Unfortunately, he’d said the one thing guaranteed to make Dani feel as low as she possibly could. He’d tossed her aside for a single mistake. Finn doubted Julian would really have let them go. He’d watched the way Julian sighed as he came in contact with Dani. He was in deep, and it scared Julian. But that wouldn’t matter to Dani. He knew her too well. She’d heard absolutely nothing past Julian telling her to get packed. He knew the only thing that kept her sitting at the table was the fact that she was Lexi Moore’s friend. Otherwise, she would have done exactly what he said. She would have packed and asked Finn to take her home. Now she sat, her hands twisting on the table in front of her, and listened to Tricia Walker.
“What did he go to prison for?” Julian asked. There was a blandness to his voice. He could have been asking about the weather.
Tricia swallowed. It was obvious she was intimidated. “Drugs. He got caught with cocaine at a club. It was his third strike. He went a little crazy after you kicked him out.”
Leo spoke up. His fists hit the table. “I explained this to you. Jeremy broke the rules of The Club. He attempted to drug an associate member and give him over to a man who meant him harm. You do understand what your brother did?”
Tears welled. “Yes. He was troubled for a long time. It isn’t the first assault he attempted, though my stepfather kept it quiet. He gave it up after he got caught with cocaine. I’m afraid my brother blamed you for his trouble.”
“I’m sure he did,” Julian said quietly. “Jeremy was very good at blaming others. Unfortunately, he was also very good at acting like a sane human being.”
“I made it worse, I’m afraid,” Tricia said. “I hadn’t seen him in the last couple of years, and when he came by and told me about you, I listened. I fed into his little fantasy about ruining you. You have to understand what a great story you are. Billionaire businessman runs underground sex club. It’s the kind of story that could make my career.”
“It will be the end of your career if you don’t drop it.”
She nodded, and Finn sensed a little backbone in her now. “Yeah, I get that now. You’re a very scary man. I’ll drop it, but I went to his place a couple of days back. He wasn’t in, but I have a key. I went in to check his computer to see if I could find another number for you. I couldn’t get past that Nazi secretary of yours.”
“Yes, I believe she’s earned her bonus this year.”
“What did you find?” Finn asked. All of his investigative instincts had been on high alert ever since Tricia walked in. He knew a witness with a story when he saw one.
“Pictures of Mr. Lodge. He’s been following Mr. Lodge around for the better part of a year, from what I can tell. Ever since he got out of jail.”
“He’s the one who vandalized my vehicle,” Julian mused. His fingers drummed along the tabletop. His eyes found Leo’s. “And The Club?”
Leo frowned. “Oh, yeah, I think he started the fire. Little things add up. When Sally’s place got trashed, I couldn’t let it go.”
Julian sighed. “Fine. You’re rehired.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be rehired.”
“At a ten percent raise.”
“Nice working for you again, boss. I swear your stubbornness is going to make me a millionaire.”
Sam was back on the phone. He started talking as he left the room, relaying the new information to Jack.
Finn still didn’t understand. “What does Lexi Moore have to do with any of this? Does she know your brother?”
Tricia shook her head. “I don’t think so, but from what I can tell the only person my brother hates as much as Mr. Lodge here is Lucas Cameron. I assume this Lexi is his girlfriend.”
Finn felt his blood run cold. “Not exactly, but he would be devastated if anything happened to her.”
Julian was on his feet in an instant, and Finn could see Julian was following the logical path. “Danielle, you will not step foot out of this house until this man is caught.”
Her mouth set in a stubborn line. “Really? I thought I was packing my bags.”
Julian rounded on her. “Do not test me right now, little one. I am willing to admit I acted in a bit of haste, but I won’t discuss it now. Now you will obey me, and stay in this house.”
“You dismissed me, Julian. You told me to leave, so I think I’ll make up my own mind about this. Besides, this Jeremy guy won’t come after me. He’s going after people you care about, not your vacation flings. I think Finn and I are safe. Now, where would he have taken Lexi?”
Julian got down on one knee. Finn could see his face was flushed. He was shocked to see that Julian’s hands had a fine tremble to them as he gripped Dani’s arms. “You will obey me, Danielle. You will stay here, and you will do exactly as I say. You will lock yourself in the guesthouse, and you will not answer the door for anyone. Leo is going to call the club and have several members of the security team get down here immediately. They’ll guard you and the children. Do you understand me?”
Dani frowned at him. She squirmed a little. “Fine. I’ll sit and wait with the children. Now let go of me. You’re hurting me.”
Finn didn’t move to help her. He’d known Dani far too long. She wasn’t hurt. She was pissed, but Julian didn’t seem to know it. His hands came off her arms right away, and he stared at her skin as though waiting for the bruises to show up. His skin was pasty white now, and he stood quickly, forcing himself away from her. He stared at her for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was hoarse.
“Leave all you like after Jeremy is caught, but I won’t have you in danger. Whether you choose to believe it or not, Jeremy will come after you. If he’s been watching me, he’s seen us together, and he’ll know that harming you would be far worse than killing me. Stay put, Danielle. Finn, take care of her.” Julian turned and walked out of the room without a backward glance.
Tricia Walker stood. “I think Mr. Lodge is right. I do think my brother’s been down here for the last few days. I tried to call, and he didn’t answer. He wasn’t at his place, but he sent himself some e-mails on his computer with pictures of Julian and Danielle in a bar.”
“Yeah, that would be The Barn. We were there the other night,” Finn said, his skin prickling. There was really a psycho out there, and he wanted to hurt Dani and Julian. Finn turned to the door Julian had exited through. Every instinct he had told him to go after him, but Dani was firmly in her seat. She wasn’t moving.
Leo pulled out his cell and started talking, but Finn turned his attention to Dani. Her eyes faced forward and were glazed with a solid pain he wondered if he could ease.
“Dani,” Finn began. “Baby, you gotta listen to me. He didn’t mean any of that.”
Finn understood Julian in this instance. Julian had pushed her away for the same reason Finn had held her apart. They were both scared to death. Finn would bet his life on it. Finn had been scared Dani would reject him and Julian…well, Julian was scared of a lot of things as far as Finn could tell. Julian might be incredibly comfortable with his outward sexuality but his heartnot so much. He probably wasn’t even aware he had one.
Finn was. He’d seen the way Julian worshipped Dani. Julian was more loving than he thought he was. It was up to them to prove it.
“Come on, Dani, let’s go out to the guesthouse. We can watch some movies while we wait.”
He’d work on her. He’d talk to her and get her to see that the Master would take a little teaching himself. No one was perfect. They had to work to get what they wanted. He’d take Leo’s lead. Leo seemed to do what he thought was best, despite Julian’s anger, and he came out on top anyway.
Dani nodded, though her expression was vacant. “Sure. I just need to use the restroom and then we can pick a movie.”