28. Ethan

28

ETHAN

I stalked Allan with all the care and finesse available to me. The weasel of a man had no idea who he was up against. After his petty little reveal at the Halloween party, I’d had it with him. Time to end it once and for all. I’d used every tech gadget available to me and gathered evidence. The problem was that the evidence was technically legal. I needed more.

Liam walked alongside me into the break room. We entered amid a small group that hid us from Allan’s view and took up a table in the back corner. Allan sat on the far side of the room, scrolling through his phone, a lecherous smile on his idiotic face.

“Allan?” A woman popped up in the doorway and motioned at Allan. “You need to see this. There’s something going on with your car.”

His phone hit the table with a clack as Allan lurched to his feet and followed Bethany out into the hallway. It had been a gamble, and we’d gotten lucky.

“Go.” Liam shoved at my shoulder.

I rushed across the room and hooked up the device I’d tucked into my palm, then flipped Allan’s phone over. Relief pushed the air from my lungs in a gusty exhale. He’d left it unlocked. Thank fuck. I could’ve hacked it, but that would’ve taken more time. I had no idea how long Bethany would be able to keep Allan once he realized he’d left his phone behind.

Images flashed on the screen in my hand as it copied everything from Allan’s phone onto the drive. Disgust burst through me in a surge of rising bile.

I’d seen a few of the pictures before, but there were more, many more, that were even worse than the grainy blown-up shots. Allan might not be a first-rate stalker, but what he was might be worse. He was the kind of stalker who reveled in the chaos of the chase and the compromising positions he managed to photograph.

Messages came next, a slew of them threatening and several downright blackmail against the women he’d photographed. They demanded favors to keep the photos secret.

Two familiar faces appeared in the photos. These women worked for me at Summit. They worked with this monster every damned day and had never said a word. What else had Allan gotten away with?

I checked the time stamp on the oldest photo. He’d been photographing them for years. Years.

“Fucking bastard. You won’t get away with it this time.” I nodded at Liam. “Get the police here. Now.” The copying finished, I yanked the cord free and pocketed the device while dialing Alexander. He answered on the first ring. “We got him.”

“Firing offense?” Alexander barked the question. He’d wanted to be the one to take Allan down, but it was my fault that these atrocities had gone on so long. I had to be the one to fix it.

“Definitely.” My lips pulled back from my teeth when Allan ran back into the room. He spotted me standing beside the table, and his eyes darted from me to the phone.

His Adam’s apple bobbed once before he pasted on that smooth, easy-going smile that had fooled me for years. “Mr. Moore.” He reached out to grab the phone.

“Mr. Thorne requires your presence in his office.” I leaned in close and gave him the fullness of my feral smile. “Immediately.”

His smile faltered. “Sure. I…uh. I need to stop by my office.”

“Now.” The thought of touching him made phantom crawling sensations skate up my arms. Was this how Clara had felt in his presence? Damn me for not taking more precautions. I locked down my discomfort and pushed his shoulder. “If you so much as breathe wrong, I’ll find a way to make you pay. Move.”

His heels dug in, but by the third push, he moved on his own. We marched down the hallway.

People lined up at the windows as we passed the cubicles where they worked. Hopeful grins appeared here and there. A few women shouted questions.

Liam fell back a step. “If anyone has a report they need to make about certain behaviors in this office, now would be an excellent time to file those with HR.” It was the most he could say without accusing Allan outright.

While I’d love nothing more than to turn him over to the mob forming in the main office, we had a better punishment for him.

Cheers rang out behind us. Liam puffed up his chest and went ahead of Allan to make sure the man didn’t try to dart away.

We made it to Alexander’s office unscathed.

Allan wore a look of defiance mixed with calculation. He approached Alexander’s desk and laid his palms down on the rich wood. “Sir, I’m not sure what’s happening, but I would like to lodge a formal complaint against Mr. Moore for unwelcome contact.”

“Shut your fucking mouth.” Alexander stood, looming over Allan. “You want to talk about unwelcome contact? You’re about to get an intimate lesson once the inmates at the county prison learn you’ve been stalking, fondling, and blackmailing women into having sex with you.”

Allan’s mask fell for a split second before he pulled it back into place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“No?” Alexander grinned the same deadly smile that Liam and I wore. “Then you’ll have all kinds of fun defending yourself.” He fisted Allan’s collar in one hand and dragged the man halfway across the desk. “You’d better be thankful I’m not willing to go to jail or I’d beat the shit out of you. I’d kill you here and now and bury your body where no one would ever find it. Death is too good for you. You deserve to suffer for what you’ve put those women through. You’re the worst kind of human garbage, and you’re fired.” He shoved Allan away. The man stumbled back, hit his heel on the carpet, and windmilled until he slammed into me.

I caught his arms and pinned them to his sides. “Was that an attempt to punch me, Allan?” I tsked. “It’s really too bad you didn’t manage it. You might want to be unconscious for this next part.”

“You can’t do this.” He whined and twisted. “I’ve been an employee here for years. My record is spotless. You can’t fire me. What’s the reason?”

“Lechery. Blackmail. Sexual harassment. Take your pick.” Alexander pressed a button on his desk and the door opened to admit three armed police men. “Thank you, officers. He’s all yours.”

“What? Why?” Allan continued to thrash. “Where’s your evidence?”

“You’ll find out.” I released him and stepped away.

Two policemen took my place, handcuffing Allan and reading his Miranda rights. He shouted and cursed so loud I doubted he heard a word the men said. Oh well. Wasn’t my problem he didn’t understand every word coming out of his mouth was now part of his trial.

“You’ll be lucky to see the light of day ever again unless there are bars and chain-link fences with razor wire around the top.” My smile never faltered. “Enjoy prison.”

The detective we’d been talking to for weeks stayed back while the two officers pushed Allan from the room. “Appreciate the tip on this one.” He jerked his chin toward Allan. “I’ll have our people go through everything, but he’s looking at a very long prison sentence.”

“Music to my ears.” I held out the copy I’d taken from Allan’s phone. “You should take this with you. You’ll find the same on his phone unless he manages to get it erased or thrown out of court. He’s been stalking women, taking photos from outside their houses.”

The detective took the copy from me and slid it into an evidence bag. “Don’t worry. We won’t let him get away.”

I waited until the door closed behind him to face Alexander and Liam. “Justice.” I fist-bumped Liam.

Alexander remained behind his desk, his hands clenched and his face contorted with fury. He punched the desk, the sound of knuckles on wood reverberating through the room.

Liam and I stood aside until Alexander expelled his anger. “Fucking bastard. That egg-sucker deserves everything that happens to him. Whatever it is, it still won’t be enough to make up for the fear and pain he’s caused so many.” Every word vibrated with animosity.

I’d never seen him like this. Angry, sure. Murderous…not so much. I understood his need to see Allan pay. We’d make sure he ended up behind bars where he belonged. In the meantime, there was something else we needed more. None of this meant shit without Clara. I waited for Alexander to get himself under control before I approached the desk. “While I’m all for Allan getting the ass-kicking he deserves and prison time being the cherry on the whole fucking cake, we need to figure out how we get Clara back.”

“He’s right.” Liam tapped his fingers on the desk in a rapid staccato, his only sign of nervousness. “We’re in love with her. We hurt her, albeit accidentally, and we need to make up for it. That will help.” He pointed in the direction Allan had gone. “A company-wide statement of apology would bring forward more women willing to testify against him.”

“If we go to Clara and tell her about this, she’ll think the only reason we did it was to win back her affection.” Alexander cuffed his desk again before pushing to his full height and striding to the window.

“We’ve never felt like this.” I splayed my hands in front of me. “Don’t even try to argue. We’re in love, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to have Clara back. If we have to grovel and eat shit, I’ll do it.”

“Let’s hope we don’t resort to that level of depravity.” Alexander’s voice stayed low, but a hint of laughter infiltrated. He looked left and right, his gaze traveling up and down the road splitting Silverbrook. “Should we call her or show up unannounced?”

“Unannounced,” Liam and I said together.

Turning slowly on his heel, Alexander came back around. “I’ll drive.”

Things would be easier if Clara still worked in Summit’s offices. She’d have seen what happened with Allan and known we were on her side. I understood Alexander’s point. It might feel contrived that we’d finally stepped up and taken the man out so he could no longer cause harm.

“Should we bring gifts?” Liam rubbed his hands together. “I found these adorable outfits for the triplets. I’ve been dying to give them to Clara.”

The triplets were the only reason we were still in Clara’s life at all. She’d made it clear she needed time, but we refused to be pushed out of our children’s lives. Clara tolerated our presence at her prenatal appointments and had even let us hear the heartbeats during the last ultrasound. It wasn’t enough, but we gave her space like she requested.

“Bring them. It can’t hurt. We’re not trying to buy her affections.” Alexander led the way through the building.

Cheers rose up from every room we passed. Women we’d barely seen in passing rushed to the doorways and thanked us profusely. Accepting the thanks came with reassurances that nothing like that would ever happen again, with Liam coming along behind and reminding everyone to never be afraid to talk about any indignity suffered within Summit.

By the time we made it to Clara’s after stopping for Liam to pick up the bag of toys and clothes for the babies, my entire body prickled with the need to see Clara and to know for certain that she was safe, even if she continued to avoid starting a relationship with us again.

The walk up the sidewalk and to her door set my pulse racing.

She must have heard our arrival, because she opened the door before we even knocked. “I heard what you did to Allan.” She waved her phone. “Robbie called me.” She’d stopped trying to hide her pregnancy after the Halloween debacle. Her belly had changed in the week since we’d last seen her, stretching wider and dropping lower.

“We came to apologize again.” Alexander started the conversation but fell silent when Liam burst in front of him.

Liam shoved the bags toward Clara. “These are not bribery gifts. They’re unconditional love tokens. We were assholes. We should have kept you in the loop the whole time. We’ll do anything you want to prove we’ve changed.”

“We love you, Clara. Every heartbeat is for you. Liam’s right. Tell us what you need from us and we’ll do it.” I longed to reach out to her but held back until she welcomed me. It was the most restraint that had ever been required of me. I did it for her, because it was what she needed.

“I have to finish work.” She walked backward into the house, holding the door open with one hand. “We’ll talk about all of this once we’re done.” A tiny, tiny smile appeared. “Harrington wants another meeting. I was about to call you all and have you come over. Make yourselves comfortable while I contact Harrington.”

We filed in and arranged ourselves on the couch. I had no idea if I should be relieved or continue to hold back. She’d said we would talk about it, which was more progress than we’d made.

Clara walked back into the room—I wouldn’t dare mention how she now waddled a bit like a duck—and turned a laptop around to face us all. “They’re here, Harrington. We can wrap this up.”

“Good. Good.” Harrington leaned back in his expensive leather chair and laced his fingers together beneath his chin. “I’m thrilled with the work you’ve all done, Clara especially. Turning you loose in a freelance capacity was the best decision.”

“Your numbers show the complex is wildly successful.” I checked the numbers again to confirm. “It’s your most successful venture to date.”

“And that’s because of Clara.” Harrington pointed at Clara, his smile brimming with satisfaction. “Keep up the good work. You’ll go a long way in this business. I’ll be talking to you again soon. In the meantime, enjoy the incoming fame.”

He ended the meeting with a wiggle of his fingers.

Clara sank onto the edge of the nearest chair. “What did he mean by that?”

I had no idea, but our history with Harrington promised it would be sensational.