Page 55 of Tempting Devil

I darted my gaze toward his as another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “Were you behind those necklaces? And the attack in the alley?”

“No,” he stated unequivocally.

“You expect me to take you at your word?” I arched a skeptical brow. “That it was a coincidence you just so happened to be at the club when I was attacked?”

This was the hardest part of this whole situation. He’d lied to me since the beginning of our relationship. Or since the beginning of my relationship with Gideon. How was I supposed to believe anything he told me now?

“It wasn’t a coincidence. I was watching you,” he admitted nonchalantly. “When I saw you head out the back door, I knew something was wrong.” He stole a glance my way, his expression tight with tension. “I may regret a lot of things where you’re concerned, but I don’t fucking regret following you into that alley. Not for a goddamn minute, Imogene. When I saw that asshole on top of you…” He trailed off as he squeezed his eyes shut, the anguish on his face reminding me of his expression when he paid me a visit at the hospital following the attack.

I thought it odd for him to be so concerned, considering I was a stranger to him.

Or I thought I was.

Now it made sense.

“Nothing else mattered except making him pay,” he finished with a low growl.

“What about the body of the guy who sent me those necklaces that was found on Liam’s boat? Benjamin Astor. Liam claims it was planted to frame him.” I paused. “Was that you?”

“No one hurts you and gets away with it, Imogene,” he declared with determination. “No one.”

I should have been angry that he essentially just admitted to killing a man for me, but I couldn’t ignore the thrill that raced through me from his protectiveness. After all, I’m only alive right now because he intervened.

But was one good act enough to erase everything else he did? And making it look like Liam was responsible? I still struggled to wrap my head around his involvement in this, if Gideon was to be believed. I wanted to believe him. I just didn’t know if I could.

“What about Alton’s death?” I asked, needing to think about something else for a minute. “The fingerprints the police found weren’t from five years ago, were they?”

He slowly shook his head.

“Why Alton? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“He wanted me gone just as much as Liam did. He bought up a bunch of stock in ImageScape when Liam told him they would soon be acquiring Cloud Hero. At least in his mind, they would be. He didn’t think anyone would turn down billions of dollars.”

“And once he bought up all that stock, Alton stood to lose a fortune if the sale didn’t happen.”

“Exactly. But being a greedy bastard wasn’t the only thing that got him on my list.”

“No?”

“He was the one who told the police he saw the gun found near my supposed murder scene in Jonah’s backpack just a few days prior. I should have questioned why he suddenly wanted to volunteer when he typically couldn’t be bothered. Once I learned that, all the pieces snapped into place. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. The three of them planned this. Extensively, too. They planned for Liam to kill me. Then hired Brian McGuire to dispose of my body. Then arranged for Jonah to take the blame. Then James made sure he was silenced before he could prove his innocence.”

“James?”

“He may be the worst of them all. Not only did he conspire with Brian McGuire to sell me, but when he was a DA, he used his position of authority to broker deals with criminals. Took bribes in exchange for a reduced sentence or dropped charges. Or in certain circumstances, he’d work a deal if they permanently silenced someone on the inside.”

“Jonah,” I exhaled.

“Exactly.”

The flood of information made my head swim. How could I have been so blind to what was happening right under my nose? And at Liam’s direction?

Or was all of this a lie, too?

I was so confused.

“Why not go to the police?” I pressed. “Tell them everything.”

“I don’t exactly have much faith in the justice system,” he said with a disdainful smile. “Not when I saw how easily James and Liam were able to manipulate it. You may not agree with it, but I have to do this, Imogene. I need to balance the scales. Not just for me. But for Jonah. I have to make it right for him, too.”