Chapter 10: The Unraveling

Leonard didn't come to Daveson's quarters that night. Nor the night after.

Daveson told himself it was for the best. That the clarity of distance was necessary, that whatever had happened in the library was a momentary lapse in judgment born of stress and desire. Leonard was his target. The son of his enemy. Getting emotionally entangled was exactly the kind of weakness that would get him killed.

But lying in his small room in the staff quarters, Daveson found those logical arguments rang hollow.

He'd been avoiding the main part of the estate, keeping to the shadows as he'd been trained. Monitoring. Watching. Waiting for the opening that would allow him to access Lissa's office, the records he needed to build his case against her. But instead, he found himself hyperaware of Leonard's movements. The sound of his footsteps in the hallway. The timbre of his voice when he spoke to staff. The way his violet eyes had searched for Daveson during meals, only to look away when their gazes met.

On the third night, unable to sleep, Daveson made his way to the library. It was past midnight, the estate quiet except for the occasional footsteps of the night security team. The library was his refuge, somehow. The place where everything had changed.

He was surprised to find someone already there.

Leonard sat in the dark, slumped in the leather chair they'd been tangled in just days before. A glass of whiskey sat on the side table, barely touched. Even in the dim light filtering through the windows, Daveson could see the tension in his shoulders, the exhaustion etched into his face.

"Sir," Daveson said quietly, not wanting to startle him. "It's late."

Leonard's eyes snapped open. For a moment, they just stared at each other across the dark room, the silence stretching taut between them.

"Couldn't sleep," Leonard finally said, his voice rough. He didn't ask what Daveson was doing there, though the question hung unspoken. "My mother's been strange lately. More strange than usual, I mean. She had a meeting today with some men I've never seen before. They left through the garage, no one was supposed to know they were here."

Daveson's pulse quickened. This was the opening he'd been waiting for. "Do you want me to look into it?"

"No." Leonard's response was immediate and sharp. He stood abruptly, pacing to the window. "Yes. Fuck, I don't know." He pressed his forehead against the glass. "I'm starting to think my mother isn't who I thought she was."

Daveson moved deeper into the room, careful to keep distance between them. It was harder than it should have been. "What makes you say that?"

"The money." Leonard turned to face him, and in the moonlight, Daveson could see the vulnerability in his expression. "Massive amounts moving through company accounts to shell corporations I can't trace. When I asked her about it, she told me it was expansion funds, investments in new markets. But the paperwork doesn't add up. Nothing adds up."

"Maybe she's laundering money," Daveson said carefully, testing the waters. "Or hiding assets for some reason."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Leonard ran a hand through his yellow hair, messing up the careful styling. He looked younger like this, less polished, more human. "What if she's involved in something illegal? What if that's why my father left? Maybe he found out something and…" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "God, listen to me. Sounding paranoid."

"You're not paranoid." Daveson stepped closer, drawn by the pain in Leonard's voice despite every warning screaming at him to maintain distance. "You're observant. And something in your gut is telling you something's wrong. That instinct usually exists for a reason."

Leonard's violet eyes met his, and something shifted in his expression. "When did you become the voice of reason in my life?"

"Since you decided to trust me."

The words hung between them, heavy with implication. Leonard's jaw tightened.

"I shouldn't trust you," he said quietly. "I don't know anything about you, really. Where you came from. Why did you take this job? What you want."

Daveson's mouth went dry. This was the moment. He could walk away, could maintain the cover, could keep lying. Or he could do something incredibly stupid.

"I want to protect you," Daveson said, and it was true, in a way that terrified him. "That's all I've ever wanted."

Leonard laughed bitterly. "That's beautiful. Almost poetic. But it's also not an answer." He moved to the side table, picking up his whiskey and taking a long pull. "The truth is, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what I'm going to find when I dig deeper. I'm afraid that my mother is someone I don't recognize. I'm afraid that if I start pulling threads, the whole thing unravels and I can't put it back together."

"Maybe that's okay," Daveson said softly. "Maybe sometimes things have to come apart before they can be made right."

"Easy for you to say." Leonard set down the glass with a sharp clink. "You don't have a family legacy to protect. A company that employs thousands of people. A reputation built on lies."

"You don't know that," Daveson said carefully. "You don't know anything about my family."

"No, I don't." Leonard's gaze was searching, analytical. "And that's starting to bother me. Why is that, Roarke? Why do you never talk about your past? Why do I know nothing about you except what I've observed?"

Daveson's heart was hammering against his ribs. "Some people prefer to let their actions speak for them rather than their words."

"That's a cop-out and we both know it." Leonard moved closer, invading Daveson's space in that way that made thinking nearly impossible. "I'm starting to think you're hiding something. Something significant."

"Everyone has secrets," Daveson said, forcing himself to hold Leonard's gaze even as guilt twisted in his stomach. "Some are just bigger than others."

For a moment, Daveson thought Leonard would push further. Thought he'd demand the truth and Daveson would be forced to choose between his mission and his conscience. But instead, Leonard reached out and cupped his jaw, his thumb brushing over Daveson's cheekbone.

"I should fire you," Leonard whispered. "I should remove you from my life and not look back."

"Yes," Daveson agreed, his voice breaking slightly. "You should."

"But I'm not going to." Leonard's eyes were dark, conflicted. "Because as much as I don't trust you, I don't want to lose you. And that makes me either brave or incredibly foolish."

"Leo…"

Leonard cut him off with a kiss, brief and desperate. When he pulled away, his expression was hard, resolved. "Find out what my mother is doing. Use whatever resources you need. But Daveson?" He paused, his voice dropping to something deadly. "If you're involved in this, if you're part of whatever she's hiding, you need to tell me now. Because if I find out you've betrayed me, there won't be anywhere in this world you can hide from me."

The threat was delivered softly, but Daveson felt it like a physical blow. Leonard was intelligent. Observant. And he was beginning to suspect.

"I'm not involved with your mother," Daveson said, and it was technically true. "And I will help you find the truth."

"Good." Leonard released him and stepped back. "Because I need to know what I'm dealing with. And I need to know that you're on my side."

After Leonard left, Daveson remained in the library, his hands shaking. He'd come so close to the breaking point. Another few questions and Leonard might have pushed until the truth came spilling out.

He pulled out his burner phone and texted Raymond: Situation accelerating. Need timeline.

The response came quickly: Patience. Good things come to those who wait. Your boy toy getting suspicious?

Daveson didn't respond. Instead, he sat in the darkness and tried to convince himself that what he'd done, what he was still doing, was justified.