Opening his fist, he glanced down at the flash drive before lifting his eyes to Jill’s face. ‘Gayle always told me about the worst threats, so that I could be prepared,’ he said, watching for any sign that Gayle’s niece knew more than she should.
Jill’s head tilted to one side, her eyes narrowing. ‘So that you could be prepared, or so that you could eliminate the threat?’
She didn’t know, Marcus thought. But she suspected, and that was troubling enough. He chilled his tone. ‘Perhaps you should define “eliminate”.’
The pulse fluttered at the base of her throat, the color rising in her cheeks. She was afraid, but she didn’t blink. That could be very good or very, very bad. ‘You were a Ranger, Marcus. You own every gun known to man, and very few of them are registered.’
How she knew about his army background and his gun collection would be a question he’d table for later. ‘Yet you stay.’
She lifted a shoulder. ‘Like I said before, you pay me well. And Aunt Gayle won’t leave you. I can’t tell her what I think. She won’t believe you are capable of doing any wrong. She thinks you walk on water.’
Because Gayle loved him. Of that, Marcus had never had a single doubt. ‘You didn’t answer my question, Jill,’ he said, letting menace creep into the words. ‘Define “eliminate”.’
She swallowed hard. ‘I saw the patterns in the threats that came in before I took over. Some were just . . . noise. People spouting off. But others were serious. They got bad, then worse, then . . . they stopped.’
Marcus stared at her as the seconds ticked by. He’d admit to nothing, not until she made an accusation. Finally, she dropped her gaze, focusing on her feet. ‘Did you kill them?’
He had to admire her guts. ‘No,’ he said quietly. At least he hadn’t killed any of them yet. But he’d been tempted so many times. ‘I have other means.’
Her swallow was audible this time, and his admiration grew when she lifted her chin, locking stares once again. ‘Legal means?’
Damn, the girl really did have a spine. He smiled at her, very nearly amused. ‘Mostly.’
‘That’s all you’re going to say?’ she asked, her voice rising an octave. ‘Mostly?’
‘That’s all you asked.’
She drew a breath. ‘All right, if that’s the way the game is played. If you’re caught doing something that falls outside of “mostly”, will my aunt be in trouble with the law?’
He regarded her carefully. ‘Aren’t you worried about yourself?’
‘Of course, but I’m more worried about Aunt Gayle. If she gets arrested . . . Her heart couldn’t take that.’
‘You assume Gayle knows about any activities that are less than “mostly”.’
‘I assume nothing,’ she said stiffly. ‘I know there are parts of Gayle’s hard drive that I couldn’t access. I also know that she has a separate, secret email account that I couldn’t break into. She clearly has something to hide. I just want her safe. And alive.’
That Jill hadn’t been able to hack into their protected, encrypted files made him feel a little better. Unless she was lying to buy his confidence. Always a possibility.
He tossed the flash drive in the air and caught it again. ‘You said you were worried that one of these threats could be real, that I’d get killed, and that you’d lose your job. But you didn’t think to warn me?”
‘No. I figured you couldn’t be too worried. You never checked the file yourself.’
‘I thought you didn’t set out to monitor me.’
‘I didn’t. It was merely a side benefit. Are . . . are you going to fire me?’
He probably should. She was too smart and knew a little too much. But he’d keep her close for now so that he could monitor her. ‘No. You love your aunt, as do I. You acted to protect her. You shouldn’t have needed to. I should have realized I was asking too much of her, long ago. I won’t make that mistake again.’
‘Thank you.’ Her rigid shoulders relaxed and she drew a deep breath, as if she were bracing herself. As it turned out, she had been. ‘So, are you going to tell me what’s in the secret files that my aunt keeps for you?’
He gave her a cutting glance. ‘Don’t push your luck, kid.’
Her shoulders went rigid again. ‘You don’t trust me.’
‘You’re damn right I don’t.’ He pulled an ancient laptop from his desk drawer. This old beast wasn’t connected to any network, so if there were any viruses or Trojans on Jill’s drive, they’d do no damage. ‘Trust is earned. You haven’t earned mine yet.’
‘But I still can?’
‘That’s totally up to you.’ He powered up the laptop, plugged in the flash drive, then gave her a cold look. ‘Your initial instincts were good, Jill. I’m not a gentle man. I’m not always a nice man. But I try to do the right thing and I am loyal to those who have earned my trust and respect. I hired you because Gayle asked me to, but make no mistake – if you fuck with me, being Gayle’s niece won’t help you. Do you understand me?’
She swallowed audibly again. ‘I understand. Do you plan to tell my aunt?’
‘No. But I will find a way to “discover” her heart attack and make sure she takes it easy.’ He’d also make sure that he limited Jill’s access to his business. He’d get one of his other staff members – someone he truly trusted – to intercept the mail from now on.
‘Thank you,’ she said on a shuddered exhale.
‘You’re welcome. You should go home, get some rest.’ The ancient laptop had finally opened the file on the flash drive, and he shifted his attention from Jill to his screen, dismissing her. The list she’d compiled was several steps up in vitriol compared to the sanitized list Gayle had been keeping, but he saw pretty quickly that none of the threats could plausibly be behind the shooting this morning. He’d choose the ones that were most likely to set Detective Bishop’s mind at ease about him having been the target.
‘Why now?’ Jill asked.
His head jerked up, his brow furrowing when he saw her still standing in the doorway. ‘I thought you were going home.’
She crossed the room to stand at the edge of his desk. ‘Why did you check the list now, when you haven’t looked at it for the past nine months?’
He gritted his teeth. ‘None of your business, Jill. Now go home.’
‘It is my business if it affects my aunt,’ she insisted. ‘You came to check the list because you got hurt tonight. I don’t see any blood, so I guess you’ll be okay. But if you think someone on Gayle’s list or on that flash drive is trying to hurt you, they might hurt her too.’
He met her eyes, held her gaze, made his own as threatening as he could. But even though she trembled, she didn’t stand down. This girl did have courage. Whether she had honor remained to be seen.
Again she swallowed audibly. ‘Who is Tala? I heard you say her name.’
He started to swear, but hesitated, unsure of what to do. Obviously she’d heard the tape he’d been listening to. He didn’t want to tell her anything, but he knew she would figure it out. Even if he didn’t have Stone write the story of Tala’s murder, some other news source would report it, together with Marcus’s presence at the scene. She’d put two and two together.
He wanted to fire her, but he knew it was too late for that.
The front door to the office suite opened. ‘Marcus?’ Stone called from the lobby.
Jill jerked in surprise, glancing at the clock on the wall. ‘What’s he doing here?’
‘I asked him to come,’ Marcus said, and suddenly the solution was clear. ‘You want to earn my trust?’
Her expression faltered. ‘Yes,’ she said slowly, uncertainly. ‘How?’
Stone’s heavy footsteps got louder, then he stopped abruptly in the doorway, filling it easily. He blinked in surprise. ‘Jill? What are you doing here so early?’ He lifted his brows at her appearance. ‘Or should I say late?’ He gave Marcus a questioning look.
‘I want Jill to assist you in investigating the story I called you about.’