Page 13 of Fatal Conspiracy

Alayah heard so much pride in Roman’s voice whenever he spoke of Mina. She dreamed about hearing that come from a man who loved her, but she knew that was a long shot at best. She might be little, but she was a lot to love for so many reasons. Thus far, she hadn’t found anyone willing to do it for long. Her gaze drifted to Derek, but she shook her head at herself.Never going to happen. Besides, he might be wanted for murder.

Zac walked up to them. “We were ready to let the cops know about it when Cal got that tingly sense he gets about a team member in trouble. We could see all your starts and stops that, frankly, didn’t make much sense. He called Kieran, who thought you were a little squirrelly when you met up, so Cal sent us out here to check out the cabin and ensure you were okay. We were at the cabin when your SOS button went off. Who are these guys?”

“SOS button?” Derek asked, turning to her.

“We all wear one. I didn’t have time to mention it, but I activated it before we left the SUV. I figured at least Secure Inc. could track us down if they took us.”

“More likely they were going to leave you here dead,” Declan called from where he stood by the bound guys. “They’re not talking, but these guns look good and deadly.”

Derek turned to Zac. “I don’t know who they are either,” he explained. “Though, I had a run-in with them earlier.” He pointed to his face, and Roman snapped on a flashlight, only to shut it off immediately with a grimace. “They didn’t tell me who had sent them, just that they wanted files. I assumed they were talking about the app that Hugo was working on.I didn’t even know that Hugo was dead until just about an hour ago.”

Declan glanced up from his phone. “Cal’s been updated. He wants us to return to Duluth, and he’ll meet us at the station.”

“Roger that,” Roman said. “I want you and Zac to take Alayah and Derek back to Duluth in her SUV. I’ll wait here for the police and then double back to where we parked ours.”

“Cal wants everyone to return to Duluth together,” Declan clarified, which made Alayah bite her lip. She didn’t know too many people who didn’t follow an order from Roman Jacobs. As Cal’s foster brother, and a former FBI agent, he was second in command of the ship. Especially when Cal wasn’t on site to assess the situation.

“Since he’s not on the ground and I am, that decision falls to me. These guys are going to be in that SUV when the police arrive,” he said, jabbing at the one behind her. “If we leave the vehicles unattended, someone else could swoop in and take them. I’d rather that didn’t happen as I’m sure the police would as well. The faster we know who’s signing their paychecks, the faster we get this solved so we can go home. Time is money and this is costing a lot of both right now.”

“Yes, sir,” Declan answered. Alayah was glad he was smart enough not to argue with him.

“All due respect, Roman,” Zac said, to which Roman frowned. “If Zac and I go with Alayah and Derek, that leaves you alone and vulnerable. That’s unacceptable. We all stay or we all go.”

Roman dropped a hand on his hip as he glanced between the group. “Then we all stay. I’ll have Cal send thecircus to us. Might as well get comfy. We’re going to be here for a while.”

He walked off while Zac returned to help Declan with the guys coming around after taking a knock on the head. Weren’t they in for a surprise?

Alayah turned to Derek. “When the cops arrive, I’m afraid they’ll arrest you. I’m sorry.”

“No apology needed,” he promised, taking her hand gently. Now that the terror had drained away and their lives weren’t at risk, she allowed herself a moment to bask in the warmth of his hand and the gentle way he caressed the back of hers. “You’ve gone above and beyond to help me tonight. If anything, I should apologize to you. It was wrong of me to involve you in my problems. You could have gotten hurt or killed. I didn’t use my best judgment tonight.”

“You’re right,” Declan said, walking up to them. “But neither did Alayah, even if her heart was in the right place. You have about ten minutes or less before the cops arrive. If I were you, I’d be sure your stories match. No lies. No half-truths. Just the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Got it?”

“Roger that,” Alayah muttered as he walked away. Something told her this was going to be a long night.

Chapter Eight

Derek sat inside his cabin at his kitchen table, facing off with a detective from the Duluth Police Department. While they should have taken him to the station, they also didn’t have any evidence that he had been the one to poison his boss. All they had was a water bottle that other people had come into contact with throughout the morning. He didn’t have a lawyer present but had nothing to hide, so he agreed to answer their questions. They already knew he’d touched the water bottle, but proving that he’d put the antifreeze in it was another matter.

“You understand that you have the right to an attorney?” the detective, who introduced himself as Henry, asked.

“Understood,” Derek agreed. “I don’t have anything to hide, and I had nothing to do with Hugo’s death. I didn’t even know he’d died until a few hours ago.”

“Walk me through what happened here,” he said, motioning around the room.

Derek explained how he’d walked in on the guy ransacking his cabin. They’d found his bag in one of the black SUVs, so at least they had proof he wasn’t lying about that. Not to mention the destruction to his face. “Once I got the upper hand, I ran,” Derek finished.

“And that’s when you ran into Ms. Heath? How do you know her again?”

“I don’t know her, know her,” Derek explained. The last thing he wanted to do was make it out as though he was using Alayah. Maybe he didn’t know her well, but he did care about her and felt terrible that his situation put her in a position that might jam her up. “We met briefly at the convention center before I left earlier today. After escaping the cabin, I ran across the highway, and she almost clipped me with her car. I asked her for a ride when she stopped to check on me.”

“And that’s when she told you about your boss’s death?” Detective Henry asked, taking notes on a pad in front of him.

“No, she didn’t tell me. I found out when I saw a news story at a gas station. She was kind enough to let me ride with her to Two Harbors to escape the guys who attacked me.”

“Maybe not the smartest move on her part,” Henry muttered, to which Derek shrugged.

“Probably not, but it was kind. I was bleeding from my nose and couldn’t see out of one eye. This,” he said, motioning at his face, “is a thousand times better than it looked when she found me on the side of the road.”