As unbelievable as it may seem, I think they’re telling the truth.”

“Then let’s hear them out.” Lowering his gun, he added, “Stay sharp, though…just in case.”

“Will do.”

“Eli, why don’t you start? I’ll fill in when necessary,” Justice said.

A chair scraped against the concrete floor, and Eli Slater settled his large frame into it with a sigh. “Believe it or not, I didn’t know about my family’s illegal activities until a few years ago.”

“How is that possible?” Kennedy asked.

“Money can go a long way in protecting ignorance. I went to university in England and after graduation, stayed there to work for our hotel chain. I married, had children…visited the States only when I had to. My father and I have never been close.”

A flicker of sadness crossed his face. “My wife’s family moved to New York a few years after our marriage. When she started having health issues, I thought it would be good for her to be closer to them.

“Dallas isn’t close to New York, but it’s nearer than England. At first I didn’t know anything. Everything seemed as normal as always. Then I started hearing whispers, rumors. That’s the first I realized that the Slater name had connotations other than wealth and privilege.”

“And when you found out, you just joined in,” Nick said.

His chin cocked slightly at the insult, but instead of being defensive, he said, “I won’t deny that I tried to justify the things I heard. Being wealthy can make you a target. Some people assume that just because you have money, you’re somehow corrupt. When it became clear that the rumors might have some truth to them, I had…some personal problems crop up that took my attention away. I didn’t do anything until it was too late. Something I’ll always regret. When Jonah was arrested, my eyes were opened for good.”

“From what I read of his case, no one could dispute that your brother was guilty.”

“Yes, thanks to my father.”
 

“Why would a father do that to his own son?” Kennedy asked.

“Mathias discovered Jonah had been digging for incriminating evidence he could take to the attorney general’s office. So he set Jonah up,” Justice said.

“Your father purposely allowed Jonah to face a twenty-year sentence as punishment?”

Eli nodded. “And there was no ‘allowing’ to it. Mathias was involved every step of the way.”

“How do you know this for sure?” Kennedy asked.

“Because Jonah was the one who made me face facts about the family business.”

“Why did it take him getting arrested to open your eyes?” Kennedy asked.

“Jonah is an idealist. Always has been.” Sadness darkened his face. “When he first told me about our family’s corruption, I didn’t believe him. Thought he was rebelling. You know, rich kid feels guilty for all he’s been given. Rich is evil, poor is good. Jonah and my father have always had a tumultuous relationship. I just thought it was Jonah’s way of sticking it to Mathias.”

“What proof do you have that your father was behind his arrest and conviction?” Nick asked.

“Other than I know Jonah would never do anything remotely related to drug smuggling, Mathias admitted as much to me. Said my brother needed to learn a lesson in humility. He made some not-so-subtle threats that I’d better continue to practice the attitude of gratitude myself or something similar would befall me.”

“Then how do you know your father isn’t on to you, too?” Kennedy said.

“Other than the job I do for Slater Hotels, Mathias has little use for me. He would never consider that I would go against him. That’s why I’m in the perfect position to do this.” His gaze targeted Kennedy. “And that’s where you come in.”

“How is Kennedy going to help you?” Nick asked.

“She’s going to bait my brother, Adam.”

Nick shook his head. “You’re not putting her at risk to further your own agenda.”

“She’ll be perfectly safe,” Eli said. “I—”

“Perhaps it would be helpful to explain your reasons for going after Adam,” Justice said.

“Sorry, I got ahead of myself. My father is ill. Very few people know he’s dying. Adam is my father’s lackey…always has been. He does what he’s told. And though my brother isn’t the savviest of businessmen, he shares certain qualities with my father that will make him a good replacement.”

He cut his eyes over to Justice, who picked up the conversation. “Two years ago, Mathias tested Adam. Though things didn’t go off as smoothly as they wanted, Adam passed the test, giving his father assurance that if need be, he had what it took to do the job.”
 

Justice gaze went to Kennedy. “Adam was tasked with determining who had leaked incriminating information on the family and eliminating the source. As I said, things didn’t go off as smoothly as they’d hoped. Before the source could be dealt with, the information got into your husband’s hands, necessitating the elimination of not only the source but your husband as well.”

“That means…” Kennedy said.

“Under Adam’s direction, your husband was targeted for murder.”

Nick felt a shudder go through Kennedy’s body and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. So now they knew who had specifically ordered Thomas’s murder. As much as he was relieved to finally know, having Kennedy hear these things cut him in two.

“How do you know all this?” Nick asked.

Justice shrugged. “We may not have been able to get as deep as we want inside their camp, but we do have informants and good intel.”

“And…” Eli cleared his throat. “My brother bragged about it.”

Fury roared through Nick. “You’re telling us the bastard actually bragged about having Thomas killed?”

“Not in those precise words…even Adam isn’t that stupid. But it was clear my brother was quite proud of his accomplishment and wanted me to know how successful he had been with a special project Mathias had assigned him. I knew exactly what he was talking about.”

Nick glanced down at Kennedy, taking note that though she was slightly paler than before, she was holding up better than he had expected.

“My brother has many flaws,” Eli continued, “and his biggest is the one we want to exploit.”

“And that is?” Nick asked.

“Greed. The more he has, the more he wants. He can’t be satisfied…it’s like an obsession. He and I have always had a rivalry of sorts. Anything I have, he wants.” He paused for a breath and turned his eyes back to Kennedy. “I need my brother to want you.”

“What the hell?” Nick snarled.

Kennedy was already shaking her head. Hearing who had ordered Thomas’s murder had been hard, but in an odd way, a relief. Now she knew specifically whom she should hate. But as much as she wanted to destroy the man responsible for Thomas’s death, there were certain things she would not do. This was one of them.

“I’m not going to sleep with your brother, no matter what.”

“You won’t have to.” Eli frowned as if trying to come up with the right words. “I don’t know how to explain it…my brother…he doesn’t like women in that way.”

“He’s gay?” Kennedy asked.

“No. He doesn’t like men either.”

“Maybe you’d better tell us what he does like,” Nick said.

“He gets off on controlling others…having power over them. Taking what others treasure. He likes to own things and covets what he doesn’t have. I guess you could call him a collector.”
 

Nick could smell stink from miles away. This idea was covered in it. “So let’s say we agree to this vague and somewhat asinine plan. Your covetous brother wants Kennedy for his very own…what? Executive assistant? Pretend mistress? What then?”

 
Justice and Slater gave each other a look that sent a sick dread through Nick’s body. “What the hell are you asking her to do?”

“She won’t be required to do more than she would as my executive assistant,” Eli assured him.

“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?” Nick leaned forward so he could catch both men in his gaze. “Look, if you’re expecting our help, you damn well better tell us everything.”

“My brother’s last assistant disappeared under suspicious circumstances.”

“Suspicious, how?” Kennedy asked.

“No one has been able to determine the full story. One day she was at work, the next day she wasn’t. Adam claims nothing untoward happened the day she disappeared, but there’s been no trace of her in the last three months.”

The sick feeling of dread within Nick intensified. He glared at Justice. “Was she working for you?”

“No. I’d never even met the woman. She was, however, involved with Jonah.”

Eli nodded. “And Jonah believes both Mathias and Adam had something to do with her disappearance.”

 
Nick wrapped his hand around Kennedy’s arm to pull her to her feet. “Forget about it, then. Putting Kennedy in the hands of the likes of your brother is out of the question. There’s no way—”

“Wait.” He felt resistance in her body. “If I become Adam’s assistant, what would I have to do to get the information we need?”

Nick couldn’t believe she was considering going along with this ridiculous plan. “Hell, Kennedy, this is a helluva lot riskier than what we talked about.”

“I know that, Nick, but the man has got to be stopped somehow. If I can do that, then that’s what I should do.”

“I won’t lie,” Justice said. “You will be putting yourself at risk, Kennedy. However, we will do everything within our power to ensure your safety.”

“So if Adam takes the bait and decides he wants to hire me…or whatever, what then?”

“Adam is our soft target. The more responsibility Mathias gives Adam, the easier it will be to infiltrate and get what we need.”

 
“And would I be attending events and traveling with Adam?”

“Yes to both. My brother likes the limelight. DeAnne, his wife, abhors it. There would be many times that you would go in her stead.”

Eli grimaced slightly as he said, “There’s one other thing he would expect of you.”
 

Already certain he wouldn’t like the “one other thing,” Nick tensed even more.

“His assistants have an apartment in his house.”

“I would have to live with him?”

Nick shook his head. Oh, hell no, not in his lifetime. About to put an abrupt end to the role they were asking Kennedy to play, he opened his mouth, but Kennedy spoke first, “That means I would have access to his computer, his files. His contacts, too. At his office and home.”

“Exactly,” Eli said. “I won’t say finding incriminating evidence will be easy, but if you play the game right and gain Adam’s trust, I believe you’ll get what you need.”

“Kennedy.” Nick paused and drew in a breath, hoping to sound more rational than his gut, which was telling him to throw her over his shoulder and run like hell. “You can’t seriously be considering doing this.”

She patted his hand, which was still on her shoulder. “Let’s hear them out.” She turned back to Slater. “How do we ensure that Adam will want me to work for him?”

“Leave that to me. It may take a few weeks for him to get interested, but once he realizes what an asset you are to me, there will be no stopping him from trying to steal you.”