Love You Madly(57)
What was she up to that she left the house without telling anyone where she was going? “Did you happen to catch what taxi service she called?” He could find out where they’d delivered her.
“No. I wasn’t exactly waving good-bye as they drove away.”
He thought about it, trying to tamp down his fear that something could be wrong. His equipment was in his car. He could try and use it to track her down by her cell phone signal. If it was on. He wouldn’t put it past her to have actually listened to him this one time and turned it off to stop him from locating her.
He started for the front door again, only to have Claire put her hand on his arm. “Wait. Just for a second, Travis. I don’t like that light that’s come into your eyes. Not just concern for your client, but almost like…you care. Tell me that you’re not developing feelings for the terrorizing queen bee?”
It wasn’t any of her damn business, was what he wanted to say. But considering the news he had to share with her about Rick, he might want to tread a little more carefully. “What I do and don’t feel for her isn’t relevant here. If she’s in danger, if anyone’s in danger, I need to look out for them. I don’t care who she is.”
But Claire was shaking her head. “Nice try. I had my suspicions this morning, watching the little dance you two did. But I talked myself out of it because it was absurd. This is Meredith we’re talking about. The girl who humiliated you far too many times in high school, who crushed you, and as I’ve heard it, many other people. Allie one of them. And her track record hasn’t improved much since. Did you know that she has already gone through three husbands? Three. She uses men and discards them.”
“You don’t know anything about her, Claire. She’s trusted the wrong people. Something that I think we can all say we’ve done at one time or another.”
“What the heck does that mean? Are you saying that I’ve trusted the wrong person? Don’t even start on me about Rick again, Travis, or I will whip your ass.”
“Just answer me one thing. Why is it that in the…six months, is it? Why, in the past six months since agreeing to marry Rick, haven’t you set a date? Don’t give me this story that you’re waiting for me to be around. That’s bullshit. I’ll tell you what it is. You know, deep down, that there’s something off about the guy. That he’s all spit and polish but underneath he’s total shit.”
She bunched her hand in to a fist and punched him in the arm. Damn. She had quite the punch; he rubbed his hand over the spot. “Don’t try and psychoanalyze me, little brother. This isn’t about me.”
He sighed. This wasn’t the way he’d wanted to share this information, but it couldn’t be helped. “I know you asked me not to, but I had Jace run a background check on Rick. A thorough check, digging through all his holdings and this so-called restaurant supply business of his. It’s all a farce, Claire. A front. A shell company for what he’s really doing. Laundering money for an organization that makes these guys who took Darcy look like Girl Scouts.”
“I don’t believe it,” she said stubbornly, but he could see the shock behind her eyes.
He told her the limited information he had about Rick, the fact that he’d taken off to LA last night because a shipment came in that he had to help disburse. “The worst thing is that he’s not only been in bed with this scum, but it looks like he’s also double-crossed them. Jace is certain he’s skimmed close to fifteen million dollars, and it’s going to come to light and the shit will hit the fan. You don’t want to be caught in the crosshairs when they come for him.”#p#分页标题#e#
She opened her mouth to say something and snapped it shut. “So, what, you think that I’m going to thank you? Thank you for interfering in my life when I specifically asked you to leave it alone? Well. Take a little of your own medicine, Travis. Meredith is bad news. She’s only going to use you until she doesn’t need anything, then she’ll rip your heart out and not give you a second glance. That’s what she does. She uses. She’s selfish and a downright horrible person. She hasn’t changed, no matter how much you might want to believe she has. Now, are you giving me a ride home or do I need to call a cab, too?”
Everything she’d just said echoed his own thoughts, and he couldn’t call her on it. Instead, he nodded. “Let’s go.”
They didn’t speak in the car, both too drained to have another argument, but when she got out, she stopped for a moment. “I’m still crazy pissed off at you for going behind my back, but…I know your heart was in the right place because you love me. Hopefully you can see that my advice was from the heart, too. And be careful.”