Blaze (The Stark Affair Book 3) Read Free Page A

could make me stay.
    Too
bad it’s her job to put me in jail, huh?

Chapter
3

 
 
    Sofia

 
    I’m at my cubicle,
desperately trying not to think of being pinned down by Colton Stark’s muscles
on a bench in a locker room.
    Getting
fucked by his huge cock.
    And
fucked. And fucked. And fucked.
    I
uncross and re-cross my legs.
    I’m
going through Colton Stark’s public financial records line-by-line. Looking for
anything that stands out, anything unusual.
    So
far, I haven’t found anything even remotely suspicious. No strange purchases.
No property. No investments in Bright Eyes Academy, which is owned by Bright
Eyes Academy Trust, LLC. No connection to anything.
    Except
the purchase of a 2001 Toyota Corolla two years ago for $2,300. That’s suspicious. But not a crime. Not to mention it’s
obvious why he bought it. He doesn’t want to take the Bentley over to Wynwood , which would advertise his presence.
    He wants
to conceal his identity. Why? If he’s a proponent of charter schools, what’s
the big deal? Why the costume and charade?
    Could
be that he wants to hide his connection from Jasper van der Voort and the Board. Because maybe that’s where he’s
funneling the money he steals from them.
    Oooh ,
that sounds about right. Damn, Sofia, you’re good.
    But
there are pieces missing here.
    I
continue looking through records. Stark Worldwide owns a shitload of property.
Warehouses. Loading docks. Office buildings. Processing buildings.
    One
piece of real estate catches my eye. It’s not owned by Stark Worldwide, but by
a shelf company into which a series of deposits have been made.
    Hm.
    I
click on the deed to the property. It’s a tiny metal-frame shed right on the
water in Key Largo. Surrounded by overgrowth. An ugly old
dock. Something rotting and brown floating in the water. Ugh.
    I
click through about a hundred more properties, but find myself back at the Key
Largo shed.
    Hm , something about it. It
stands out because it’s so out-of-sync with all the other property owned by
Stark Worldwide.
    Hm.
    “Everything
okay?” says Frank Scarpelli as he leans over the wall
of my cubicle.
    “Yeah,
fine,” I say as I leap in my chair.
    Frank’s
eyes narrow and he frowns.
    “What
happened to your eye?”
    “Oh
this? It’s nothing. I was... sparring with somebody at the gym. I didn’t slip
and duck in time.”
    I
smile.
    Frank
continues to frown and folds his arms. “Sofia, do you remember when you met me?”
    “Um—”
    “Of
course you don’t. It was in the hospital the night you were born. I held you in
my arms. You were this big, making little googly gurgling sounds with your eyes closed. So strange. And here we are colleagues with cubicles in the
same room.”
    “No
shit, huh?”
    “I’ll
never forget your dad that night. He was beaming. Proudest man alive. He’s a
good man, Sofia.”
    “You’re
a good man too, Frank. He always asks about you.”
    Frank
folds his arms and looks down. “Sofia, I’m a little concerned about you. I know
you. Something is eating you up.”
    How
can he tell that from all the way across the room? While facing
the other direction?
    “Really?”
I say.
    “Yeah,
the last thing I’d want is for you to get in over your head.”
    Uh-oh. What does that mean? Is that a warning?
    “I’m
fine, Frank. But thanks.”
    “Remember,
there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Is there anything I can help you with, Sofia?”
    He
emphasizes the word help . Is he
trying to tell me something? If so, what?
    “No,
but I appreciate your concern, Frank.”
    He
sighs and nods. “Okay. Just be careful, that’s all. I wouldn’t want anything to
happen to you that I couldn’t have prevented. Like my dad always told me, ‘Just
make sure you know what you’re doing.’ I’m right here if you need me.”
    Frank
saunters back to his cubicle and sits down.
    My
head is spinning. What was that? On the surface, it was my dad’s friend, an
older man who feels a father-like concern