I was surprised to hear the words. Like her touch, I didn’t deserve them.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“What, do you think I’m some kid who just says things? Jason, I know you didn’t intend for this to happen.”
“But it did. And here I am, my business still hurting those I care about.” I stood up. “I need to be alone. I need to think about all of this. And you need to do the same.”
“Jason…”
I didn’t respond but went to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. After sitting down at my desk, I turned on the computer there and placed a call on my encrypted line.
Scott’s face appeared on the screen.
“Bro,” he said. “What’s up? You still in London?”
“Leaving London now,” I said tersely. Scott’s expression darkened—he knew right away that something was wrong.
“What happened? You meet with the London division?”
“You could say that.”
“Fuck. Give me all the details.”
I went into it, telling him about the meeting that ended up being a trap, and the attack in the alley.
“They were planning on kidnapping April and Willa and using them as some kind of leverage,” he said.
“No doubt. They want to break away from the company and are willing to go to any length to do it.”
Scott glanced away. “They must’ve heard about your plans to shut them down.”
“I’m sure of it. But how the hell did they have find out? You haven’t told anyone, have you?”
“Of course not, Jason. I’ve put orders down the line to start the process, but I haven’t told anyone enough for them to understand what’s happening.”
“Well, someone figured it out. And I want you to find out who it was.” There was anger in my voice, pure venom.
Scott nodded. “We could do that. Or…”
“Or what?”
He shook his head. “Jason, it’s clear this thing is getting out of hand. I know you want to put Ryder on the straight and narrow, but it’s proving to be far more complicated and dangerous than you imagined.”
“But it needs to be done.”
“I know—I understand that. But now Willa’s gotten roped into it.”
“Get to the point, Scott.”
Scott averted his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Step down. Step down, and turn the company over to me.”
“What? What on earth are you talking about?”
“Jason, you and I want the same thing for Ryder. And neither of us wants to see what happened with Megan happen again.”
“Don’t bring her up like this, not when we’re talking about business.”
“I don’t want to have to, but it’s necessary. I’m your brother, and I love you. And I don’t want to see you go through that again. If you were to turn the company over to me, you’d be out of danger. No one would bother to lay a hand on you or Willa—what would be the point? I could finish the process, and all the heat would be on me.”