Owned (Office Intrigue Book 8) by Nicole Edwards (bill gates book recommendations txt) 📕

care of things. I hadn’t bothered to ask for more information.

Ransom sighed, seeming to relax. “He owes me nothing.”

“Well, he doesn’t see it that way.”

Ransom was shaking his head. “I don’t want him involved. He does this, I’ll owe him. I owe enough people as it is.”

“You owe me,” I stated firmly.

“Trust me,” he huffed. “I’m aware of that.”

“And this is me calling in that favor.”

Ransom frowned.

“I want you to accept Trent’s offer.” I looked at Braelyn briefly, then back to her brother. “For your sister’s sake.”

As I expected, Ransom peered over at her, his face softening. I knew he would do anything for her, and as it turned out, so would I. I’d already made the decision to have Trent put his plan in motion, but I had wanted to discuss it with Ransom out of respect for Braelyn.

“Say I agree,” Ransom said, his gaze swinging back to me. “What’s to say it’ll be final?”

“From what I gathered, he’s got a line to another Mafia boss, one who’s not keen on some of the things your parents have been doing. You can get the details from him, but he’s adamant it’ll be taken care of.”

“What would that mean for us?” Braelyn asked, hopefully.

“You’d be free,” I informed her. “To live your lives without looking over your shoulder. You wouldn’t have to fake your deaths.”

“Ransom? Is that true?”

“You know as much as I do,” he told her. “But yeah … if I know Trent, he’s certainly got the connections to pull this off.”

“Yes,” Braelyn blurted, locking her eyes with mine. “We’ll let Trent help.”

I felt a strange churning in my chest. Did she want this so she could go back to her old life? Leaving me behind?

There was an actual ache in my heart at the thought of losing this woman.

Especially since the only thing I wanted was to keep her forever.

THIRTY-FOUR

TALON

On Saturday morning, the last full day for the Owners to be on the island, I was eager to get out of the office, to spend some time with Braelyn. Ever since Braelyn had insisted Ransom have Trent implement his plan, we’d been busy. Some of that had been playing phone tag with Trent. The rest was determining exactly how Trent intended to handle things.

As far as I was concerned, it was imperative this work and not backfire in our faces. After all, we were still working under the guise that Ransom and Braelyn Bishop had died in that fire. If things went sideways, there was a real possibility the ruse would be revealed, and they’d once again be targets. I wasn’t willing to do that, no matter how much Braelyn wanted the opportunity to go back to her normal life.

I figured I could take today to enjoy myself. Come tomorrow, the Owners would be leaving, and we’d deal with whatever chaos Trent might’ve caused. For now, I didn’t have to think about either.

“Hey, you got a second?”

I looked up from my desk to where Ransom was standing in the doorway. I motioned him inside as I leaned back in my chair. He glanced over at Ari then back to me.

“If you’re worried about discretion, there’s no one he can speak to, so it’s fine.”

Ransom nodded then closed the door behind him. “I thought I’d give you a heads-up.”

“I already know,” I informed him. “Trent called me earlier.”

He stared back at me, his eyes having gone cold and hard.

“Do you know this guy?” I inquired, glancing at the notepad on my desk. “Maximillian Adorite?”

Ransom stood before me, hands going into his pockets. “Only what I’ve looked up.”

That meant Ransom would’ve known that Maximillian Adorite was the head of the Southern Boy Mafia. He had ties to organized crime from Texas to New York, and over these past couple of years, ever since he took over the family, he’d been growing his business, strengthening his network. Sounded to me like he would welcome getting a better grip on Chicago, and dealing with the Bianchi family would allow him to do that.

“Appears he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty,” I said.

“It’s the only way.”

I nodded in agreement. “Trent called in that favor to a…” I looked at the paper again. “Travis Walker. Travis in turn called Max. They’re taking care of things.”

“Which means I’ll owe Trent.”

I stood to be on even ground with Ransom. “I don’t see that being the case, but even if it is, does it matter? Your sister’ll never have to look over her shoulder. She’ll never have to worry about some asshole holding a gun on her.”

Just the thought had fire burning in my veins. I wanted that asshole dealt with once and for all. A fact I’d happily shared with Trent.

I studied Braelyn’s brother, wondered how difficult it’d been for him to fake his own death as well as his sister’s. Not once but twice. To give up all they’d worked for, all they’d built for themselves. As much as I wanted to believe they’d both be happy here whether the world thought they were dead or not, I knew it would be easier for everyone if they didn’t have to worry who might discover them. Hell, they’d been living that life for the past fifteen years. Had to be an exhausting way to live.

“I’ve already let Braelyn know it’s being taken care of. I told Trent to keep me updated.” He turned to leave.

When Ransom made it to the door, I called out for him.

He didn’t turn around, which made me believe he already knew what I was going to say.

“Braelyn’ll be with me at the pool today. It might be wise for you to be somewhere else if it’s going to bother you.”

He turned to face me, and oddly, I was glad that he did. It told me a lot about his relationship with his sister.

Neither of us said anything for a solid minute, and I could practically see his brain working. He likely wanted to warn me away from her, but he