“I made two copies when I left town,” she said, nodding to the envelope. “Two copies are there. The original was in the beach house when your testosterone convention showed up, so I assume you already have that one.”
He gave her a tiny smile. “I do, in fact.” He tore the envelope in half and pulled a lighter from his chest pocket. He lit the corner of the papers and dropped the burning evidence into the metal waste bin nearby.
“Speaking of testosterone,” he added, watching the flames climb, “my associates were highly pissed off about the man who attacked them.”
Acrid smoke curled up from the trash bin. “Attacked them? That’s a load of crap. He was defending us. I don’t suppose you plan on paying for the damage? That place is owned by someone dear to me. He said I could use it whenever I wanted, not trash the joint.”
“Consider it the price for doing business poorly.” He glanced over at the burning trash. The flames were higher, but still contained.
“I know you left with Nate Antillean,” he went on. “Do tell, where is he now?”
She lifted her chin. “I have no idea.”
“And yet you pulled up in front of this building in a car registered to him. The same car my guys followed to California.”
“Yeah, that.” She shrugged. “I sort of borrowed that car without permission after I escaped from him.”
He looked unconvinced. “Is that so?”
She glowered back at him. “Yeah, that’s so. Look, I wasn’t about to let that bounty hunter drag me back to jail, and I sure as hell didn’t want him to know about this little tea party of ours. So I left him handcuffed in a motel room two states away.”
“My, you really have taken to the criminal life, haven’t you?”
“I did what I had to in order to survive. Now, about this deal, does it include letting Nate off the hook as well? Just because I screwed him over doesn’t mean I want him declared a fugitive for helping me get away from your bastard henchmen.”
He shook his head. “I told you, this entire incident went way off the map. I can drop the original charges I arranged to have brought against you, but anything you or your friend did after that is totally out of my hands.”
“He’s not my friend. He’s just an asshole bounty hunter.” While she spat out the words, she really hoped her face looked stoic enough to be convincing.
“I understand my men waited quite some time outside your apartment for him to bring you out.” He paused. “After delivering balloons to you. Birthday gift?”
She felt her face go hot. “The idiot didn’t even have a gun. He wanted to use minimal force in my capture, so he waited until I opened the door for him and let my guard down. And after you, I’m sure you can understand how that took a while. I don’t trust men in suits.”
There was a look on his face that suggested he knew more about the ruse Nate used to get inside, but she held his steely, narrowed gaze steadily.
“Really brave of your muscle heads, by the way,” she went on, “charging in on an innocent woman and an unarmed man.”
“Not so unarmed, from the way I hear it.” He smiled slowly. “Or innocent.”
“Fine, whatever. Are you going to agree to this deal or not?”
“I told you, the deal’s still on the table.” He glanced at the burning bank statements. “As for the extras you’re trying to include, I’m afraid that’s impossible. I control FTI, not the entire police force.”
“And yet you somehow knew enough to have Nate followed. You must have some influence.”
He shrugged. “I may have found out that your bond agent is willing to do favors for the right price. I’m sure you can understand, what with his bonds running out on him. How’s a man to earn a living?”
“So you made him your bitch.”
“I merely made sure he chose the right man for the job of finding you, and he fed me certain information as to your whereabouts when it came along.”
Her heart pounded. So, Nate had been right. Asa had deliberately picked him to track her down because he knew Nate wouldn’t use a gun. He hadn’t, however, apparently counted on Nate being just as effective a fighter without one.
“Because you wanted to get to me first, obviously.”
“I wanted a chance to discuss my offer privately before you found your way back to jail.” He paused. “Something you seem intent on doing.”
She sniffed. “You stole from your own coffers, blamed it on the help, and then talked the law into helping you. Now you’ve screwed another guy’s future just for helping me. I’m hardly the bigger bad here.”