CHAPTER EIGHT

Once the rain slacked off a bit, everyone made their way to the cafeteria for lunch. While Ajei and Gabi did a quick check on Khloe’s hand, Jonas filled the others in on what he’d learned about her ex-fiancé.

“They were working together on something,” said Jonas. “I’m not sure what, but Archie Mansur and Colonel Brockman knew one another.”

“Jonas,” said Wade in a low voice, “when Khloe told us she’d gotten engaged, we were thrilled for her. But once she voiced some concern about her decision, we decided to do some checking on him. Honestly we should have done a background on him before then. I don’t know why we didn’t. Probably the girls telling us we were prying. Anyway, we knew that Khloe was coming home soon, and we’d have a conversation with her. As it turned out, she broke off the engagement after what he did, and it wasn’t necessary.”

“What did you find?” he asked with a frown.

“Archie Mansur was working in the same firm as his father. Copeland, Mansur, and Vaughn. They handle a lot of corporate law but specialize in anything to do with image.”

“Image?” he frowned.

“If your image needs improvement or someone wants it destroyed, they were the firm to do it. We think they were helping Brockman to slowly destroy Harris. In the end, none of that mattered. But if Archie owed Brockman a favor, this whole bullshit might have been it.”

“I knew it was all connected, but we were never able to prove it. Frankly, after my wife’s death, all I could focus on was whatever Harris needed. Most days, I forgot to eat or shower. He wasn’t happy about that,” smirked Jonas. “Ordered me to go home, shower, sleep for two days, and eat a whole pizza by myself. Bastard even had it delivered to my house. Then, when Harris died, it just seemed unimportant, and with Brockman dead, I felt like I had my peace. But if Archie was a part of this and killed my wife intentionally, I’m going to have to make that right.”

Wade stared at the young man, then looked at Garr and the others.

“No one understands revenge better than a Belle Fleur man, Jonas. But my concern right now is that you don’t hurt that girl over there. See, she’s family. Our family, and she’s been through enough in her life,” said Wade.

“Yes, sir. I understand that, really, I do. I care for Khloe. More than care for her. She is my priority, and I hope that we can make a life together.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Wade. “What did she say when she found out about all this?”

“I asked her if she had any ties to him at all, if she cared for him at all, and her response was no.”

“That’s right,” said Khloe, taking a seat beside him. “Wade, I appreciate your concern for me. I always have. You’re like my adopted father or uncle, but I don’t have any love loss for Archie. If he intentionally or unintentionally killed Jonas’s wife and unborn children, I want him punished.”

“I won’t place you at risk, Khloe. Ever. But I need to find this man,” said Jonas.

“I know. I want him found so that I can sleep better at night.”

“What do you mean?” frowned Garr. Jonas looked at her, then back at the others.

“You didn’t tell them?” he asked Khloe.

“N-not really. I didn’t want to bother all of you. He was leaving nasty notes, voicemails, that kind of thing. He was angry and blamed me for him losing his job, being on the run, his reputation being called into question, all of it. That’s why I changed my phone number several times. He never showed his face to me, but it was like I always knew he was nearby.”

“You should have told us,” said Wade. “For now, stay on the property and don’t leave without several people with you. Did he know that you were connected to us in any way?”

“Never. I told him I was an orphan and raised in a boarding school. It was close enough to the truth, and I felt like that was all he needed to know. Thinking back, I think he liked that he believed I didn’t have any family ties. I think that’s why I never told him I had an adoptive family. It was something I could hold to my chest. Maybe. Maybe I always suspected that I would need to call on my family.”

“Always,” said Wade. “You could always call on us because you are family, you know that. But we do have to find him. Where would he go?”

“I’m not sure,” said Khloe, shaking her head. “I know the police have searched his parents’ home several times, as well as the law offices. The partners in the firm made it very clear they had terminated him and wanted him nowhere near their practice.”

“I bet that pissed him off,” frowned Jonas.

“It did, and he blamed me.”

“What about vacation homes? Second homes in another state? Anything?” asked Zulu.

“If there was something, another home or family residence, he never told me about it. Then again, he hid a lot of things from me. I could sense it. He made sure to walk away during his ‘business’ calls. The fact that I overheard the names of Harris and Brockman was completely by accident.”

Hiro came toward the table and held out his hand to her. She stared at him, shaking her head.

“No. No, it’s not necessary. You gave me a new phone when I got here,” she said, protesting.

“We did, and somehow, he left a few voicemails for you that we intercepted.” Khloe’s face paled, and Jonas held her tightly to his side. “I don’t mean to scare you, Khloe, but that man is attempting to get to you, and my job is to prevent him from doing that. Let me have your phone, please. I’ll give you a different one in a few minutes.”

She handed him her phone and just shook her head. It would be nearly impossible to break through a VG phone, yet somehow, he’d done it not once but several times. He was on the run, and apparently, someone knew where he was and knew about the G.R.I.P. technology used on their phones. How was any of that possible?

“I need dessert,” she frowned, walking toward the dessert trays. Hiro followed her until she was safely out of hearing range. Then he turned to the other men.

“Someone is helping him. Someone who knows about our technology.”