Chapter 146

I didn’t think before I made my next move.

“Wait!” I exclaimed, rushing in between Andrew and Lisa. “Andrew, you don’t really want to do this, do you?”

Andrew squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest.

“Yes, I do.”

“You want to ruin your relationship with Lisa over a hunch?” I knew that I would hate myself for this later, but I couldn’t let my issues with Bob come between father and daughter. “We don’t even have any evidence that he did it.”

I looked between Andrew and Lisa. I caught a glimpse of Jeffrey over by the door. His expression did not betray any of his emotions, but his tense body told me that he was not happy with my decision to take this tactic.

I turned my attention back to Andrew, trying to ignore Jeffrey’s eyes boring into me.

“We don’t know for sure that Bob’s responsible,” I asserted.

“You seemed certain before,” Andrew replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “What changed your mind?”

I hesitated.

I couldn’t tell him the truth, that I did still think that Bob did it, but I also couldn’t lie and tell him that something random changed my opinion. I sighed. Once again, I settled on telling him a half-truth.

“I don’t want you to lose your daughter over this.”

Andrew did not respond. He stared straight into my eyes, searching them for something. It unnerved me and froze me where I stood.

I had never been able to tell when Andrew was sifting through my mind, but I was pretty certain that this was one of those moments. I wished that I could look away, but something compelled me to keep staring at him as he assessed…whatever it was he was assessing.

When Andrew finally broke eye contact, I released a small breath that I hadn’t realized that I had been holding.

“Fine,” he relented. He shifted his attention to Bob and Lisa. “Bob, you can stay.”

“Thank you, Your Highness—”

“I’m not finished,” Andrew growled, his hand curling into a fist. “You can stay, but if I hear so much as a whisper that you might have harmed or threatened or might even be capable of harming or threatening someone whom I care about, I will personally rip you to shreds. No more second chances.”

Andrew glared at Bob, his gaze unwavering.

“Do you understand?” he said, his voice reverberating throughout the room.

Bob nodded, holding Andrew’s stare steadily.

“Perfectly.”

Andrew reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me to his side. His eyes never leaving Bob, he led me out of the room. Jeffrey followed right behind us.

As I felt Bob’s and Lisa’s eyes on us, I couldn’t help but think that this was far from over.

• * *

Later that afternoon, Andrew sat alone in his home office, a red manila folder lying in front of him. He fidgeted with the Newton’s cradle on his desk, grabbing one of the tiny metal balls, pulling it back, and releasing it. He watched as the balls hit each other back and forth in a hypnotic movement, calming the chaotic rhythm of his thoughts.

There was so much that he had seen in Crystal’s mind when he had searched it earlier that day.

Anxiety. Fear. Concern that she would cause a rift between him and Lisa.

Worst of all, he saw that Crystal did still think that Bob had planted—or had someone plant—the silver bombs in both her and Lisa’s cars. He didn’t need to look into Jeffrey’s mind to know that the guard thought the same thing. The problem was that Andrew did not know what to do about it, especially if Crystal and Lisa would not let him sever ties with Bob.

What Andrew needed was evidence, some proof that Bob was connected to everything that was going wrong. Only then would he be able to do something to keep Crystal and Lisa safe. Only then would Lisa listen to him that Bob was too dangerous to have in their family—he hoped.

A knock at the door brought Andrew out of his mind and back to the present.

“Come in!” he called out.

Parker entered with a nondescript man in a collared shirt and blue jeans.

“Your Highness, I have a Mr. Jasper Smith here to see you,” Parker announced.

“Yes, very good,” Andrew replied. “Please sit, Mr. Smith.”

Mr. Smith nodded and took his seat directly across the desk from Andrew.

“Can we get you anything to drink?” Andrew asked.

Mr. Smith shook his head.

“Very well,” Andrew said. “Parker, you are dismissed.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Parker said. He gave a bow to both Andrew and Mr. Smith before leaving the room.

Andrew turned his attention to Mr. Smith.

“Thank you for coming here on such short notice, Mr. Smith,” he said.

“Anything for my favorite client,” Mr. Smith replied in a surprisingly raspy voice. “What can I do for you today, Your Highness?”

Andrew slid the manila folder across the desk to Mr. Smith.

“I want you to gather as much information as you can on the man indicated in this folder. Specifically, I want you to see if there is any evidence proving that he is responsible for the events listed.”

Mr. Smith opened the manila folder and read through its contents. His eyes widened as they landed on Bob’s photograph. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“These are quite the accusations, Your Highness,” he said. “Bombing your daughter’s car…planting another bomb in your girlfriend’s, Crystal Blanchard’s, car…murdering an accountant named John Brown…kidnapping Crystal and throwing her to vampires…numerous other attacks against Crystal Blanchard…not something that I would expect from an Alpha King candidate. At least, not something that I would want to find out about an Alpha King candidate.”

Andrew nodded, steepling his fingers.

“You can see why I would want to find out if there’s any evidence connecting him to these events.”

“Yes, I certainly would not want someone would a rap sheet like this to become Alpha King. If I were you, I would want to ensure that the people knew what kind of candidate they were might be voting for.”

“It’s more than that,” Andrew growled. “This man wants to marry into my family. This is personal.”

Mr. Smith closed the manila folder.

“You know my rates, $200 per hour plus expenses.”

“Invoice me at the end of each day, and I’ll wire the money to your account.”

Mr. Smith nodded, slapping the manila folder against the palm of his hand.

“Very well. You should know, though, that this kind of project could take a while. If he is connected to these events, he will have covered his tracks.”

“I am well aware. That’s why I’m hiring you.”

“I might also have to use some…unorthodox tactics. Perhaps some unethical ones as well.”

“I don’t care. Just do whatever it takes.”

Mr. Smith arched a brow at Andrew.

“Of course, Your Highness. Anything else?”

“One last thing.” Andrew leaned in towards Mr. Smith. “Don’t get caught.”

“I never am.”

“It’s imperative that you aren’t this time. Lives are at stake, and not just yours.”