Chapter 2 - The Warning Before Sunrise
Bella barely slept.
At 5:17 the next morning, she stood in her apartment staring at Bryce’s messages while coffee brewed untouched behind her.
She had typed six different replies.
Deleted all six.
By 5:45, she was inside a cab heading toward Caruso Holdings.
Bryce had told her not to come.
Blake had ordered her to arrive.
Between those two options, Bella trusted neither man enough to blindly obey either.
At exactly 5:58, the elevator opened onto the executive floor.
Blake was already there.
Of course he was.
He stood beside her desk wearing another black suit, looking irritatingly awake.
His gaze traveled over her.
Not crudely.
Not even obviously.
But Bella noticed.
“You’re early.”
“Two minutes.”
“Still early.”
“I was afraid you’d dock my newly doubled salary.”
“You negotiated that salary less than fifteen seconds after protesting the promotion. I suspect you’d sue me.”
Bella placed her purse down.
“I’d win.”
Blake’s mouth twitched.
Then his attention shifted toward the elevator behind her.
“Did anyone contact you last night?”
Bella’s heart skipped.
She kept her expression neutral.
“Several people.”
“Anyone from this office?”
There it was.
He knew.
Or suspected.
“Why?”
“Answer the question.”
“Good morning to you too.”
“Bella.”
She met his eyes.
“No one said anything important.”
Technically true.
Bryce had said he needed to tell her something.
He hadn’t actually told her yet.
Blake studied her long enough to make her uncomfortable.
Then he handed her a black folder.
“Car.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
Twenty minutes later, Bella sat beside Blake in the back of a black SUV.
Two security vehicles followed.
The city was only beginning to wake.
Bella opened the folder.
“Castiano Development Holdings.”
“Read page four.”
She did.
Her eyes narrowed.
“These numbers don’t match yesterday’s contract.”
“Correct.”
“Why?”
“That’s what we’re going to discover.”
Bella looked at him.
“You already know.”
Blake stared through the window.
“I have suspicions.”
“And you’re bringing your secretary—”
“Personal assistant.”
She ignored him.
“—into a meeting where you suspect one of your business partners is manipulating financial records?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Blake turned toward her.
“Because you noticed the discrepancy in under thirty seconds.”
Bella paused.
That was almost a compliment.
Before she could respond, the SUV stopped.
They entered a private restaurant closed to the public.
Three men waited inside.
Marco Castiano sat at the center.
The meeting began politely.
It did not remain polite.
Bella sat beside Blake, taking notes while Marco explained accounting discrepancies that became less believable with every sentence.
Blake said almost nothing.
That was when Bella realized something.
Blake wasn’t asking questions because he already knew the answers.
He was waiting to see who lied.
After forty minutes, Marco excused himself.
Blake leaned toward Bella.
“Your assessment?”
She lowered her voice.
“He’s lying.”
“About?”
“The waterfront construction costs.”
Blake watched her.
“Why?”
“He keeps touching his wedding ring whenever you mention subcontractors.”
Blake glanced toward Marco across the room.
“And?”
“Page eleven shows payments to three companies registered within six days of each other. Same mailing district.”
“Anything else?”
“The attorney beside him keeps checking Marco before answering questions he should know himself.”
Blake leaned back.
For several seconds he simply looked at her.
“What?”
“You’re wasted behind a desk.”
Bella felt unexpectedly pleased.
Then she remembered Bryce.
“Is this why you promoted me?”
Blake’s expression changed.
“Partly.”
“What’s the other part?”
Before he answered, Marco returned.
The meeting resumed.
Two hours later, Blake walked out owning a larger percentage of the waterfront project than when he entered.
Bella was still trying to understand how.
Inside the elevator, she looked at him.
“You knew they were stealing from you.”
“Yes.”
“And instead of threatening them, you let them talk until they trapped themselves.”
“Yes.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“I’ll accept that as praise.”
“It wasn’t.”
The elevator opened into an underground garage.
Bryce stood beside the SUV.
Bella stopped.
Blake stopped too.
The air immediately changed.
Bryce’s eyes flicked toward Bella.
Only for a second.
But Blake saw it.
Of course he did.
“Bryce.”
“Boss.”
“Problem?”
“Need a word.”
“With me?”
Bryce hesitated.
“With both of you.”
Bella’s pulse quickened.
Blake’s voice cooled.
“Speak.”
“Not here.”
Blake looked toward his security detail.
“Clear the garage.”
Within seconds, everyone moved away.
Bryce approached.
“Romano knows about Chicago.”
Blake showed no visible reaction.
“How?”
“We’re trying to determine that.”
Bryce looked at Bella again.
“And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Someone accessed Miss Morgan’s personnel file last night.”
Bella’s stomach tightened.
“My file?”
“Home address. Emergency contact. Employment history. Everything.”
Blake’s entire demeanor changed.
The jealous man from yesterday vanished.
In his place stood someone much more dangerous.
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
“You have five minutes to start knowing.”
Bryce nodded.
Then looked at Bella.
“Until we figure it out, she shouldn’t go home alone.”
“I’ll handle Bella.”
Bryce’s expression tightened.
“I think she should hear what—”
“Enough.”
Blake’s voice sliced through the garage.
Bella stepped between their stares.
“No. Not enough.”
Both men looked at her.
She faced Bryce.
“You texted me last night.”
Blake went completely still.
Bryce closed his eyes briefly.
Bella immediately realized she had just detonated something.
Blake turned slowly toward Bryce.
“You contacted her?”
“Blake—”
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Yet?”
Bella crossed her arms.
“This is ridiculous. Whatever secret both of you are dancing around involves me, so somebody starts explaining.”
Bryce looked at Blake.
Blake said nothing.
Bryce finally spoke.
“Eight months ago, before you were hired, Blake rejected your application.”
Bella stared at him.
“What?”
Bryce continued.
“You weren’t supposed to get the job.”
Bella turned toward Blake.
He remained expressionless.
“But I did.”
“Yes,” Bryce said. “Because Blake changed his mind.”
“Why?”
Bryce hesitated.
“Tell her,” Blake said quietly.
Bryce looked surprised.
Then he reached inside his jacket and removed a folded photograph.
He handed it to Bella.
She opened it.
Her breath stopped.
The photograph showed Bella leaving a coffee shop.
She recognized the coat.
The street.
The date printed in the corner.
It had been taken nine months ago.
One month before she ever interviewed at Caruso Holdings.
Bella looked up.
“Why do you have this?”
Bryce’s answer came quietly.
“Because Blake had us watching you before you ever applied for the job.”
Bella turned toward Blake.
The parking garage suddenly felt much colder.
“You knew who I was?”
“Yes.”
“Before I walked into your office?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Blake stared at her.
For the first time since Bella had known him, he seemed reluctant to answer.
That frightened her more than anything.
“Because your application wasn’t the first time I’d seen your name.”
Bella’s fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Where did you see it?”
Blake’s eyes hardened.
“In a file belonging to Vincent Romano.”
Bella stopped breathing.
“What would a rival crime family want with me?”
Blake stepped closer.
“That,” he said quietly, “is exactly what I’ve spent eight months trying to find out.”
And suddenly Bella understood something horrifying.
Blake had not brought her closer because she called Bryce handsome.
The jealousy had merely accelerated a decision he had already made.
Someone had been watching Bella long before yesterday.
Someone dangerous.
May you like
And Blake Caruso had known from the beginning.
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