Sins (Havoc of Sins #3)

Chapter 18

Simon

People tended to underestimate the quiet ones in the room. Those who didn’t cause a problem, talk back, or disturb others weren’t given a thought. Prison taught me the same thing. Blend in to survive and gain trust. As a PI, I saw how useful that skill really was. I was lean, nerdy, wore glasses, and only spoke when necessary. I didn’t attract the focus of those around me. I was merely a plant in the room. But what people didn’t know was how much I saw when they forgot I was there, and boy did I see a lot.

“Hey, new guy,” Calli Tame smiled brightly at me when I looked at her, “can you pull down that file for me?” She pointed high up on the shelf.

“Yes, of course.” I reached above her head and handed it to her.

She smiled and pushed it back into my hand. “Take it to Cameron for me?”

“Sure.” I brushed past her; she was a pretty girl.

“If he’s not there, just toss it on the rest,” she called.

“Will do.” I walked down the hall to Cameron’s office and knocked, but there was no answer. “Cameron?” I called and heard the water running. I pushed the door open farther and set the file on top of the others, but some papers slipped out and fell to the floor. I hurried around the desk and collected them. His computer screen was on, and as I still heard the water running, I quickly glanced at it and saw he was transferring emails to a secondary hard drive. If I hadn’t known already who they were, I wouldn’t have thought much of it, but as the names went by on the screen, I saw they were all Potens members. Kurt had mentioned several of their names over the years. Big players in his world. I snapped a quick photo then hurried back around the desk. I snatched up the file again just as Cameron emerged from the bathroom.

“Calli wanted me to drop this off to you.” I stood on the opposite side of the desk and held it out.

“Toss it there.” He didn’t think anything of me being there. The perk of being the quiet, trusted one paid off once again. I turned to leave. “Simon, sit down for a moment.”

“Okay, sure.” I sat. “What can I do for you?”

“We’re opening an office at Indulge on the twentieth floor, per Jim’s request.” A smile tugged at his lips while I frowned. I wasn’t a big fan of being at the hotel. “You’ll have an office right next to mine, but you’ll work here, mostly. I know you don’t like crowds.”

“I don’t.”

He clicked a few buttons as his printer made a noise. Then I watched the reflection in his glasses as he dragged files into a folder. What was he up to? “But what I really want to know is whether you can handle being up close to the bikers who sent you to prison.”

“If you’re asking me if I’ll say anything to Allen’s son or start any type of friction, the answer’s no.” I looked at him, and he pushed out of his chair and paced as if in thought. Then he walked over to a shelf and picked up a photo in a thick frame. He set it down again and moved to the window. I wondered what he was thinking and decided to offer more. “You know I’ve seen firsthand what they’re capable of. I have no reason to kick that hornets’ nest.”

He seemed reassured. “Happy to hear that.” He looked at the picture again then nodded. “You can go.”

“All right.” I pushed the chair in and headed out into the hallway. I hurried outside and rounded the small building to get to Cameron’s office window. As I peered in, I saw him slip some papers into the back of the photo frame then put it back on the shelf.

Later that night, I sent the photo of Cameron’s computer screen to the contact marked XX in my phone. Seconds later, I got a reply.

XX: We’ll take it from here.

I didn’t mention I knew where he’d hidden the papers. I wondered what else Cameron was hiding. Something told me he might be a lot smarter than some people thought.

My phone rang, but when I went to answer it, no one was there.

I t just kept ringing and ringing until I jolted awake. It took a moment to realize I had fallen asleep in Cameron’s office at the hotel. I’d spent many nights on that leather couch, and it was often his heavy footsteps or his loud voice that would rip me from my sleep, but this time it was my phone.

“Hello?” My voice was groggy.

“I need your help getting me into the hotel.” Sonny’s voice made me instantly annoyed.

I rubbed my head; he was such a mess. “I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“Because you tried to drug Kenna, for starters. You’re reckless and unpredictable, you’re?—”

He sighed heavily. “For fuck’s sake, get off your moral wagon and help me out.”

“Sometimes I think you forget I’m not one of you. Your orders don’t work on me.”

“You may not be a Poten, Simon, but let’s not forget they gave you your freedom.”

“Only in exchange for my help because we have a mutual enemy,” I reminded him.

He groaned and cursed. “Just get me alone with her for ten minutes. It’s all it’ll take.” He gave a nasty laugh. My face scrunched up at the thought of Sonny Conti touching Kenna in that way. Then I remembered something I heard in prison that turned men off before they attacked.

I knew I shouldn’t, but Sonny needed a wakeup call that he was playing with someone good, not just one of his fuck buddies, as he called them. “Kenna’s pregnant.”

Sonny’s unexpected laugh caught me off guard. It was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Tell me it’s Grim’s.”

“It is, so no. There’s no way I’ll help you get near her. Besides, even if I was to stoop to your level, if Grim found out, I’m as good as dead.”

“You’re such a pussy.” He laughed harder, and I cursed under my breath. “But thanks for the heads up. Fucking with her now will be that much sweeter.” The line went dead, and I closed my eyes and wished I had never answered the call.

“Shit.”

“Simon?” Jim Gates stood in the doorway, and I almost felt my stomach bottom out of my ass. He never came down this way now that Cameron was gone. “May I come in?”

“Of course.” I shot up and pulled out a chair, but he politely waved me off. “What can I do for you, sir?”

He looked around the office. “It’s strange to think someone you knew and trusted for nearly a decade could be so deceitful. Maybe I saw it, maybe I didn’t, or maybe I didn’t want to.” He picked up a few items that were left on Cameron’s desk. “I think that question will haunt me for all my remaining years.”

“Mine too, sir,” I whispered, and he nodded as he continued to look around.

“Who were you just speaking to?” My face burned with heat as he eased onto the desk and stared straight at me. I went with the truth.

“Sonny Conti.”

He licked his teeth, and his face hardened. He looked a lot like Grim. They had the same stare that could make your insides twist. “And what did Mr. Conti have to say?”

“He’s trying to get into the hotel.”

“To Kenna?”

“Yes. I told him she’s pregnant. I hoped he would leave her alone.”

His brows pinched together. “And how do you know Kenna’s pregnant?”

I smiled and shrugged. “People talk. I was in the elevator with you and Mrs. Gates and your security team. I didn’t mean to overhear, but it was kind of hard not to.”

“I see.”

I smiled. “Happens all the time. I guess I’m not a noticeable person.”

“And how did Sonny react when you told him this?”

“He just seemed amused. Sonny’s got a beef with Grim, and since Grim and Kenna are together…” I opened my hands and shrugged again. “He’s not to be trusted.”

He mulled that over, and I left him to his thoughts, not wanting to break his concentration. The clock on the bookshelf ticked loudly, and I wondered what had made him come down to Cameron’s office. Was he there for me, or was he there to look for something in Cameron’s office?

“Speaking of trust, I don’t have a reason to trust or not trust you,” he finally said, “but I could use your help in getting the new lawyers settled with our accounts. Maybe in that time, you could find another job, and to that end…” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a business card. He scribbled something on the back of it then handed it to me. “I have a friend who needs a PI. He’s in Georgia, but I think you might be happy with the pay and even the change of scenery. I’ve mentioned your name.”

“Thank you.” I took the card. “That’s kind of you.”

Jim stood and tucked a hand in his pocket then walked toward the open door.

“Sir,” I called, and he turned around. “I understand the hesitation to trust me, given how close Cameron and I must have seemed, but if it counts for anything, I will never allow anyone to hurt Kenna. She’s one of the good ones.”

He pressed his lips together and let out a long breath. “It counts.” He looked at me. “And I agree, she is.”

Once he left, I listened for his footsteps to become faint then lifted the picture off the shelf and peeled back the cardboard. Wedged inside was a stack of papers. I thumbed through them and saw the printed-out emails. I didn’t bother to read them; I’d seen enough to know Cameron had been building a blackmail case against the Potens.

I tossed the lot in the trashcan, carried it to the bathroom, and dropped in a lit match. As it burned, I let my mind go. Secrets and sins were what drove people apart. The Tame family was no exception, and I didn’t want to know what else was going on. Now no one would. Cameron had done enough damage, and it was time to end it.