Money comes first before love

eeting with Nick Hastings had left her unsettled, and that text-disappearing as quickly as it arrived-added a l

fting through everything she could find on Nick Hastings. Public records, media interviews, corporate f

is silence. For all his public achievements, Hastings had kept his personal life under lock and key. No scandal

nd her heart leapt.

to some interesting offshore accounts. Sending

ith growing disbelief. There it was-a tangled web of accounts in the Cayman Islands and Singapore, money flowing in patterns

n a massive industrial accident overseas-a tragedy buried s

ttered under her breath

op. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. It was past midnigh

om in near silence. Peering thro

le

ne. She stepped back from the door

said, his voice calm but in

her address? Why was he here? A thousand though

ce steady despite the fear clawing at her chest. "W

I meant you harm,

e her believe him. Against her better judgment, she unlocked the door

ble. His suit was gone, replaced by a dark sweater an

she asked, her voice sh

estigating me. Did you think

to let him see her unease. "You didn'

laying a dangerous game, and you don't know the rules. Whatever

er eyes. "Is t

firmly. "It'

or tightened. "You thi

I'm here. Because I know you won't back down. And if y

It wasn't anger or condescension-it w

" she asked, her

efenses. "Because this world is darker than you realize,

d, crackling with unspoken tension. Then, just

turning to that familiar command. "And

nd disappeared down the hallway, leaving her

in shallow bursts. She wasn't sure what unnerved her more-his w

story anymore. And she wasn't sure s

was supposed to meet Eric to go over the files he'd uncovered, but her mind was elsewhere. She kept

down, expecting another message fr

Careful

: Un

was empty, but the sub

her heart pounding. Was so

le

c sliding into the seat acros

e asked, his

one into her bag. "But I'm sta

ctions. "You weren't kidding. Hastings is into some deep stuff. If I didn't know better, I'd

ts. "That means there's something he doesn't w

. Guys like Hastings? They don't j

her resolve hard

at Nick Hastings wasn't the only one with secrets-and that her se