“Right,” Knox said, clearing his throat. “I need you to find someone for me. You have a minute?”
“Sure, come on in,” Slater said, holding the door open wide.
“I haven’t been over here in ages,” Knox admitted.
“Well, feel free anytime,” Slater offered. “After all—you do own the place,” he teased. Slater sat down at the laptop he had open on the kitchen table. “Beer?” he asked. Knox knew that he was going to need to have all of his wits about him if Slater was able to find Beck’s sister’s house.
“No,” he said. “Thanks though.”
“Who am I finding for you, Boss?” Slater asked.
“Rainey Nolan,” he whispered her name as if he was telling Slater a secret. It felt wrong to go poking around in Beck’s family’s private information, but she didn’t leave him much choice when she took off on him today. He needed to find her and explain about Felicity.
“And she is?” Slater asked.
“Does it matter who she is?” Knox questioned.
“Nope,” Slater said, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Within minutes, he had a picture of Rainey, her kids, and her dead husband. He felt like a complete asshole reading all of her sister’s private information. Knowing so much about Rainey Nolan felt like an invasion of her privacy—especially the part about her losing her husband while he was serving in the military. Unfortunately, it was all public record for him and everyone else in the world to see.
“Wow,” Slater said. “She looks an awful lot like Beck. Her sister hasn’t had a very easy life.”
“No she hasn’t,” Knox agreed. “I had no idea that Beck even had a sister who had gone through such a loss. She mentioned Rainey in passing, saying that her sister thought that dating me was a giant fucking mistake, but that was about it.” Knox sunk into the chair next to Slater and ran his hands through his already unruly hair.
“You think it’s a good idea for you to go storming over there then?” Slater asked.
“No,” Knox admitted. “Yes,” he said, quickly changing his mind. “I need to talk to her. I need to tell her that Felicity is a lying bitch,” he breathed.
Slater sat back in his seat and sighed. “She’s more than just a lying bitch, Boss,” he grumbled. “I was waiting until morning to tell you this, but I put a man on Felicity, tracking her.”
“And,” Knox said, standing from his chair. It nearly fell over with the force of him standing so quickly.
“And, she’s been spotted sitting outside of Beck’s apartment building.” Slater shoved the computer screen in Knox’s direction and pulled up some still photos of her sitting in her car, watching Beck’s building.
“She’s stalking Beck?” Knox asked.
“Looks that way, Boss,” he agreed. “I hate to say it but I think she might be more than just a liar or a blackmailer. I think that given the chance, she’ll go after Beck and possibly, you,” Slater said.
“Fuck,” Knox growled. “Why the hell would she do this?”
Slater shrugged, “Don’t know, really. Maybe she’s always been unstable and you not hiring her back has sent her over the edge. Maybe she’s jealous that you never made a play for her like you have Beck,” Slater said.
“I’m not making a fucking play for Beck,” Knox shouted. “I like her. Hell, I more than like her, but now, she might not ever give me the chance to tell her that.” He stared Slater down, hands on his hips, trying to decide his next move.
“What’s it going to be, Boss?” Slater asked. “We going over to this Rainey’s place to find Beck or are you going to wait her out?”
“If Beck goes back to her apartment and Felicity is there to hurt her, she’ll potentially be in danger,” Knox said. He was trying to work it all out in his head before making a decision.
“Right, and if you go storming over there, you might be putting her in danger. If she gets pissed off that you found her, she might retreat to her place and play right into Felicity’s plan—whatever it might be.”
“Shit,” he breathed. “There is no right or wrong here. I think I need to follow my gut. I want to find Beck. I can’t let her think that I do this with all of my assistants. I can’t let her think that Felicity is telling her the truth.”
“Well, I have an idea, if it helps. I mean, it might soften the blow of you just showing up and banging on her sister’s front door,” Slater offered.
“Let’s have it,” he ordered. “I’m open to any suggestions.”
“We call her sister, Rainey, and tell her what’s happened. We tell her that she, her children, and Beck are all possibly in danger, and I’m betting they agree to sit down and hear you out.” It was a pretty damn good plan unless Rainey was as stubborn as her sister, then he was screwed.
“How will we get her number?” Knox asked.