“Do you need a minute to process this?”
“No, I’m okay. Go ahead. How does he have offshore accounts and hasn’t been caught yet? That sounds like the kind of smoking gun the original PI would’ve found.”
“He did, but they were in Mom’s name.”
“He put the accounts in Mom’s name?He’s done a lot of despicable things, but I think this one really takes the cake. I can’t believe him.”
Ian looked over at Dean, who met his gaze and gave him a grim smile. “Are you sure you don’t need a minute? This is a lot to process.”
“I don’t need a minute,” Lily maintained after a brief pause. “Stop worrying about me and tell me what the plan is. What are we going to do?”
“Bryce advised me to get a lawyer, a good lawyer who’s going to know how to take on a man like Eric.”
“I’ll call Liam. He must have a lead on a lawyer who can take this case on.”
“Lil, wait. I need you to think about this. It’s not that I don’t appreciate all the help he’s given me so far, but he’s only been consulting. Your father… What if he finds out Liam has been consulting and trying to help us find a lawyer?”
“My father’s going to have to deal with it,” Lily told him, a hint of finality in her voice. “We’re not going to turn our backs on you, Ian. Not when you need us.”
“I can do this some other way. I can find a lawyer myself or something.”
“Someone who doesn’t know how sneaky and underhanded Eric is? No, whoever is brought on is going to need to be debriefed by Liam, so it’s easier if he does the looking.”
Ian took Lily off speaker and pressed the phone to his ear. He inched away from Dean and looked out the window at the trees and other cars rolling past. “Lily, I really need you to think this through. This is the boy’s grandfather. If we do this, he can’t go back. Liam won’t be able to take it back.”
Lily exhaled. “I know, but it’s his decision to make, not mine. And I know he feels responsible. Wealldo.”
“None of you are responsible for this.”
“I’ll give Liam a call anyway, and I’ll have him call you. If you’re asking for my permission, Liam is a grown-up; he doesn’t need it.”
“Are you going to be okay with it?”
Because he didn’t want to lose his sister after spending most of their lives apart.
“We’re good, E. Don’t worry. Let’s just make sure we have a good case, okay? Because we only get one good shot at this before all hell breaks loose.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Can you talk?”
Ian glanced over his shoulder and stood up. “Hold on. The lounge is empty right now, so I can go in there.”
Keeping his head down, Ian weaved in and out of the other officers, stopping when he reached the door of the staff lounge. After another quick look around, he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Then he pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.
“What’s up?”
Liam sounded distracted and anxious when he spoke. “I’ve got an old buddy of mine who works for the FBI. I’ve been doing everything I can to build a case against Eric, and I think we just caught a break.”
Ian’s heart missed a beat. “What did you find?”
“It’s not me. It’s my—Eric. He’s on the FBI watch list.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we have a shot, after all,” Liam replied, his voice rising toward the end. “Since he’s on their watch list, it means he must’ve done something big. Something they want to nail him for. Now, all we have to do is gather enough evidence.”
“Isn’t that the FBI’s job in this case?”
