Page 52 of Seduced By the Billionaire
Did this seem too… easy? But was it really so weird to get a break after six years of running and five years of horrific abuse before that?
“No warrant—I didn’t want a paper trail. Cleareye Traffic Solutions is a small, private corporation. I put in an offer to purchase it for twenty percent above market value with the caveat that they provide those feeds within the hour.”
She swallowed hard. “Exactly… how much money do you have?”
But he’d already told her. Billions, he’d said. Billions.
“Enough to bury that entire Podunk town where Daniel has deemed himself king. And enough to take care of your mother.”
Her heart soared, hope flickering through the darkness that had held her captive for so long. Ronan was going to do it—he was really going to put Daniel away. But… with or without her help? Fuck that. She wanted to be there—wanted to watch them slap the cuffs on him. Wanted to see Daniel’s face when he realized he’d lost.
Juliette sniffed. “I should be the one to lure him out.”
Ronan snapped the laptop closed and shook his head. “Tell me what you know. Agree to testify. Then you’ll stay here with private security, where you’ll be safe. That’s all the help I need.”
Was he fucking kidding? “No.”
His eyes widened. “No?”
She clenched her fists, muscles knotted, her bare toes touching his shoes. “He would have left the city already if he’d managed to kill you the first time. You’re the reason he’s still here.”
“I know. Which is exactly why?—”
“I’ll be damned if I let you go out there alone. I’m safer than any of you in his presence. I’m dead, remember? A wanted woman if anyone finds out I’m still alive—plus, he has my mother. I have more to lose than he does. Trust me, he won’t show his face to you or anyone else.”
She laid a hand on his shoulder atop the gauze, a silent reminder of yesterday’s brush with death. “He tried to kill you once. He’ll try again. But he’s had thousands of chances, and he’s never tried to kill me.”
He balked, but she went on, “He’s hurt me, but he doesn’t want me dead. If he has a choice, he’ll let me get away so he can keep playing his stupid game. And if we let him leave New York, if he figures out you’re protecting my mom, that he has no job… he’ll vanish. We’ll never be safe again.”
Ronan’s jaw tightened. “I won’t put you in harm’s way, Juliette. I can’t do that.”
“I’m not asking your permission.” She squared her shoulders, suddenly feeling ten feet tall. “He’s tortured me for years. I want to make sure that payback is a bitch.”
Chapter 24
Ronan
High gear—there was no other speed, not now. They had to move quickly. It had only been three days since Jason Mercer’s death, but their window to catch Daniel was already closing.
Juliette was right: The only reason Daniel was still in the city was because he saw Ronan as a threat. He might not know that Ronan was onto him yet, but he clearly knew that Ronan and “Jenny” were closer than he’d like. That Ronan would believe her if she told him what a monster her husband was. As Deputy Sanchez had.
Daniel couldn’t let that stand. It was one thing to go up against your wife, especially when you were holding her mother hostage. It was another to cross a cop. And it was far easier to kill any officer who got in your way than to fight it out in court.
Ronan studied the wall in his office, the window covered in the pastel sticky notes he’d been using to sort his thoughts. The names of the men Daniel had hired to follow Juliette, possible hideouts, notes on the security cameras, and details about the bomb planted at Ronan’s home.
One section focused on Pathguard Technology, Charles’s security company, which had conveniently disabled Ronan’s front door camera while a bomber rigged the knob. Now they knew why: a new hire had joined last week. On paper, he had a clean record and extensive network engineering experience. According to Benjamin Shannon, all he had to do was shut off the feed at a precise time, and no one would discover that his résumé was a complete fabrication.
Ronan blinked at the scribbled notes. He was a ball of red string away from looking like a full-blown conspiracy theorist. He sighed and raised his fingertips to his head, rubbing his throbbing temples.
Ronan had no idea when Daniel would attack again or what he might have planned. But Daniel couldn’t wait long. Ronan highly doubted the sheriff had taken a month off—a week, tops, and that was already half gone. And he wouldn’t want a paper trail, plane tickets, which meant he’d need a day and a half to drive back home.
Today was the day. He could feel it in his bones.
And therein lay the problem. It took weeks to get approvals for a proper sting. They had a number of officers ready to go, but he’d need backup from private security, maybe friends in VICE. They might need more than he could rally in a few hours… presuming he had a few hours.
Ronan dropped his hands. He hated this. Hated that even here in his house, she might be in danger.
“There’s no faster way to end this than to put me in front of him.”
