There was a moment of silence and then they all started laughing. Nick held up his pack of frozen peas as if toasting them. “Wow, little brother. You really have lost your swag, haven’t you?”

Jackson winced and looked at Ridley apologetically. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. Besides, it’s my own fault. I should have just told you before. Raina is going to get quite a kick out of this when I tell her what happened.”

“So, she’s okay? Raina, I mean.” Nick didn’t meet her eyes.

“Yeah, she’s fine. The only reason she didn’t come back right away is because she’s doing a shoot for Sports Illustrated and I didn’t want her to miss it. It’s a big deal for her. Plus, I also wasn’t lying when I told you she was matchmaking. I think she was happy I was locked out and stuck here.”

“I am officially not mad at her anymore.” Jackson smirked and went to pick up the bag of peas he’d left melting on the floor.

Mara nudged her in the side. “And you officially owe me ten bucks.”

Ridley’s mind raced trying to figure out what Mara was talking about. Then she remembered their bet. “Oh geez. Well, you definitely won. But I thought you said five?”

“I did but I was only betting on you driving Jackson crazy. It looks like you got the two-for-one Alexander special.”

*   *   *   *   *

“I ALREADY GAVE Jackson the FBI surveillance photos on David Finemore. What more do you want?”

Nick pulled the phone away from his ear and regarded it with disbelief. This was Elliott? The most suspicious, cynical person he knew?

“I want you to do a full-scale background investigation on this guy. Not just what’s in the FBI file, but everything. I have no doubt that you’ll find things on your own that your FBI contact didn’t give you.”

Elliott sighed. “What are you hoping to find? We already know the guy’s a criminal.”

“Yes, but I want to know the details of what he’s done. And who helped him.”

“Oh, now I see. Come on, Nick. I already did a preliminary background check on her and she’s so clean she squeaks. Why are you trying to find a problem that doesn’t exist? Jackson really likes this girl. Leave it alone.”

Nick swiveled in his office chair until he was facing the window. After leaving Jackson’s house he hadn’t felt like going home so he’d decided to go back to the office. Sometimes he spent more time there than he spent at his condo anyway.

At twenty-seven he had more money than he’d ever imagined, could travel as he wished and had a list of women on speed dial who’d happily do anything he asked.

And none of them could stir him like the one woman he couldn’t have.

“We need to be thorough on this, Eli. Jackson’s not like us. He’s already been through so much.”

“I know. All right, I’ll take another look at Ridley, too. But I doubt it’ll be anything more interesting than a speeding ticket and a “most likely to succeed” award in high school.”

“Thanks, bro. And one more thing?”

“What do you need?”

Nick thought long and hard about what he was about to do. It was difficult to be successful in business without developing a thick skin and stepping on more than a few toes. He’d been raised with a strict sense of honor and was careful not to make promises he couldn’t keep. But after months of uncertainty, he wasn’t any closer to a solution on his own. He was prepared to admit that he needed help.

“Another background check. This time on Raina Winters. The real one.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Ridley pulled into the first available space she could find in the underground parking garage of MacArthur Center Mall.

Katie had the kids so she’d decided it was high time she got out of the house. It had felt like high school all over again when she’d picked up the phone to invite Mara to lunch. She’d never been that outgoing, and after everything that had happened, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Mara wanted nothing to do with her. But in the end, Mara had seemed pleasantly surprised to hear from her again and more than happy to meet her at the mall during her lunch break.

Mara worked as an administrative assistant twenty minutes away in the city of Norfolk. She’d suggested that Ridley drive over and meet her since Norfolk had the closest shopping mall to New Haven anyway.

White-knuckling her way through traffic in an unfamiliar area wasn’t her idea of fun, especially while driving the ultra-expensive Audi coupe Jackson had insisted she take. It was a small triumph that she’d managed to get there without causing any accidents or getting any scratches on the paint. It had been incredibly kind of Jackson to offer her the use of his car in the first place.

They’d spent the prior night tiptoeing around each other. Even though he’d mentioned the industry party again, she doubted he really wanted to take her. He was just too polite to disinvite her. She sighed.

He was probably counting the days until she left.

She threw her purse over her shoulder carelessly and hopped out of the car. She made a note of which entrance her car was parked at and set off.

The smell of pizza, hamburgers and Chinese food hit her as soon as she entered the mall. Using her nose and a quick glance at the mall map, she was able to find the food court, where she was supposed to meet Mara, relatively quickly. Spotting Mara sitting alone at a Formica table in the center of the room, she hurried over and plopped down across from her.  Her apology for being late died on her lips when she saw the look on Mara’s face.