House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 2) by Kylie Walker Read Free Book Online Page A

They’re caught in this, the same way that I have been. They don’t belong in prison.” Paige had differing opinions about Alex. From what she’d witnessed of him, he was as comfortable with his role in all of this as Jackson was. She wasn’t going to argue that point with Damien however. She knew from personal experience that sibling bonds are often tighter than any other.
    “The USB drive implicates Kramer, but there are also a lot of things on there that implicates Jackson and people in his organization...if you alter that, then it pretty much negates the evidence completely.”
    “So you’re saying that there’s no way we can take Kramer down without taking Damien’s family down with him?”
    “With the evidence you have, I’m afraid so. But you do have access to something that you might be able to use.”
    “What is that?” Damien asked.
    “I want you to take this with a grain of salt, okay? What I’m proposing could be very dangerous so I don’t want you to take this as a concrete suggestion on my part. I want it to be an abstract thought to begin with...something for you to talk about and consider.”
    “Sounds kind of ominous, Jake,” Paige said with a nervous laugh.
    He smiled at her but then looked at Damien and said, “You want out of the organization and you’ve already let Jackson know that, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “And he knows that you have evidence that can ruin him, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then maybe that’s your bargaining chip. Maybe you tell him that in exchange for something that will put Kramer away...which you know he already has at his disposal...you don’t use the evidence against him.”
    Paige looked at Damien. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking by the look on his face. He was silent for a long time and then he said, “I’ll give it some thought. Thank you, Jake.” He looked up at Roxi then and said, “Tomorrow, we’ll start looking for another place...”
    “Why?” She asked, sharply.
    “Because today is proof that we’re putting you at risk by being here.”
    “Bullshit. You’d be at much greater risk somewhere else. My security screwed up today by not checking that car. It won’t happen again.”
    “That was my fault,” Paige said. She didn’t want anyone in trouble or losing their job because of her.
    “No,” Roxi said. “They know better. You’re not a security expert, they are. None of that is the point though. The point is that you’re family and you’ll stay here as long as you need to.”
    “Thank you,” Damien said, “We’ll do our best to get this all straightened out as soon as possible. And thank you too, Jake.”
    “Not a problem. I will do whatever I can to help you both. No one should have to live in a life they don’t want to be in.”
    “Damien...there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Roxi said. She looked at Jake and said, “Give us about ten minutes and then I’ll be ready to go.”
    “Sure, no hurry,” Jake said, “Our reservations aren’t until seven.”
    “Excuse us for a few minutes Paige?”
    “Of course,” Paige said. She was curious, but she assumed whatever Roxi wanted to talk to her cousin about privately had to do with family. “I think I’ll make us something to eat if you don’t mind. My mother probably needs to eat.”
    “Help yourself,” Roxi told her. “Damien, come with me.”

Chapter 9
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    D amien was curious about what Roxi wanted to talk to him about that couldn’t be done in front of Jake and Paige. He followed her into an office and she said, “Have a seat.”
    He sat down in one of the office chairs and she said, “When your mom first got sick she sent a letter to me. There was a sealed envelope inside of it and in the letter to me; she asked that I give it to my father. My best guess is that she worried your father would somehow intercept it if she sent it directly to my dad. Dad didn’t tell me what the details of his letter were, but