“And the cop’s daughter?”
Steven chuckled. “She’s this little uptight bitch whose great-grandfather practically built Vancouver and they’re loaded.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m still not seeing how these women are more valuable than four-point-seven million.”
“They have K&R insurance on their kids. The bird guy’s kid’s worth four mil, but the chief of police has three kids, and each are over ten mil each. You won’t get close to two of them, but Dani lives alone and doesn’t own a gun. She’s a lousy lay, but shit, she’s gullible as hell.”
I fisted my hand at my side. “And how do you know this?”
“I found it while borrowing Danielle’s information. I don’t even think she knows about it, but I found it, so you can bet someone else will be able to as well. Find some asshole to snatch these people, keep them somewhere isolated and collect the money. Easy.”
I studied him. I’d done a thorough vet of Steven Mills. I’d even found the money he’d stolen, although, it was going to take more to get access to it if Steven didn’t offer up the codes. But I wasn’t finished with Danielle’s background check…I always did checks on the women I slept with…or planned to sleep with…so the kidnap and ransom insurance hadn’t pinged yet.
Steven was right. If an asshole like him could find this information, someone else could as well.
This put Dani in an even more vulnerable position than I had originally thought. Shit. I was going to have to get her brother involved.
“Grizz, take care of Mr. Mills for me.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Steven bellowed.
I headed back toward the door, but glanced back. “Don’t kill him, Grizz. Got me?”
“Yeah. I got you,” Grizz said. “Fuckin’ pissed about it though.”
I chuckled. “Maybe next time.”
I walked out of the room to the sound of Steven’s squeals of fear. I knew Grizz would rough him up enough to scare him, but not go much further than that. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Mack.
“Yo.”
“Can you talk?” I asked.
“Yeah, give me a sec.”
I heard several voices in the background and I figured Mack had headed over to the honky tonk. I wondered how Kim felt about that, considering Mack was gonna take her with him.
“I’m good,” Mack said.
“Need you to find out if Kim has a key to Dani’s place and then get over there and pack her a bag. Enough for a couple of weeks,” I ordered. “Bring it to the club. If not, I’ll have Train meet you at her place with a key.”
“No problem. It’s bad?”
“Worse than I thought. Fuckin’ parents have K&R insurance on their kids. Ten mil each.”
“Fuck me, seriously?” Mack said.
“Seriously.” I rubbed my forehead. “What I need to find out is if anyone else knows that. Keep an eye on the sister, yeah? Her name’s Emily. The brother can take care of himself.”
“I’ll take care of things on my end and text you.”
“Thanks, brother.”
“‘Bye.”
I hung up. I was missing something. I just wasn’t sure what. My entire plan to get Dani’s money and reputation back had taken me down a rabbit hole that was leading me to a place I wasn’t prepared to go. A place that could collide with club business.
Danielle
I VAGUELY REMEMBER being lifted and carried, the familiar scent of Austin filling my senses as I buried my face in his neck, but then I woke up in a strange bed and had no idea how I’d gotten there.
The light from the moon shone through the window and it gave me enough of a visual to see that there was bottled water on the nightstand, which I opened and drank greedily. My head was pounding, but not quite as badly as I probably deserved. The small blessings of very expensive tequila.
I threw the covers off and realized I was virtually naked. I had on a T-shirt unfamiliar to me, but it smelled like Austin, so I deduced it was his. My panties were in place, but nothing else.
“Babe,” Austin grumbled.
I started a little and looked behind me. I hadn’t even noticed him in bed beside me.
“Bathroom,” I whispered.
He pointed to the door to the right of the bed.
I headed to the bathroom and flipped on the light. Talk about a room you’d never have to leave. A large tile shower big enough for forty-two thousand people (really… not kidding) and six (counted ’em… six) shower heads. Two sinks were nestled in a long vanity with gorgeous cherry wood cabinetry. The heated tile floor felt amazing under my feet and I passed a huge soaking tub on my way to the little room that housed the toilet. After doing my business I took a minute to study my reflection. God, I looked awful.
“Dani?” Austin called. I was grateful he didn’t come in. “Babe?”
“Just a minute.”
“You okay?”
“Other than looking like a zombie, I’m great.”
He chuckled. “I doubt it’s all that bad.”
“I wish I had my makeup remover.”
“Check the medicine cabinet,” he called.
I pulled it open and found all of my favorite face creams, toners, cotton rounds, and toothbrush and toothpaste.
“Towels under the sink,” Austin said.
“Thanks.”
I took a few minutes to freshen up and then padded back into the bedroom. I was alone, so I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my waist, and went looking for him. I found him in the kitchen, a bottle of ibuprofen in his hand. “How do you feel?” he asked, all sexy like wearing only a pair of cotton pajama bottoms.
“Hung over,” I said. “What time is it?”
“Four.”
“In the morning?”
“Yeah, babe.”
“I never wake up this early,” I complained.
“Probably the alcohol.” He chuckled. “Like your outfit.”
“I seem to be missing my clothes.” I glanced down my body. “I’m assuming I can thank you for that.”
“You were pretty wasted… figured you’d be more comfortable that way.”
I frowned. “Are we going to talk about last night?”
“If you need to.”
“Um, yeah, I need to, Austin. You held me against my will and left me to get drunk in a dark, isolated office.”
“I did.”
“You’re not even going to deny it?” I don’t know why I was surprised, but I was.
“Nope,” he said, and opened the bottle of pain relief.
“I hate you so much right now.” I stomped my foot and turned on my heel. “I’m leaving.”
I stormed back the way I came, let myself into the bedroom, and made a valiant effort to find my clothes.
“They’re not in here, babe.”
I turned and scowled at Austin leaning against the doorjamb. “Where are they?”
“Laundry.” He pushed away from the door and smiled. “Take these.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your game, mister?”
“No game, baby. Just ibuprofen for your head.”
“No, not that,” I said, taking the pills from him and swallowing them without water. Gross. “Why are my clothes in the laundry? I’m going to have to wear them home, right?”
He shook his head and opened his walk-in closet.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.