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get it. I understand exactly where she’s at. It hurts me to see her in so much pain and to see her carry guilt over something that’s not her fault.”
    “I know it does, brother.” He smiled at me.
    “What?”
    “I never thought I’d see this day.”
    “What day?”
    “The day Zolt Hamil started to emerge from his own injuries. I like it. It’s even better that the catalyst is a woman.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Who knew?”
    “Not me.” Brody ran a hand through his short hair. “I’m beat and tomorrow’s another day. I’ll see if I can get her to talk.”
    I nodded and continued down the hall toward my bedroom, then stopped. “Hey, Brody.”
    “Yeah?” he said and turned around.
    “Thanks for staying. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
    He inclined his head. “You’re welcome. Don’t worry, baby bro, I’m not going anywhere.”
    I smiled as I made my way to my room, happy my brother remained, but at the same time, acknowledging that Brody couldn’t stay forever. He had a life and career in Colorado to get back to, but I knew he’d stay as long as we needed him. My brother was good like that.
    T-bone showed up early the next morning with Chris Wilkes’s laptop in hand. We went into my office and T closed the door.
    “I don’t want Irelyn to deal with this until you’re sure she’s ready, but my tech guy obtained access.” He set the laptop on my desk. The grim expression on his face told me what they’d found wasn’t good.
    “And?” I asked, staring at the laptop, afraid to touch it, worried its contents would explode.
    “We found Chris’s personal video journal. He only made one entry about two months before his death. It’s fucked up, Z-man.”
    “Fuck.” I closed my eyes and exhaled. I opened them and asked, “How fucked up?”
    “Apparently, Jacob found himself in some serious shit and turned to Marcus for help. In return, Marcus wanted Irelyn. However, Chris doesn’t say what kind of trouble Jacob found himself in.”
    I stiffened and the hairs on my neck rose. “Are you shitting me?”
    “I’m not. He talks about how angry he’d been with his father and how he wasn’t about to let Jacob give Irelyn to Marcus. Soon after, Chris died.”
    “Marcus had Chris murdered, didn’t he?” My stomach hit my feet, and I had to wonder if Irelyn knew.
    “My best guess is, yes, he did. I’m also guessing Wilkes knows the truth.”
    “Shit, T, what kind of father does that to his daughter? To his son?”
    “A man who is in serious trouble and doesn’t see any way out.”
    “This will kill Irelyn.” I shook my head, not relishing having to tell her.
    “She knows, Z. She has to. Let’s think about this.” T sat back in his chair and stroked his bald head. “If I’m Marcus and I want Irelyn to play by my rules, I’d need her to see exactly what I’m capable of, which is why she lied to you.”
    “So, he told her the entire sordid story and scared the shit out of her so she’d lie.”
    “Yep. Anyway, Irelyn needs to watch the video. She needs to hear it from her brother’s mouth. Then, I suggest we go to Quebec and see her father.”
    “Oh, God.” I clasped my hands behind my neck.
    “You need to be there for her, Z-man. But we have to do this sooner rather than later. Peter Campbell isn’t going to give us much more time before he involves the authorities. Once that happens, we lose all the ground we’ve made. Marcus has connections—deep connections. It’s how he buried the investigation into Chris’s death. How deep and far those connections go is anyone’s guess. Too much longer, and Campbell is going to tell us to fuck off.”
    “What about the auction? Has there been any movement on that?”
    T scrolled through his phone and handed it to me. “We intercepted this email today. Marcus rerouted the messages to a different IP address, but my tech guys are brilliant. He probably knows we’re watching him, but I’m certain he has no clue just how