“Great.”
He stepped over to the counter and put a fresh filter in the coffee maker as he announced, “You were talking in your sleep.”
“Oh, really? What was I saying?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t make it out, but you seemed pretty upset about something.” He placed the bread on the counter as he told me, “I’m sure it had something to do with our unwanted guests last night.”
“About that...” As much as I was dreading telling him about what I’d done, I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I asked, "Do you remember when we were at the diner, and I told you that I had something to tell you?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I think it’s time we talk about that.”
“Okay. What’s on your mind?”
“I did something that I shouldn’t have.” I backed up against the counter and let out a deep sigh. “It was stupid and rash, and I’m pretty sure it’s why those men came to your house last night.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was frustrated, and I wanted to make DeLuca pay for all the horrible things he’d done.”
“I’m not following.”
“It happened the day that Viper and his brothers came to the house. I was already feeling a little vulnerable, and then I overheard you all talking about getting me gone sooner than later... which stung a little.” I couldn’t even look at him as I continued, “So, I went downstairs to put some distance between us. And that’s when I saw your computer.”
“What the hell did you do?”
I inhaled a quick breath, then let it out as a grumble before admitting, “I took some of his money—a good bit of it, and I moved it into a private account that he couldn’t access.”
“I made him all that money,” I continued. “Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I was trying to keep my father alive, but he’d already killed him. And then, he tried to kill me, too. I wanted to make him pay, so I got him where it hurts him the most. His pocketbook.”
“Dammit, Everleigh.” He ran his hand roughly down his handsome face. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was upset, and I wanted to make him pay for the hell he’d put me through.” I hated seeing Billy so angry, so I tried to calm him down by adding, “I was really careful. I made sure there was no way he would know it was me.”
“Clearly, you weren’t as careful as you thought,” he snapped. “I’ve done everything in my power to make sure he couldn’t get to you, and you just invited him right in.”
“That wasn’t my intent.” My voice trembled with guilt. “I thought I had covered my tracks.”
“Would be hard pressed to get anything past a man like him. He’s got people on his payroll that can do just about anything, including hunt down an IP address.”
“I’m so sorry, Billy. If I could take it back, I would.”
His expression softened as he stepped over to me and slipped his arms around my waist. As he pulled me close, he assured me, “We’ll figure it out.”
“But how? What are we going to do?”
Billy looked anxious as he told me, “First, I’ve gotta get in touch with Viper and let him know what’s going on.”
“Doc’s friend?” My throat tightened with worry as I asked, “The scary one?”
“Yeah, that’d be the one.”
“What does he have to do with all of this?”
“You know how DeLuca has people?” I nodded. “Well, I have them, too. And Viper is one of those people.”
“I see. So, he can help us?”