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

at the disruption, proceeding with introductions. The new arrivals shook hands with Zion, offered a few pleasantries.

“This is my sister, Braelyn,” I said, doing the honors, although I could see Talon wasn’t pleased. “Braelyn, meet Ian and Isaac Stokes. And this—”

“We’ve met,” Braelyn interrupted, linking fingers with Talon. “Nice to see you again.”

“Why don’t we offer our guests a drink,” Zion suggested when no one said anything more.

Yes. A drink.

Then some fucking details would be nice.

I considered asking Braelyn to let us talk privately, then decided against it. My sister had been through enough. The last thing she needed was for me to act as another shield between her and her future. Considering all she’d endured the past couple of months, I’d learned my sister had gotten familiar with nontraditional methods of dealing with things.

Back inside the resort, I summoned two of the new possessions to bring drinks while Trent, Ian, and Isaac looked around as though they’d never seen a resort of this magnitude. I knew that wasn’t the case. At least not for Trent. The man was Hollywood’s golden boy. I was sure he’d seen plenty.

As drinks were being passed around, Jasper strolled out from the clinic. Today he was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a polo rather than his usual scrubs. In recent weeks, I’d noticed that shift in him. As though he now had someone he wanted to impress. Just the thought made me smile.

“I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jasper Tate,” I said, standing up and inviting Jasper over with a sweep of my arm. “Jasper, meet Trent Ramsey.”

The two men shook hands, and I saw the slow recognition on Jasper’s face, the way his eyes bulged. It was the same reaction most people had to meeting the famous actor.

“And this is Ian Stokes,” I said. “His brother, Isaac.”

More handshakes and nods.

“By any chance is this the Jasper?” Ian asked me directly, his voice low.

I studied his face, trying to read him.

He merely smiled. “We’ve been friends a long time, Ransom. Some of us have good memories.”

“Yes,” I finally said. “He is.”

There was a knowing twinkle in Ian’s eyes.

“Perhaps you could give us some details,” Talon prompted, his voice hard.

Trent took that as his cue. “According to the update I received from Max Adorite, your parents are no longer a threat to you.”

“Are they dead?” Braelyn asked, her words a harsh whisper.

Trent turned to her, addressed her head on. “No. They are not. However, they are indisposed.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning Frank and Marie Bianchi, as well as Senator Marybeth Abernathy, were arrested yesterday afternoon thanks to an anonymous tip. They’ve been the focus of an ongoing RICO investigation for the past two years, but the FBI hadn’t been able to pin anything on them.”

“Now they have?” I asked.

“They have and they are officially out of commission. In fact, it’s my understanding that their territory is being acquired by another crime family, a more powerful one, so even if they happen to beat the rap, they have nothing left for them.”

“And their henchman?” Talon asked.

I could see the concern in Trent’s eyes when he looked at my sister.

“She can hear this,” I informed him.

“She needs to hear this,” Talon added.

“Jimmy Romano was not there during the raid on the Bianchi residence,” Ian stated, “however, his body was found floating in the Chicago River this morning.”

Braelyn’s sharp inhale had everyone looking at her.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” Talon whispered, pulling her into his chest.

I looked at Jasper, tried to gauge his reaction to the news, but his expression remained passive, as though he was waiting for something more.

Turned out he didn’t have to wait long.

The something more came when Trent said, “The two of you are now free to come home. And let me just tell you, there’s a lot of people awaiting your return.”

Braelyn pulled back from Talon, meeting my gaze. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but I could see a hint of relief.

“Your job’s still waiting for you,” Trent continued, speaking directly to me. “As is the club.”

I directed my next question at him. “I take it everyone knows we’re not dead?”

“The news hit a lot of people hard. I felt it was important to tell them as soon as I could.”

Of course he did, even though he had no right to do that. I didn’t bother reaming him about it since Trent and I had been friends for a while. He’d given me a job when I had needed one, allowed me the freedom to do as I wanted. Not to mention, he had spearheaded this endeavor to take down my parents. I now owed him.

“Zeke wanted to be here,” Isaac said, “but we convinced him to handle the welcome home party instead.”

“Question is, when should I tell the pilots we’re heading out?” Trent asked with a wide grin. “We’ll even help you pack.”

For a perceptive man, he seemed to have gone blind.

FORTY-FIVE

Braelyn

“I need to talk to my sister,” Ransom said, looking at me.

When I peered up at Talon, it wasn’t to seek permission. More so because I wanted to read his thoughts. Was he affected by the fact that I was now free to go back to Chicago? Did he expect me to go? Want me to go?

Unfortunately, his expression was masked, as it always was when it came to matters such as this. Talon was not a man to allow others to see him vulnerable, even when it came to me, apparently.

Stepping back from Talon, I allowed Ransom to lead me out of the resort, beyond the newly updated pool area, then between Talon’s house and the pool house, down the path that led to the beach.

“It’s over,” I acknowledged when it seemed he didn’t know what to say.

“Sounds like it.”

I looked over at him. “You don’t believe them?”

“Oh, I do. Ian and Isaac would’ve confirmed every detail before they let Trent come here.”

“They’re your friends, huh? The ones you did the favor for?”

“Yeah.”

“Looks like they were returning it.”