SWNOVELS Elf Against the Wall: Chapter 47
The ghost of Christmas future played a funeral dirge as I clicked through the files I’d copied over from the phone I’d stolen from Ian.
There was no question.
The Starlight Theater had committed insurance fraud, to the tune of a 1.2-million-dollar payout. It was all there on Ian’s phone—the text messages and the emails.
Ian had caught the director purposefully damaging theater equipment for the insurance money. The director had promised him a lead dance role if he kept his mouth shut.
However, the director reneged on his promise, leading Ian to complain about the lack of a role materializing. Evie’s brother had photos and video evidence, receipts, invoices, and proof of work orders being inflated.
There was enough not just to bury the company but also to send people to jail.
I tried to control my breathing. I sounded like a victim. I was not a victim.
The old analogue clock ticked as the minute hand crept closer to twelve. I had four more hours to get Aaron the last of his money.
And ruin Evie’s life.
Again.
Ian was her favorite brother. She would hate me forever if I was the reason he was sent to jail.
Evie was everything to me. The only good thing that I had. Was I ready to just throw that away?
I reached for the external hard drive I’d copied the data to.
I had to destroy it, had to protect her and Ian. I’d suffer whatever consequences Aaron threw at me if it meant I could shield her. I pulled out the blender to destroy the phone and the hard drive.
“Don’t kill him!” There was yelling outside my front door and the sound of someone trying to kick it down.
“I have a key, Hudson, Jesus.”
“What the fuck, Anderson?” My eldest brother stormed into the garage. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
He shoved me back against the counter.
“You’ve been in a downhill spiral all year—lying about the status of a case to a client, getting caught on a job, and now you just give up? You should have told me the Bianca files were a bust. We could have done something. You’re fucked. You know that? Your deadline is in four hours.”
“Three hours and fifty-five minutes,” I corrected him.
Hudson raised an arm to punch me.
“Oh shit.” Jake huffed out a laugh. “Bro. It’s a Christmas miracle.”
“This wasn’t on the list,” Talbot said, picking up my notepad with the Starlight Theater name circled and the evidence listed out underneath in neat bullets.
I tilted my head.
It was like I was watching the whole scene from outside my body, like Ebenezer Scrooge being forced to confront the consequences of all his bad decisions.
“I can’t give that to Aaron,” I said quietly.
“You fucking what?” Hudson snarled in my face.
“Evie will be heartbroken.”
“Evie? Evie Murphy?” Lawrence asked. “You’re throwing away everything for her?”
“We’re in love. We’re going to buy a farmhouse,” I said simply.
“You’re not buying a farmhouse, Anderson.” Hudson paced in front of me.
“He probably took one too many hits to the head.” Jake shined a flashlight in my eyes.
“You’re not in love with her. She doesn’t love you. You tried to kill her brother,” Lawrence argued with me. “She was never really going to love you. She’s manipulating you. She tried to blackmail you, remember?”
Hudson made a disgusted noise. “You’ve completely lost your edge.”
“Maybe I just finally found happiness.”
“What about us?” Talbot asked softly. “Is she worth more to you than us—your brothers, your family?”
And just like that, I snapped back into myself.
Aaron would make Hudson pay—make my brothers pay—if I ran off. I grabbed the blender and shoved it back into the cabinet.
My brothers watched me warily.
I’d already sacrificed enough for the Murphys. They all looked out for each other, closing ranks around each other.
I couldn’t afford to stick my neck out for another Murphy, and I damn well sure wasn’t sacrificing my brothers for one of them.
“Get out of my way.” I grabbed my helmet.
“Are you seriously running?” Hudson demanded as I shoved past him.
“No, asshole. I’m going to New York City.”