Mason mulled that over. “Okay, but why use Shelby?” It felt as if the feds were going about it in a manner that didn’t seem functional to Mason’s business sense. He was a straight shooter, and they were beating around the bush. The wrong bush at that.
“Think about it. If Darrell is in cahoots with William and knows the SEC suspects his dirty business partner, Darrell will be busy making sure nothing points to him. He needs a scapegoat to divert their attention, so the FBI gave him one. They want him thinking they believe you are the guilty one. You have means and opportunity. And I would bet a case of beer that Darrell was the force behind William blackmailing you to move that money. He’s trying to frame you, steering the FBI’s investigation in the direction he wants.”
“But it’s really a distraction,” Mason said slowly. “Make Darrell think one thing while they build their case against him.”
“Exactly. And Darrell might get sloppy. Agent Landry knows him better than anybody else on the team. Putting her in the middle of this gives her the opportunity to stumble on something that might be overlooked by another investigator, allowing her to connect the dots for them.”
“Because Mason’s firm has a habit of leaving incriminating evidence lying around,” Jedrek said sarcastically.
“So she has no idea,” Mason said, feeling angry again, but for a completely different reason. “She’s being played. Her own fucking boss is playing with her. They used her to get close to me, and they’re using her friendship with Darrell to take him down.”
“Pretty fucking shitty,” Jedrek said, crossing his arms.
“Look, I’m not happy about this either. I should’ve been told about their plan. Hell, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you to tell you they were upping the ante, releasing doctored evidence that O’Brian was dead, hoping William would slip up. But I didn’t know it wasn’t only for William’s benefit.”
Mason’s body grew cold. “Darrell. They want him to think they’re closing in on William because, if he believed that, then he’d know it would only be a matter of time before his connection to him was discovered.”
“Bingo.”
“Fucking feds,” Jedrek barked.
“Hey. I said I didn’t know about it,” Jerome said. He looked at Mason. “I would not have gone along with them using you. Or her, for that matter. I respect you coming to me and would’ve lobbied to keep the F and B investigation separate from Tobin.”
“Which is why they didn’t say a word to you about it,” Mason said in resignation. Messed up didn’t even begin to describe this situation. He was still mad that Shelby knowingly used him, but she was in deeper than she realized. If the feds weren’t going to tell her, he would. She trusted Darrell, and that put her in a lot of danger. Mason could try calling her, but he didn’t want to risk everybody on her team hearing what he had to say. He had no idea who all knew the extent of the investigation and who could be trusted. “Can you arrange a meeting with Shelby?”
Jerome swallowed. “You can’t interfere with an ongoing investigation.”
“Fuck that,” Mason breathed. “You wouldn’t have a goddamn investigation if I hadn’t blown that whistle I found.” He unclenched his fisted hands and took a deep breath. “You will get that meeting. If not, I’ll go to the media and fuck everything up. I’ll squeal like a goddamn pig about everything.”
Jerome shot to his feet. “If you do that, they can throw your ass in jail.”
“I don’t care. Shelby needs to know the truth. She either finds out on the news once it’s blasted everywhere, or I tell her in private. Your call.”
“You realize since they staged Carl’s death, she thinks you murdered him.”
Mason shut his eyes, stifling a groan. He hadn’t thought about it like that. If Jerome had done his job, it would look pretty damn convincing. And they wouldn’t have told her the truth because they were using her to get to Darrell. Because her case hadn’t been about Mason at all. “Yeah, that’s a problem, but once I tell her everything, she’ll understand.”
“God, you’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No. Make it happen. I want to talk to her as soon as possible.” He just hoped he could stay detached when he saw her. Regardless of his need to inform her of what was really happening, it didn’t change what had happened to them. What she had done to him.
Jerome cursed as he pulled out his phone. This time, he stomped out of sight. Mason didn’t care. As long as the man got his meeting with Shelby, that was all that mattered to him.
When his contact walked back in, his face was pale, and he was moving too fast. Mason stood on instinct. “They don’t know where she’s at.”
“What?” Mason asked, narrowing his eyes, his tone much calmer than he actually felt.
“She was pretty upset, so she took some time off.” Mason swallowed the guilty lump that rose in his throat and forced himself not to defend any unspoken accusations. “She went to Arkansas and hung out with some people we’ve worked with. That’s a long story, but she got back on Friday and was expected to be in the office tomorrow. When I told Rick you demanded she be brought in on everything, he put me on hold to call her. She didn’t answer. He tried Viola, but the last word she got was a text on Friday saying she’s back in town and was coming over, but she hasn’t heard from her since. Darrell isn’t answering his phone.”
“Fuck, he’s got her.” Mason jogged to the door where he’d taken off his shoes and grabbed them.
“We don’t know that.”
Yes, they did, or Jerome wouldn’t have looked panicked when he walked back in. Darrell had too much at stake, and if he thought Shelby was onto him, he’d take her out. Mason just knew it.
“You know where Viola lives?” Mason asked.
“I can find out.”
“Do it.”
“I’m coming, too,” Jedrek said, standing. Mason didn’t question if the motivation was to see Viola again or if he wanted to help find Shelby. Didn’t matter.
“C’mon. I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Shelby stared out the window overlooking the beach. Pretty swanky for a safe house. The FBI had hideouts all over the place to stash witnesses, but she hadn’t been to one this nice. Not that she got to enjoy it. Much like she’d been trapped here for her own protection, she’d been a prisoner of her mind, lost in thoughts of Mason’s illegal actions.
And sensual touch.
Why did she have to love everything he did to her? Love the man himself? Was it possible to hate what he did and still feel this way about him? Yes, yes, it was. She couldn’t explain it, but that didn’t make it any less true.
She wished she had Viola to talk to. Shelby hadn’t realized how much she’d relied on their friendship over the years, thinking they were close coworkers at best, until the last couple of cases they’d worked together. Viola would listen to her, even without having to hear the words first. Her friend would take one look at her, notice anything eating away at her sanity, and make her talk. If only Dave’s trip hadn’t been disguised as a romantic getaway for the two of them. Darrell had said that Viola would make Dave reschedule once she’d learned about his spontaneous plan, but her mentor had insisted he had everything under control. After hearing this, Shelby had agreed with Darrell. Viola and Dave had some marital issues to work on, and they needed a little alone time. Shelby wouldn’t dream of condemning Viola to being locked up with her when she could be with her husband instead. Besides, it was just for the weekend. She would be here late tonight after her trip anyway, and Shelby could talk to her then.