Amelia wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. "I'm so sorry for what my father did."
I hugged her back. "I'm not worried about him."
"I don't think any of you are going to have to worry about him," Dax said. "Carlton has indicated that your father has said enough to incriminate him. I suppose the question now is how you want to use this information."
One of the men with Dax leaned closer to him and whispered.
"It looks like our men have been able to find some other information about your father's illegal activities. And at least one other person who is willing to report it. Between the three of you and this other person, plus what we have on tape, you have a lot to work with. So are you going to use it as leverage or...?"
Amelia's arm stayed around me. “What do you think? You’re his mark.”
“What do you and James think?”
She twisted around to look at her brother.
"I want him gone, Amelia. Out of our lives." James didn’t leave any room for uncertainty.
She nodded. "That could cause problems for the company. What if it can't survive?"
James shrugged. "I'm a big boy. I have options. Dad needs to be in a place where the only people he can hurt are the other inmates who are around him."
"Okay. I agree."
I didn't want to bring up the obvious, but I felt it was important to play devil’s advocate. "He'll still have time to try and hurt the two of you. Between the arrest and the trial, he will likely try to do as much damage as he can."
James straightened, lifting his chin. "I can handle it if you can, Amelia."
"I can handle it."
"Hell, yeah, you can. When I realized you were in here trying to get him to confess, my heart practically stopped," I said, pulling Amelia tighter against me.
“Now that all is well, we’ll pull this together into a report for all of you. We can help with making the police report, as well. Until he’s arrested, I would keep a low profile and not tip your hand. We don’t want him running off," Dax said as his men exited the door.
"A report to all of us?" James asked.
Dax nodded. "I'll let Mr. Clarke explain. The team and I will be on our way." Dax followed his men out of the townhome.
Amelia and James looked at me.
"I'd hired them to investigate as well,” I said.
Amelia arched a brow. "To investigate me?"
I didn't want to lie, but I had a hard time maintaining eye contact with her and telling her the truth. "I wanted to know what happened that night we couldn't remember, when we woke up married."
Her hand pressed against my cheek. "I don't blame you for your reaction. I'm glad you know the truth. That you believe the truth."
Guilt stabbed in my gut. "I should've believed you when you told me. I just... it was like I was having déjà vu. My reaction was an automatic response to being made a fool.”
"Amelia is the best woman you will ever meet." James still sounded unsure of me.
I nodded. "I recognize that now.”
"If you hurt her again, you and I are going to have some problems."
I nodded. "I understand."
When James left, I tugged Amelia over to the couch. I sat down and pulled her onto my lap. "I need to make amends to you, but I'm not sure what to do."