“Your nanny girlfriend,” he said, shaking his head. “God, I can’t believe you let someone like her get so close to you, someone who was working against you this entire time.”
I stopped, stunned. “What?”
A hesitant but pleased smile formed on Scott’s lips.
“You didn’t know? Jason—she was a plant. Anton sent her here to steal information that he could use to blackmail you.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Of course I am. Anton and I both knew we wouldn’t be able to talk you out of your stupid fucking plan to ruin everything. So, we got a little insurance.”
My eyes narrowed into furious slits. “Tell me what you mean.”
“Her brother’s some street punk who made the big mistake of stealing from Anton. Kid should’ve gotten killed for that one, but when he let it slip he had a sister who worked as a nanny, it got me thinking about how you’d been looking for one. Gears were turning, you know?”
“So you sent her to betray me.”
He snorted. “That was the plan, anyway. She got the information we needed, then got cold feet. Should’ve known she’d end up falling for the boss.”
“Wait, she turned her back on you?”
“Don’t get too excited. She got the information but kept it to herself. So, we put a little more pressure on her, got her to think Shauna was her good bud and used that against her.”
He shook his head. “We didn’t want it to come to this, Jason. All you had to do was give the company over to me. You’d be out of it like you wanted, and Dad’s legacy would live on. Easy. But no, you had to play asshole with a heart of gold.”
I stepped back, dropping onto the couch behind me. I was stunned, totally beside myself. April had been hired to betray me, but didn’t?
Was it because she felt the same way about me that I felt about her?
“You can end this right now,” said Scott. “Agree to give the company over to me, and it’ll all be over.”
“I give the company over to you, and you’ll keep it a criminal organization—until you get caught.”
He snorted again. “We’re not going to get caught.”
I shook my head. “No—you are. Listen, I didn’t want to tell you this, but the FBI’s been breathing down my neck for the last year. Me wanting to go straight is about doing the right thing, but it’s also about getting out while we still can.”
“The FBI? You’re bluffing.”
I removed my wallet from my back pocket, taking out the card for Agent Martinez. Then I tossed it onto the antique coffee table between us.
“That’s the agent in charge of the investigation. She’s good—smart as hell, tenacious. And she’s been building a case against us that’s going to bring down this entire organization if we let it.”
“You’re full of shit. How would you know about this?”
“Because she’s giving me an out. Anton’s the one they really want. I work to take him down, take down the last of the criminal division of Ryder, and they’ll let me off easy. And you can be let off easy, too.”
The color drained from Scott’s face, along with the cockiness.
“You’re…this is some kind of trick.”
“It’s not. Scott, you’ve fucked me over, put Willa in danger. I’ve got every reason to throw you to the wolves. But I don’t want to—you’re my brother. Dad might’ve been ruthless, but at least he taught us the importance of family.”
I reached forward and tapped the card. “You want to go down with the ship, or take your chances on getting out before it does, then that’s your choice to make. But if you want to do the right thing…you can.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “There’s no way they’re serious. Jason, we’ve been overseeing one of the largest money laundering operations in the country. You really think they’ll let us walk for that?”
“I’ve been shutting down those operations, and there’s only one that remains that they can connect to us. But you’re right—we’re not going to walk. We do this, and we both do time. But not nearly as much as if we don’t work with the feds.”