Page 109 of Crave Me
He rises. “It’s not a threat. I’m going to fucking kill him.”
Declan doesn’t say anything, but in a way that’s worse.
Tess reaches out and clasps Curran’s hand, trying to soothe him and maybe herself.
“You should have told us,” Declan says, the anger he’s feeling gathering close to the surface.
“I didn’t want anyone to know,” I bite out. “I still don’t. But I don’t want him to get away with this either.”
Curran leaves Tess cautiously. “If there’s video, we have enough for a warrant to search his place. Maybe we’ll find something there to peg him for some of the mob shit he’s into.” His stare glides my way. “In addition to anything else he has on you.”
“You won’t find anything on Wren,” Evan says, his stone-cold demeanor snagging our attention.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Declan challenges.
Evan’s gaze remains steady, as does his voice. “I told Wren I’d take care of things, and I have. But what I did may or may not fall within the confines of the law, regardless of what my legal counsel advised.”
My chest constricts as panic sets in. “Evan, what did you do?”
He doesn’t respond, meeting Declan square in the face, an unspoken request falling between them.
There’s a reason Declan sailed through law school and graduated at the top of his class. He’s smarter than hell and just as slick. “Tess, will you excuse us,” he says.
Her attention shoots my way. “No.”
“I’m not asking,” he says, his tone respectful yet absolute.
“No,” she fires back.
Curran doesn’t miss a beat, siding with Declan to protect his wife. “You can’t get into trouble if you don’t what’s happening,” he tells her. “Wait for me in your office. I’ll stop in when I’m done.”
Tess seems torn, tossing me a glance. She’s scared. Not just for me, but for everyone. “I’ll be okay,” I assure her, even though I sure as shit don’t look the part.
Curran kisses her forehead when she stands, the tenderness behind the show of affection making her appear close to tears. “Don’t do anything stupid, cop,” she tells him.
“I’ll see you soon,” is his only response.
The moment the door shuts, Declan speaks. “Tell us,” he says. When Evan pauses, Declan’s attention darts briefly my way. “You protected my sister. You have my word I’ll protect you if I can.”
“If?” I ask. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“We’re still sworn to uphold the law,” he reminds me.
Curran shrugs. “Doesn’t mean we can’t bend it a little.”
Evan shifts his weight and pulls out a jump drive wrapped in a plastic bag from his suit pocket. “This is the drive Ashleigh, my former administrative assistant, brought me.”
Declan lifts it out of his hand. “The one with the link to those images of Wren?”
He looks about as sick as I feel until Evan says what he does. “No. Links to every account Bryant is connected to, including those with the aliases he’s used, as well as full access to his personal information and passwords.”
“The fuck?” Curran says, stepping closer.
Evan barely blinks. “Years ago, I developed a program called Hound to track illegal downloads of digital books and music. I never released it to the public because there are imperfections in Hound that I haven’t had the opportunity to fix. Imperfections that early this morning worked in my favor.”
“Like what?” Declan asks, his expression darkening when Evan pauses. “What does Hound do once he finds the download?”
“He destroys it,” Evan responds. “The moment I specify what I want him to hunt, he goes after it. Last night, I set the program to target not only the link to the website, but all the images and graphics contained within.”