In the Fire (21 page)

He caught my eye, his power smile slipping into a shy, sad one. I bumped his shoulder with mine, trying to make light of what we both knew had been damaged. We’d have to find a way to mend our relationship to something more functional for both of us. Just another item to add to my personal relationship To-Do list.

Ethan continued to read the information about Craig, his expression darkening as his eyes moved down the page. “He worked at all these places that were eventually bought out?” Ethan’s eyes shifted to me, anger mixed with confusion swirling in them. “By Lassiter Corp? Your dad’s company bought out all these businesses?”

My stomach roiled at the thought of what my father had become. When Trevor had found a pattern of local businesses being bought up by Lassiter Corp, all with Reed’s name attached to the deals, alarm bells had gone off.

“Nothing Trevor could find, either by talking to the owners who had sold or any file on public record, had the name Douglas Lassiter attached to it. That’s why we’re holding off going to the police with all this. However—” I held my hand up as Ethan’s mouth opened to argue with me, “—my father hired Reed knowing what a jerk-off he was. In my opinion, this one still falls on his shoulders.”

Ethan snapped his mouth closed and scanned over the document in his hand again. The redder his face got, the worse I felt. My parents had chosen to cut me out of their lives without a second glance almost nine years ago to the day. I had taken their threats of pushing me back in the closet and controlling my life and thrown them back in their faces. But this was completely different. This was destroying businesses, disrupting lives and playing God.

When Ethan looked up from the document again, his eyes were hard and determined.

“I’m not saying he did anything, but Craig is the only one in our crew who still hasn’t fit in. Even Tyler avoids him, and he gets along with everyone.” Ethan threw a shit-eating grin Trevor’s way. “I’m pretty sure Tyler could even get along with you, Trustfund.”

And there’s the old Ethan I remember.
I snatched the paper out of his hand, handed it back to Trevor. When Ethan’s confused eyes found mine, I picked up his hands and pulled him toward me. The tension began to bleed out of him, leaving him upright but exhausted. His body relaxed a little bit more when I placed a kiss against his temple and I smiled, loving the effect I still had on him.

“We have no proof my father knew anything about this, but I won’t let any of this rest until I find out the truth.”

The dark smudges under his eyes made the green of his irises stand out even more when he pulled back. “You’ve done enough. Hell, you’ve done more than I could have. But I’ll handle it. It was my restaurant, my sister, my boss.”

My hands tightened in his as I pulled him closer, placing a small kiss on his lips. “But it’s my shitty sperm donor and my ex-family’s underhanded tactics that have placed your restaurant, your sister and your boss in danger. This one is all on me, Ethan, and it’s long overdue for me to have a talk with Daddy Dearest. Take care of Claire and Cal and let me do this for you. For both of us.”

Slowly the fight drained out of him and he nodded, but the determined glint I’d seen earlier was still there.

“I’m sorry you have to go see your dick of a dad, but if Craig ends up being a part of this, his ass is mine. And regardless of how much you want to handle this, I still want to be there when you confront your shitty sperm donor.”

“I will happily hand you Craig’s ass on a golden platter, but right now Claire needs you more. I’ll text you when we head over to Lassiter Corp. We won’t go in without you. I promise.”

Ethan nodded reluctantly.

Trevor snorted and muttered under his breath, “You are so whipped.”

I braced myself for yet another fight between the two of them, but was shocked speechless when Ethan tipped his head toward me.

“If it makes him happy, I’ll shut up and go with his plan. You, on the other hand? Fuck off.”

Trevor’s smirk disappearing signaled it was time for us to go before any other fireworks went off. I checked to see if Ethan needed anything before we left, raking my eyes over him one last time.

“Go kick some ass, Golden Boy.”

“Planning on it. Text me if you find out more about Cal.”

Ethan’s face was a mixture of worry, anger and sadness as I nodded to Trevor for us to leave. As we walked down the hallway, the urge to go back in the room and stay with him and Claire was almost enough to halt me in my tracks, but the battle I had before me was one that I couldn’t ignore any longer. If I learned from Craig Stewart that my father had anything to do with hurting the people I loved, there would be hell to pay.

Chapter Thirty

Jamie

Craig Stewart lived in a rundown apartment complex on the far side of the wharf. We were taking a risk going straight to him rather than to the police with all our information, but Trevor had suggested we go for the weakest link in the whole case before the big guns closed ranks and attempted a cover up.

Music blared from the other side of apartment 7C. A short, unassuming young man answered the door after Trevor knocked. His sandy brown hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a few days, and his white shirt had stains around the neck and armpits. I had to fight off the urge to pull the guy into the closest shower and hold him under the stream for a few minutes.

“If you’re selling insurance or that Amway crap, I’m not interested.”

Trevor cleared his throat, no doubt thinking the same thing I was, that this man needed it more than most, based on his current physical appearance.

“Craig Stewart? We’d like to ask you a few questions if we could.”

Craig’s eyes narrowed as he took in both of us. “What kind of questions? And how do you know my name? Are you guys like Mormons or something? Because I’m not buying that either.”

I held back a snort. “We’re here investigating the fire that occurred last night at Sharpe’s on Fifth. We were wondering if you could help us answer a few questions about it.”

His eyes shifted between the two of us. “I wasn’t there when the fire broke out, so I’m not sure I have any answers for you.”

Trevor dug in the folder he was holding and extracted a document, handing it to Craig. “Mr. Stewart, we know you left work early, but can you tell us where you went after you left the restaurant?”

He stammered, droplets of sweat beginning to form on his upper lip. “Who...who are you guys again?”

Trevor took a step toward Craig, making him shrink back into his doorway. “Let me put it this way, Mr. Stewart. We’re investigating some odd things that have been happening at Sharpe’s on Fifth. Things that, on the surface, don’t seem interrelated, but after last night’s fire, all seem to have one common theme. We’re here because we think you can help us with that one single theme that ties all the events together.”

Craig shifted back, his hand on the door, but Trevor kicked his foot forward, blocking it from closing. “We can do this the easy way, or we can leave and come back with the police. I have a feeling you don’t want them anywhere near you right now. Isn’t that true?”

Craig’s gaze nervously darted between the two of us. “I don’t know anything about what’s been going on at the restaurant. Maybe it was bad luck. Hell, the building’s older than dirt. That could have something to do with it too.”

I leaned forward. “Do you have any idea what that string of bad luck has done? Two people are in the hospital and a lifetime of blood, sweat and tears is destroyed.”

I turned to Trevor, letting the disgust I felt for Craig’s utter lack of concern for everyone else show on my face. “We’re done here. It’s time we hand everything over to the SPD and let them arrest him.”

When Trevor nodded, shooting his own disgusted look at Craig, I hoped the plan we had agreed upon in the car ride over would work. Trevor had initially wanted to bribe the information out of Craig, but I hated the notion of being anything like my father or Reed Jackson and had vetoed that idea. Instead, we decided if Craig had played any part in the sabotage, he’d be more likely to try to pin it on someone else, someone higher up the chain, in an effort to weasel his way out of being blamed for everything. As we walked down the hall, my heart pounded in my chest.

We were halfway to the rundown elevator when Craig called out, “I want to make a deal.”

Trevor’s smirk was so much like Ethan’s that I almost laughed out loud. Schooling both our expressions, we turned around but made no move toward him. When the silence stretched between us, Craig’s face paled, his hand shaky on the door frame.

“None of this was my idea and I didn’t plan any of it. I was just paid to do things. Little things. I didn’t even know it would go this far.” When neither Trevor nor I moved, Craig came out into the hall, his hands up in supplication. “No one was supposed to be working late that night. I swear. They promised me no one would get hurt.”

Not able to contain my anger anymore, I strode toward him as he cowered against the wall. “It’s a restaurant. Someone is
always
working late. Instead of two people in the hospital? It could have been two people in the morgue.”

“You have to believe me. I had nothing to do with the fire. I pulled the ANSUL ring and I screwed around with the cooler gauges—” he paused, seeming to debate his next words, “—and I borrowed Chef Martin’s keys so I could get the back door key copied. But I had no idea what they planned for last night.”

Bingo.
“And who is
they
, Craig?”

I let the words hang in the air. This whole plan hinged on Craig being enough of a douche to give up Reed and, maybe, my father. If we couldn’t get him to talk, we’d have to go to the police and hand over everything Trevor had collected. Thankfully, Craig didn’t want to take the fall for someone else.

“Mr. J sets everything up. He’s the one who finds my next jobs for me. He texts me what small jobs he wants me to do and then pays me in cash once the job is done.”

Trevor leaned in to invade Craig’s personal space, causing him to shrink back even more. “Mr. Reed Jackson? That Mr. J?”

Craig nodded, his face drained of all color. “I swear I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. I like Chef Martin. Well, the female Chef Martin. Ethan’s an asshole.”

Trevor’s snort resounded down the empty hallway.

“I hid the spare key out back under some crates that have been there forever. Mr. J said he’d have someone pick it up. He has a couple of guys he uses for stuff like that. I thought they were just going to screw with more of the equipment. I never thought...”

Trevor leaned in close and whispered something too low for me to hear. Craig’s expression morphed into fear as Trevor turned to walk away, a look of pure satisfaction prominently placed on his face as I walked beside him, away from one problem and straight toward another.

* * *

As I stared at the steel and glass building in front of me, instead of feeling pride in my father’s accomplishments, I felt nauseated. When I was small, Lassiter Corp was housed on the third and fourth floor. My mother would bring me up to the office for my father to parade his perfect family in front of his employees. As my father’s business grew, so did the need for more space. By the time I left for Paris, Lassiter Corp occupied every floor of the high-rise building. Looking at my reflection in the sleek, charcoal glass cemented my decision.

Ethan swore, low and angry as we told him what we’d found out from Craig. I turned to face Trevor who was standing right behind me. “Let’s go. It’s time I had a heart to heart with Dear Ole Dad.”

“You sure you want to do this? We can still go to the cops with everything we have.”

Ethan’s menacing look in addition to the images of Claire in the hospital, small and bandaged up, flashed through my mind. “I need to hear it from my father’s lips before we go to the cops. I’m sure he’ll deny it all, but I need to see with my own eyes whether he squirms or tries to deny knowing anything about Reed and his illegal practices.”

Trevor’s scowl deepened, but he simply nodded and he pushed open the door for us. The lobby was spacious with warm wood tones for the reception area, the exact opposite of Douglas Lassiter. A quick flash of my ID got us past the serious-looking receptionist and onto the elevators. My parents were pros at keeping things in the closet, and admitting they’d cut their only child out of their lives and fortune wouldn’t have been good for their image. Once the elevator doors closed, I focused on the reason I was here. People I loved had been hurt. Their livelihood stripped away from them. I would be damned if I let this one go as easily as I had my parents disowning me.

When the elevators opened on the tenth floor, my father’s secretary greeted us. Kathleen had been with my father since I was a child and reminded me of those old pictures of schoolmarms. Her silver hair pulled back into a severe bun, bright red lipstick on her overly thin lips, and close-set brown eyes had always made me feel like I was doing something wrong.

“Kathleen. It’s been too long. How is the family?”

Kathleen’s lips thinned even more as her eyes darted between us, obviously trying to figure out the connection between me and the two gentlemen beside me. Ethan was more disheveled than normal in his well-worn jeans and AC/DC T-shirt. Trevor, on the other hand, was impeccably dressed in a burgundy button-down and slacks. While Trevor fit my parents’ image of their ideal appearance, Ethan was the extreme polar opposite. It made me want to hook my arm around Ethan’s waist and claim him as mine even more.

“James Lassiter. It has been too long. I wondered why we hadn’t seen you lately. The family is fine. Sandra’s in med school and Avery just got promoted at his engineering firm.”

I responded with my own tight smile as I translated Kathleen’s greeting. “
I
know why you haven’t been around and it has everything to do with the street trash standing next to you.
No matter how famous you might think you are
,
you’re a disappointment to your parents.
Unlike my perfect children
.”

“Congratulations. You must be so proud. We’d like to see my father. Can you tell him we’re here?”

Her beady eyes narrowed even more. “Oh James, your father’s schedule is booked solid today. How about I leave him a message you stopped by and he can call you later?”

Both Ethan and Trevor stepped forward to intervene, but I held out my hand to stop them. Pasting on the Lassiter smile I’d perfected over the years, I held up the envelope of information Trevor had compiled. “Please inform my father he can either talk to us now, or he can talk to the police.”

Kathleen sized us up, her eyes moving from Trevor to Ethan, then back to me. She rose, knocked once on my father’s closed door, and slipped inside. Within moments, she reappeared, holding the door open for us. Trevor winked at me, a silent show of support before we entered the lion’s den.

My father remained seated behind his desk, his hands steepled under his chin. “James. I would think you of all people would understand what it means to be busy. Or is your little career not keeping you busy enough?”

I cringed, but kept my silence. Douglas Lassiter loved having the upper hand in a meeting like this, and I refused to let him bait me.

My father’s eyes narrowed when the silence stretched between us. “What is this about talking to the police? I thought we said everything we had to say when you chose your
lifestyle
over your mother and me. Judging by the company you still keep, I assume your lifestyle hasn’t changed at all. Such a disappointment.”

Without any fanfare, I placed the envelope on the uncluttered surface in front of him. “Hello, Dad. I would say it’s a pleasure to see you after all these years, but that would be a lie. This is my friend and manager, Trevor Pratt, who knows everything about my choice in
lifestyle
and crazily enough, still wants to be a part of my life.”

I glanced over at Ethan, whose entire body was vibrating with barely concealed rage. Now wasn’t the time to comfort him, but it was the time to own up to how important he was to me. “And I think you know Ethan Martin. You know, the kitchen jockey who just won the very prestigious award of best chef in the Pacific Northwest.”

As my father gave Trevor the once-over, his eyes narrowed in disgust.

“Is this your new faggot lover or are you still with the dishwasher? Either way, you can leave now. I wanted nothing to do with your poor life choices when you were twenty-two, and I want even less to do with them now when you think your fame will forgive all your indiscretions.”

Ethan made a low noise in his chest as he leaned forward and placed his palms flat on my father’s desk. He met my father’s look unflinchingly as he spoke softly. “You better watch how you speak to him.”

“Ethan, it’s okay. I’ve got this.” He tensed and locked his eyes with my father for a few seconds more, then shot me a look and stepped back.

“You’re still charming as ever, Dad. No, Trevor’s not my lover, but he’s been more of a family than you or Mom has been these past few years. But I’m not here to catch you up on my career and dissect my love life in your office. I’m here to talk to you about the Commercial Property Acquisition division of Lassiter Corp.”

A long-suffering sigh came from my father’s lips as he leaned back in his chair, the envelope still sitting unopened before him. “Reed Jackson heads the Commercial Property division. This conversation should be with him, instead of you wasting my time. I have a meeting over the launch of our new restaurant design in thirty minutes.”

I leaned over and tapped the envelope, scooting it closer to him. “I’m well aware of what Reed does for your company. The question is, are you?”

When I saw my father begin to wave us off, I withdrew the papers from the envelope, spreading them out on his desk. With all the annoyance of a petulant child, my father leaned forward and picked them up. The way he’d cut me out of their lives when I was in school had been devastating. Ethan had been the one who had pulled me through it in the beginning. Later, Trevor was there to pick up the pieces for me when a holiday would arrive, always making sure I had a place to go since going back to Seattle for a cozy family reunion wasn’t an option. But this, this total dismissal of me as an adult, stung even more.

My father was expressionless as he looked over the paperwork. It was a façade I had seen my whole life. As a kid, I had thought it showed his strength and command of power. Today I saw it for what it was. He was an inflexible and bigoted old man who had chosen money and status over his own flesh and blood. If nothing else came out of this meeting with him today, I knew my career would be taking a hiatus. I refused to become obsessed with money and fame to the extent I forgot who I was or what was important in life.