Total D*ck(46)

Guy held up a hand and spoke slowly. “Now, wait, wait a minute. So Carey knew a Fluffy, who is in with Discord?”

Scarlett nodded and took a swig of orange juice. “Right. But Fluffy turned up dead a few days ago under suspicious circumstances. Before he died, he sent Carey a drive with information on the Rhone breach. So we suspect whoever killed him had something to do with Discord or the break-in.”

Frank slammed his hand on the table, the plates and silverware rattling. “Greenwood has gone too damn far this time! Killing people. Threatening Scarlett. I will have their heads for this.”

“Hang on a sec there.” I swallowed a particularly tasty piece of bacon. “Carey is under the impression, based on the information from Fluffy, that Greenwood isn’t the culprit behind the break-in.”

Eric shook his head and used his index finger to push the bridge piece of his glasses farther up his nose, straightening them in the most Poindexter way imaginable. “It has to be them. They’re the only ones capable of all this. They’re the ones with the most to gain from stealing our secrets.”

“Maybe.” Scarlett finally placed her napkin in her lap and began serving herself grits and an English muffin. “But Fluffy’s notes indicated that whoever paid for the breach asked for Discord to make it look like Greenwood was behind it.”

“It’s Greenwood. They’ve done something to try to cover their tracks. Maybe even planted that bit about someone trying to set them up. They’re just that desperate to get what we have.” Frank sighed and slumped back into his chair. “What a mess this is.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it one way or another.” Scarlett’s confident tone perked me up a bit, and I got my second wind on the breakfast, piling up some pancakes and slathering them with butter and syrup.

“In the meantime, perhaps you should stay here, Scarlett.” Guy finally jumped into the conversation. “The gate’s always guarded, and we have plenty of room. It might be safer.”

“She’s with me,” I said around a mouthful of food. I swallowed, the amount of pancake trying to choke me as it went down, but I managed it. “I’ve arranged some security. Don’t worry.”

“What kind of security?” Guy focused his flint gray eyes on me. “If anything happens to Scarlett—”

“Nothing will happen to her. I can assure you my guys are far better equipped to handle the situation than your rent-a-cop at the front gate.” I would have made a jack-off motion if I weren’t so invested in stuffing myself.

“Scarlett, if you don’t feel safe with him, you should stay here.” The concern in Eric’s voice made me want to vomit up every delicious morsel I’d just inhaled.

“She feels plenty safe, Eric.” I glared at him but he didn’t turn to look at me. Pussy.

“I’m speaking to Scarlett.”

“Yeah, well, I’m speaking to you, Eric.”

“I’m fine. Everyone stop worrying about me. But, Mr. Porter, will you check on Graham for me? I want to make sure he’s safe.”

“Of course.” Guy sipped his coffee, a thoughtful look on his wrinkled face. “I feel like I should call Ramona—”

“No!” Scarlett spoke with a vehemence I’d never heard before. “You may not call my mother.”

“If she finds out from somewhere other than me . . .” Guy shook his head, his eyes widening. “That woman would have my head. You know that.”

“I don’t care. Don’t you dare call her.” Scarlett waved her butter knife at Guy for emphasis. “Besides, Carey said our phones are probably tapped. If you called her and told her, you might be putting her in harm’s way.”

“Well, how are we going to solve this?” Guy folded his hands in his lap, defeated.

“Carey has put out some feelers to discover who hired Discord. Once we have that information, we have the start of our case. We can file, go to the feds, go to the police—everything.”

“Who does Carey think it is?” Frank asked.

“He doesn’t know yet,” I replied. “As soon as he does, we’ll let you know.”

“Is he okay?” Guy waved Gene out of the sunroom, not letting him clear the table just yet. “Hidden somewhere?”

“Yes.” Scarlett finished her breakfast and pushed her plate away. “He said he’s good at lying low, and given his past, I believe him.”

I stood and patted my stomach. “I think we’re set. You know what you need to know. We’re going to hunker down and ride out the storm. Carey is key, though. He’ll get the information and then we’ll use it to bring them down, whoever they are.”