A Beautiful Lie (Unlocked #1) Read online

  “My brother really did all of that?” Of course, her voice was coated in disbelief. As I was quickly learning, skepticism was a token feature of Nina’s personality. In her world, nothing was ever as it seemed. There was always some deeper universal force waiting to screw her over.

  “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Adam spends more time giving his money away than he does spending it on himself.” Nina swirled the straw in her water, refusing to look me in the eye. I tried to imagine the flurry of thoughts that she was running through, but couldn’t.

  “I read about the gala,” she admitted. “All of the articles about him call him an eccentric billionaire. Like he’s crazy or something.”

  “He is an eccentric billionaire,” I laughed. “But with a heart of gold. I’ve known Adam since college, and inheriting his father’s fortune definitely changed him.” Memories of Adam from our freshman year sharing a dorm room flashed back to me. At that time, he was new to the United States, having grown up in London with his father.

  Even though I’d pretended that I was doing him a favor by taking him under my wing and showing him the ropes of life on the other side of the pond, it was just an excuse to be associated with him. After all, the girls swooned over him, his charisma, and that damn British accent. But now, I didn’t recognize the person Adam had become. I could barely remember the happy playboy that he’d been during the first few years of our friendship. Ever since the death of his father, he’d been tortured by his inner demons.

  “How so?”

  “Once he had this pile of money sitting in his bank account, he felt burdened, you know? Like he had to do something good with it.”

  Nina nodded, hanging on every word. The waitress interrupted us to bring our drinks and take our order, then I continued.

  “Anyways, that’s why he started Watchtower. Once he found out that he had family somewhere out there, finding missing people became his cause.”

  She sipped her wine slowly, apparently digesting everything that had transpired over the afternoon. As hard as it was to read her, the signs seemed more good than bad.

  “He really has been looking for me.”

  “Night and day.”

  “I wish he were here right now. I wish that I could meet him and get to know him.” Her voice was pained, as though time were running out.

  “Me too. But Nina…” She looked up at me, her expression now clouded with anguish. “He will be back. He always comes back. I have an idea.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I have a team meeting tonight at headquarters. Why don’t you come with me? I can show you around and you can get a better idea of what we do.”

  I threw up this Hail Mary to get her to stick around, and sucked in a deep breath. From across the table I watched as she weighed the invitation in her mind. On one hand, she’d all but sworn off further contact with me just a few hours earlier. On the other hand, I’d given her insight into a different reality than she’d ever dreamed of.

  “That’d be interesting, I guess.”

  Thank God. For the first time that afternoon, I leaned back and relaxed. To this point, I’d done all that I could do. Once we began presenting the facts about her father at the meeting, she would have a choice to make about helping us. But for the moment, I was completely at ease. There was dinner to be eaten and a beautiful girl to converse with.

  “Shit, sorry.” She fished her ringing phone out of her purse and glanced at it. “I have to take this, it’s my boyfriend.”

  Boyfriend? The notion of Nina having a boyfriend sent my thoughts into a tailspin. Before I could stop her, she darted from our table, taking quick steps toward the ladies’ room. Since when was there a boyfriend in the picture? Further, where had he been this entire time? When she returned to the table, I tried not to notice that her smile was wider and her general demeanor lighter.

  As much as I wanted to delve into that conversation, it would have to wait.

  “So this is it,” Nina pronounced, gazing up at the tall building where Watchtower was headquartered. Adam owned the entire forty-five story building, as well as a number of other buildings around Manhattan, but Watchtower only took up three floors. The building would be mostly empty at that hour, with the exception of twenty-four hour operations and my team.

  “This is it.”

  I led her inside, through security, and up to the forty-second floor. With the swipe of my key card, we were in the nucleus of Watchtower. A low-decibel conversation filtered out from the war room.

  “We’re in there.” I pointed to the large conference room. “Just let me stop at my office and grab some materials.” My office was always locked. Given the sensitive nature of the information that I dealt with, we had to safeguard it from anyone, even internal folks, gaining unauthorized access. The file folder was right where I’d left it, locked in my desk drawer.

  “This place is incredible. I expected some small-time operation. But this is…”

  “It’s incredible. Sorry, I promise I’ll give you a tour later, but we’re late for the meeting.”

  Under normal circumstances, I’d never invite a non-employee to a meeting like this. But Nina wasn’t just any person. She was an integral piece of the plan. I only prayed that my strategy to bring her into the fold unprepared would pay off. At least, I prayed that she was less likely to bolt when locked in a conference room with four other people.

  Carter was already present in the war room, along with the entire team he’d assembled. The moment I entered, with Nina in tow behind me, a hush fell amongst them.

  Carter broke the ice. “Hey, man.”

  I did a quick survey of the team he’d assembled. Elliott Daniels from IT, who was a no-brainer for this, sat across the table. Adam had heavily recruited him out of MIT, and he’d been a central contributor to numerous Watchtower wins. Next to him was Watchtower’s lead coordinator, a small squirrelly girl named Chloe Fournet. She was the procurer of goods for any investigation. Did you need a truck to transport gear to a site, or a nineteen-twenties flapper costume to fit in at a party? She was your girl. Rounding out the team was Bradley Jones. The two-time All American football player had given up the gridiron for a life of public service. He was Carter’s backup.

  And last, of course, there was Alicia.

  “Thanks for coming, everyone,” I said. I introduced each of them to Nina, giving her their backgrounds and duties within the team. “This is Nina, she’s going to be sitting in on the meeting today.” She gave a shy wave to the team and took a seat at the far end of the table.

  “Level with me, man,” Bradley asked. “Is this really Adam’s case? Are we going to find him?”

  “No, guys, listen, Adam will be back.” I pushed my thumb drive into my laptop. In moments, my desktop was projected onto the wall of the conference room. “We’re here to talk about someone else.”

  I looked at Nina one last time before we got into it. She looked only mildly interested in the topic at hand. Carter nodded for me to continue. The moment I clicked to open the Patrick Blake file, adrenaline coursed through my veins. Seconds later, his picture was in full focus.

  “Patrick Blake.” Elliott was already typing into his own laptop, running a background check on the subject. “The hotelier. He is the proprietor of the Jasper Hotel in Midtown. Altogether, he owns fourteen buildings in the city.”

  “What’s his story?” Chloe asked.

  Nina shot me a confused look. I communicated the best apology that I could with my eyes, but I knew it failed to register.

  “Everyone take one.” I dropped five manila folders containing the case information in the center of the table. The others snatched them immediately. When Nina didn’t, I slid one across the table to her. Even once it was in front of her, she didn’t budge to open it.

  “Should she have one of those?” Elliott asked as he scanned through the documents. “This is all very sensitive information.”

  “Everyone focus,” I redirected him. “In your fold
er, you will find a dossier on Patrick Blake. In my preliminary research, I’ve discovered fourteen girls employed by the Jasper Hotel over the last fifteen years who have turned up either missing or dead.” When I hadn’t been trying to get in Nina’s good graces over the last week, I’d been digging up any information I could find. “You’ll find evidence and dates of employment, as well as death records if applicable, or missing persons’ reports.”

  The group studied their files voraciously. Nina continued to sit stone-cold frozen in her seat. From where I stood, I could barely tell if she was breathing.

  “These first three.” Bradley held up their pictures to show the room. “These are the girls who turned up dead and pregnant in December. Heroin overdoses.”

  “Alleged heroin overdoses,” I corrected him. “They were both recently employed at the Jasper. I have plans to visit one of the roommates and another’s parents next week.”

  I gave them a few minutes to continue digesting the enormity of it all. Fourteen was just the beginning. The rabbit hole of Patrick Blake’s shady dealings had been much darker and wider than I’d originally anticipated. What had started out as three dead girls, and a missing woman found after years in hiding, had resulted in a growing list of daughters, friends, and lovers who had gone missing.

  “I’m not going to lie, this is really compelling stuff Luke.” Chloe adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, continuing to skim the file. “But you’re going in front of the Board tomorrow and you know they don’t just let us blindly pursue these things. We need a client.”

  “We have one.” Silence fell over the room for a second time that evening, as the group awaited my big reveal.

  “Guys, I want to reintroduce you to Nina Parker, Patrick Blake’s biological daughter.”

  10

  Nina

  “What the hell is this?” I knew the truth—it was a trap set by Luke, and I had fallen right in. The entire room was staring at me, waiting for an affirmation of Luke’s statement. “Why am I here?”

  “We need your help.” It felt like the first honest thing Luke had said to me since the moment I met him. “We need you to file paperwork with Watchtower that you want our assistance in locating your mother.”

  “But you already—”

  He cut me off. “I know. But we need this to look organic and not targeted.”

  “What exactly is the approach?” Elliott spoke without looking up from his computer. It appeared that he was reading and speaking simultaneously. “Get all of the families on board?”

  “Exactly,” Luke said. “At least whoever we can. The more cases we get opened, the more money the Board will give to us to take action.”

  I sank my head into the palms of my hands, attempting to regain my breath. The details presented to the room spun over and over in my mind. The idea that my father could be capable of the things that file claimed was absurd. I’d visited his hotel and spoken with one of his employees. He wrote a book and dedicated an entire chapter to his missing daughter – to me!

  Embarrassment engulfed me as I pressed my hands harder into my eyes. I pressed so hard that I started to see stars and bursts of colors. He wasn’t on some mission from my brother to find me. The entire time, Luke had been pursuing ulterior motives.

  “Do I even have a brother?” I couldn’t face the room. I knew everyone was staring at me, waiting for me.

  “Adam Scott is your half-brother, I promise you.”

  The shuffling of papers stopped.

  “Excuse me?” Bradley asked. “Adam Scott…our Adam? Is her brother?”

  “Half-brother,” Carter corrected. “Guys, look, we have our preliminary information to allow us to move forward. Luke is meeting with the Board tomorrow to get the okay. Let’s break and reconvene after that meeting.” Though my face was still smashed into my palms, the hesitation in the room was palpable. “Now.”

  Chairs moved, laptops snapped shut, and my heart beat with the weight of knowing that I had my own revelation to make. “Wait.” I looked up, my eyes adjusting to the light of the room. I had to squint to make out their faces. “I went there.”

  The group stopped what they were doing. Small, unextraordinary Chloe pushed her thick glasses up her nose. I briefly wondered what it would be like to be a normal girl like her. I envied her and the neatness of her life. Plain, affordable clothes, steady job, and only a dusting of makeup across her cheeks.

  “Went where?” Luke leaned on the opposite end of the glass table and focused all his energy on me. It was less of a question than a threat, as though he were warning me not to tell him what I was about to tell him.

  “The Jasper.”

  Luke clenched his jaw, while the rest of the group stared on, wide-eyed at this revelation. After a moment, he exhaled, turning to the group. “I’ll see all of you later.” Everyone continued their exit, gazes fixated on me until the moment they left the room.

  “Do you need me to stay?” The woman he’d introduced as Alicia lingered by the door. A simple look at her pressed pant suit and the giant rock taking up real estate on her ring finger told me she was important.

  “I can handle this,” he replied. When the door closed, only Luke and I remained. He was glued in his same spot at the other end of the table. Then he crossed his arms and began pacing the conference room.

  “What do you mean you went there, Nina? You walked by the building? You—”

  “I got a room two nights ago and slept there.”

  “Two nights ago you left my apartment and were going home. How the hell did you end up at the Jasper?”

  I caught myself studying the agitated lines of his biceps through his long-sleeved shirt. Ever since dinner he’d seemed bothered by something. However, this piece of information had sent him over the edge. No longer was he the calm, cool, and collected Luke Nolan.

  “The book. I just wanted to know.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Luke didn’t have to know that I couldn’t go home to Tomas.

  “Why the hell would you do that? If you wanted to know anything, all you had to do was ask me!” He slammed his fist on the table and I flinched in my chair, fearing it might shatter under his strength.

  “You don’t understand,” I whispered, barely able to find my voice. “My entire life, I’ve had nobody. This long-lost brother you claim I have is nowhere to be found, and now you tell me my father has been in the same city as me for years.”

  “Don’t tell me what I understand. And do not go back there on your own.” Luke had a way of silencing me, of taking any words I had prepared and making them vanish into thin air. “That place is dangerous. Adam would kill me if—”

  “Adam isn’t here!” I pushed back from my chair and stood up, motioning to the space around us. I was sick and tired of hearing about Adam this and Adam that. “How can you just expect me to sit by and wait until your grand plan unfolds?”

  The expression on his face transformed from anger to one of defeat. “You’re too blind to see that I’m trying to help you.”

  The office outside the glass-walled conference room was empty. I glanced anywhere for an escape, but the only way out was past Luke. When he called earlier, Tomas had told me that he would be a few days out west, perhaps even a week. I didn’t want to stay alone at the loft with Eden, but I couldn’t afford to splurge on a hotel again. But it didn’t matter, I had to leave this office immediately. I had to get as far away from Luke Nolan as possible.

  I slipped on my coat and took one last look at the file. Whatever alleged secrets it hid about my alleged father, I didn’t care. In fact, the entire situation no longer mattered to me. I wanted to go back to before Luke had ever shown up at the club. Without looking at him, I glided past and out the door. My footsteps on the marble floors brought the quiet office alive with sound.

  Outside, it had begun to drizzle. The water was mixing with small piles of leftover snow to create a slush. I ached to be going home to Tomas. I wanted to call him, but I knew that I couldn’t do that. The unspoken ru
le of our relationship was that he initiated all contact. Otherwise, I stayed out of his way. I considered calling Bria, but I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of admitting that there was trouble in paradise.

  I started walking. It didn’t matter that the rain had picked up and was hitting me square in the face, or that the night air had turned bone-chilling cold. I had made it three blocks from the Watchtower headquarters when a black SUV pulled to a stop beside me. The window rolled down, revealing Luke behind the wheel.

  “Your station was back there.” He gestured behind us with a hand. What an asshole. First he chastised me for being a child, then had the nerve to chase after me.

  “Maybe I’m not going home yet.” My response was intended to be curt.

  “Get in. I want to show you something.”

  “Fuck off, Luke.” The wind and rain of the winter night carried the strength of my voice away. He always seemed to have something new up his sleeve, some big revelation to share with me. But I couldn’t stand to hear another one in that moment.

  “It looks to me like you don’t have any better options right now. Get in the car.” I stood frozen in place on the sidewalk while the rain began to seep through my coat, dampening my skin. I had few alternatives to consider. In some twisted way, Luke had become the closest thing I had to a friend over the last few days. Without another word, he reached over to open the passenger door of the SUV.

  “Whatever,” I sighed, slipping inside.

  “Why weren’t you going home to your fancy, warm loft in Brooklyn?” Luke weaved us through the night traffic, heading back toward the West Village and his apartment building. I didn’t gratify him with a response. The entire ride was spent in silence, the ice between us thickening.

  “I think you’re going to like what I have to show you,” he said as he pulled into the parking garage of his building.

  “You couldn’t have shown me the other night when I was here?”

  “I wanted Adam to show you. But I think it could help you, and he’s not here, so I’m doing it.”