Silver and Chrome: A Bad Boy MC Romance (22 page)

“Why
would someone do that?”

I
blow out a loud breath and walk over to my chair, all but falling down into it.
I feel exhausted all of a sudden. “Money. It’s always about money.”

“So,
what are we going to do?”

The
look of determination on Evelyn’s face, and the fact that she said
we
without
any hesitation, makes me smile in spite of everything. “We’re gonna fight, of
course.”
Yet another battle that I have to wage, but at least now I have an
ally.

There’s
a large manila envelope on my desk that wasn’t there when I left. It’s
unmarked, but it’s leaning up against my keyboard. Maybe instructions from
Beverly explaining the files and how they’re organized. I absently reach in and
fish out the documents inside.

“First
thing we have to do is figure out where the threat is coming from. That’s the
best way to figure out how to neutralize it.”

I
glance down at what I’ve pulled from the envelope and feel my heart begin to
pound in my chest. I quickly flip through everything until I come to a neatly
typed note that only takes me seconds to read.

“What
is it?” The concern in Evelyn’s voice pulls me back to reality.

My
head is spinning, and I’m just glad I’m already sitting down. I reach up and
offer Evelyn the documents. She snatches them and flips through them as quickly
and with as much shock as I did. She spends more time staring at the final
note, though.

“Oh
my God. Sebastian, I swear, I—”

“I
know,” I say, cutting her off. “I know. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. But
at least now we know what we’re dealing with.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

EVELYN

Despite spending the
night at Sebastian’s apartment, the circumstances were all business, and by the
time we actually went to bed, it was just to collapse and sleep for a couple of
hours before heading back into the office. Since I’d spent the night, he drove
me home first so I could change before we started the long trek to the Piston
tower.

The
papers that Hans had left remained untouched at Sebastian’s apartment; they no
longer mattered. All that mattered were the contents of that envelope. The same
pictures that Ripper had, only this time, more focused on Sebastian in his
leathers, surrounded by club members. And me. But worse was the note.

I
wonder how much cheaper it’ll be for me to pick up your shares if these go
public? Do you think the Street will welcome a biker thug CEO? We should talk. E.S.

Of
course, the E.S. stood for Edward Stonewall—it was how he signed most of his
personal notes—but Sebastian didn’t need me to interpret that for him. The smug
triumph of my former boss and boyfriend came through loud and clear, as if he
had spoken the words instead of written them. Apparently, he wasn’t that
interested in remaining anonymous, after all. But it’s just as obvious now that
his buyout was motivated by more than just money.

“I
can’t help but feel responsible,” I say into the silence of the car ride to the
office. Sebastian hasn’t said very much this morning, but I’m not sure if he’s
just tired from our long night of discussing this, or if it’s something else.

“I
told you, you’re not.” It’s true; Sebastian hasn’t blamed me a single time
since we read the note, but that hasn’t stopped me from feeling guilty. “Everyone
has people in their past, and you left for good reason. You aren’t responsible
for what they do once you’ve left them behind. Anyway, if anything, it’s more
my fault. I knew who he was, and what he was capable of, when I punched him at
the bar. It’s not the first time my temper has gotten me into trouble. Probably
won’t be the last, either.”

I
look over at him, wondering whether he’s thinking about our upcoming meeting
with Edward later this afternoon when he says that. Hopefully not. As much as
I’d love to watch him KO my ex, it would only make things far worse.

“Well,
the fact that he hasn’t gone public yet means he has something else in mind.” Or
he just wants to gloat while we beg. Fat chance of that happening. I would do
it, if it would save Piston, but Sebastian never would. “Maybe there is a way
out of this.”

There’s
no answer, but I don’t expect one. We went over every possibility we could
think of last night, and none of the options are good. I’m just talking to fill
the silence now. To distract myself from the crushing feeling of responsibility
for this whole mess. Edward is worth billions, and his company buys and sells
companies like Piston almost every month. I know what he’s capable of, and what
the most likely outcome of all of this is, and none of it is positive. He’s a
vindictive son of a bitch, and I can’t imagine he’s going to let Sebastian
hitting him, or hiring me when he was warned not to, go lightly. And it’s all
my fault, despite what Sebastian says. I brought the eyes of VI down on
Sebastian and his secrets when I met Edward at Axle’s that second time, even if
I was tricked. Sebastian warned me not to go back, and if I had only listened
none of this would have happened. And now he’s going to pay the price.

Edward
responded only minutes after Sebastian sent him an e-mail asking what he
wanted. He didn’t say much, only that we should come back to his office this
afternoon after work to discuss “terms”. I suggested to Sebastian that maybe we
could get the police involved, since this is clearly blackmail, but he pointed
out that it wouldn’t really help. Edward had an army of lawyers that would
protect him from any kind of harsh penalty, and pressing charges would require
us to hand over the evidence of Sebastian’s dual lives, which meant they were
certain to get out anyway. At least by meeting Edward we could figure out what
his plan was and whether we had any moves.

I
just hated the idea of going back to VI and facing him again. Knowing Sebastian
would be at my side was the only thing that made the whole idea bearable. But I
had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.

At
Piston, it seemed like business as usual, for the most part. No one but the
board knew about the takeover news yet. The stock purchases had still escaped
public notice, but they wouldn’t stay that way for long. Soon some financial
news agency would pick up on it, and then it would make headlines. Once that
happened, this place would get crazy. If we were going to do anything to stop
this thing, it had to be quick. As much as I hated the thought of it, the
meeting with Edward couldn’t come soon enough.

Sebastian
was busy with the board from lunch right on through to the end of the day, and
when he finally returned, he was in an even fouler mood than before.

“Didn’t
go well?”

“Most
of those bastards seriously seem to think that we should consider the offer. They
don’t even know what Edward plans on doing with the company yet. He’ll probably
just buy it and break it up just to piss me off, even if he takes a loss.”

I
nodded. That was definitely within the realm of possibilities when it came to
Edward. “Do they know it’s him?”

“No.
Right now, they seem to think that it’s most likely one of our competitors
looking to consolidate and buy us out before we become too big. Maybe if they
did know, it would change their tune. I’m not sure, though. I can almost see
the dollar signs in their eyes. Going public was a terrible idea.”

“So
does that mean you won’t have the votes to fight it?”

Sebastian
lets out a heavy breath as he moves to the big window overlooking the Chicago
skyline. “I don’t know,” he says, staring out at the gray sky. It had been
raining for the last hour with no sign of it clearing up. “I can’t get
commitments out of most of them. Even Hans won’t give me a straight answer,
although at least he’s still arguing that we should all just wait and see what
comes of this before making a decision. Some of the others are chomping at the
bit to sell now, worried that this deal might disappear before our numbers come
out for the quarter. We have a couple of weeks before that happens, but it
wouldn’t surprise me if at least a couple of them have already sold their
shares, or at least made promises to sell.”

I
walk over and put my hand on his broad shoulder, squeezing gently. His muscles are
solid, filled with the tension of the day. I press a bit harder to try and work
some of it out. “We’ll figure it out,” I say, hoping the lack of confidence I feel
won’t manifest in my voice.

“We
should go,” he says.

“Sebastian…”
He pauses on his way to the door and turns.

“I
know you don’t blame me, but I want to say that I’m sorry about all this. I hate
the idea of seeing Edward again, but I’m glad I’m going with you.”

The
edges of Sebastian’s mouth turn up, forming a little half smile as he reaches
one arm out to me. I move toward him, letting him pull me close for a hug. “Stop
blaming yourself,” he says quietly. “We’ll deal with this together. Edward has
no idea what he’s up against, coming after me.”

I
smile back and nod, but in my head I can’t help but wonder if the same thing is
true the other way around. Sebastian is a strong, powerful man physically, but
Edward is a shrewd and ruthless businessman. And unfortunately, I don’t think
raw muscle or force of will are going to be able to sway Edward from whatever
his end goal is. I’m worried that once Sebastian figures that out, he might
lose his temper and do something that may make things worse. For everyone.

The uncomfortable
familiarity of the VI offices almost makes my skin crawl. Passing Charles’
office is the worst, as images of Edward and Lindsey pop back into my head. I
don’t care about either of them anymore, but just recalling the sense of
betrayal that I felt at that moment still makes me feel sick. Lindsey’s
nameplate is still on the desk outside of it, but at least she isn’t there. I
wonder whether Edward scheduled this meeting for after-hours so that we wouldn’t
run into each other. He’s probably still fucking her, but he’s a fool if he
thinks I care anymore. He can put his dick wherever he wants now. Let it be
someone else’s problem.

Edward’s
office door is open, and he looks up from his computer as soon as we appear,
his eyes focusing on me instantly. The smile that spreads across his face makes
me furious. I hate that he has the power here, but that’s how it always is with
him. He always has to be the one holding all of the cards.

“Ah,
good afternoon, so nice of you to make it. Come in, come in.” He’s got his full-on
salesman mode going, but I can tell it’s just to piss us off, not because he
thinks he’s fooling anyone. Obviously, Sebastian knows it, too.

“Cut
the crap, Stonewall. What the fuck do you want? You have no interest in Piston.
Your beef is with me.”

The
smile never leaves Edward’s face as his eyes slide over to Sebastian. “Ah,
right to business. A man after my own heart.”

Sebastian
steps into the office and I follow, watching him closely. I’m relieved when he
stops just inside the door. If he gets too close to Edward, I’m worried he
won’t be able to stop himself from throwing punches. Edward has that effect on
even the most passive of people, and Sebastian is far from passive. His fists
are clenched, but he’s holding them down at his sides for now as he glares at
the man in front of him.

Edward’s
smile falters just a touch and he licks his lips nervously under Sebastian’s
silent, burning stare.

“Right,
well, to the point then. You’ve taken something that is mine, and I mean to
have it back.”

“Oh,
really? And what is that?”

Edward’s
eyes shift to me, and I feel a coldness in my chest as I realize this is even
more about me than I thought. “I was never yours,” I say, but my voice is
barely more than a whisper as I fight through the tightness in my throat.

“Are
you fucking insane?” Sebastian roars. His hands come up, but a sound from the
hallway makes us both turn. A few security guards have come out of one of the
offices and are standing a few feet away from the office. Edward was prepared
for us this time.

“Calm
down, Mr. Redding. No need for any of your gangster violence here. That would
just speed up the inevitable, and then even I won’t be able to shut all of this
down.”

“What
are you talking about?” I ask, my voice finally getting stronger. I’m as angry
as Sebastian, but it’s mixed with shame and guilt that I’m trying to keep from
overwhelming me.

“This
takeover. Your club. Everything. I’ve given the pictures to your friend there. Well,
‘friend’ may be a bit of a stretch. What does he call himself? Ripper? Charming.
At any rate, he was happy to get those pictures, but he has no idea where they
came from. But he wants to know more. He’s contacted me a couple of times
today, in fact. I get the feeling your gang doesn’t look too kindly on us
corporate types? It’s not too hard to imagine what they’d do if they found out
you were running Piston.”

My
heart freezes this time as he says that. How does he know that Sebastian is the
CEO?