Page 45 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Sophie digs through the small clutch hanging from Gentry’s elbow and pulls out the keys, holding them up triumphantly. “Got them!”

She clicks the lock and opens the trunk.

“You can just put the books in there,” Gentry says.

She waits, unmoving, for me to put my stack neatly in the clean trunk before dropping hers next to mine.

“I’ll keep these with me,” Emily says, holding tight to her stack.

The kids get in the car, and Gentry shuts the trunk.

“Gentry—”

“You should go,” she says. “Thanks for your help, Levi.”

I want to argue, but she gives me a sad, weary look, and I take a step back. “I’m here if you need me.”

She nods with a tight smile and gets in the passenger seat, Sophie behind the wheel.

Emily rolls down her window. “Bye, Levi.”

“Bye, Emily.” I’m not sure she hears me over the rev of the engine, so I wave.

I stay there until they’ve driven out of sight.

***

The library is peaceful. It’s getting late in the day, and there are only one or two kids in the children’s section.

I find Ellery standing in front of a mural of a dragon reading a book. She’s talking to a parent animatedly, her laughter ringing out like chimes. She really is the cheeriest person I’ve ever met.

And she truly loves her job.

I wait until she’s done talking and slide in front of her.

“Levi.” She’s a hugger, and she throws her arms around me in a warm one. “How are you doing?”

The way her voice drops and her hug tightens, I can feel the sympathy down to my toes. “Gentry told you.”

She pulls away and nods, her smile gone. “She did. I was really rooting for you two, and now especially, she could use someone in her corner.”

“What do you mean, now especially?”

She looks away, chewing on her bottom lip. “I guess it’s not a secret… Her dad’s moving in.”

“I know,” I say. “He mentioned that at the wedding.”

Ellery grips my arm and lowers her voice. “No. He’s moving in today. He showed up with a moving truck this morning.”

“Shit.”

Ellery’s eyes widen.

“I mean, that’s great. I’m sure Emily’s thrilled.”

“That’s not what you meant,” Ellery says. “Gentry won’t say anything bad about her father, but he totally abandoned them three years ago and—” She slaps a hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that.”

“I know about that too.” I lean in closer and lower my voice. “I’m actually here to look into him and make sure he’s not up to anything nefarious.”

Her eyes light. “Oooh, good word. Nefarious.” Her eyes drift shut as the syllables of the word roll over her tongue, like she’s tasting something delicious.

Her eyes pop open. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.

Gentry’s trying to put a good spin on everything, but this doesn’t feel right, and the way she looked…

” She pushes her glasses up on her face. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

“I’ll let you know. Thanks, Ellery.”

She lets me into my secret room, and I get to work with a renewed focus and energy.

It’s easy enough to find out that Harley Lendew put his house in Wyoming on the market just three days ago.

And he’s got it listed for a good hundred grand below asking price, which means he’s in a hurry to sell.

It’s a modest one-story ranch in an amazing location, so it’ll sell quickly and still bring in nearly five hundred grand.

But there’s no way, without doing some truly illegal hacking, to know how much he owes on the house.

I can see that Harley bought the house six years ago for more than he’s selling it for. He bought it when the market was sky-high in that area. That doesn’t bode well for his making much of a profit, if any, on the sale.

The next step is figuring out why he left what seems like a very good job.

Which isn’t something I can find out by hacking.

Instead, I call the bank where he worked.

I’d like to assume he quit or was fired.

It seems unlikely he’d take vacation time to ‘pretend’ to move here.

My experience tracking cheating spouses and bail jumpers for Annabelle has taught me that people will do some wild things when they’re scheming.

I call the bank and put on an older adult’s voice to ask to speak to Harley Lendew. They tell me he’s not available, so I push and ask when he’ll be available because he’s the one who always helps me with my banking. They tell me he quit unexpectedly and won’t be returning.

“Even if he wants his job back, he’s not getting it,” the woman says, more than a little cheerfully. Either she loves gossip or she hates Harley.

So, he left without giving notice and not on good terms. More evidence he’s running from something.

Next, I find the contact information for the bank manager and put in a call, this time without any hint of my southern accent, to ask for a reference on one Harley Lendew, who’s applied to work at my bank.

The woman on the other end of the phone clears her throat. “Harley Lendew? I’m sorry to say I can’t in good conscience recommend him as an employee.”

"Can you tell me why? He seems like the perfect candidate. He’s so charismatic and kind.”

She snorts. “Kind.” Then, she clears her throat.

“Look, I’m going to be honest with you, and you can make up your own mind.

Harley was great with customers, very charming.

His charm allowed him to get away with a lot more than he should have.

Like showing up late to work and leaving early.

” She lowers her voice. “We have also learned recently he has been acting as a loan shark to several of our customers. Probably more than we’re even aware of. ”

I drop back against my seat, shocked. “Is there a warrant out for him?”

“Sadly, no. None of the customers he loaned money to want to press charges, and there’s a lack of evidence beyond hearsay and what the cops are calling ‘gossip.’ A woman cried in my office about not being able to pay Harley back, but now she denies ever speaking to me about it.

There is no doubt in my mind that he’s guilty.

I wouldn’t be so forthcoming, generally, but you deserve to know who you’re hiring.

I’d hate for you to be in my position. We’ve had several customers withdraw their money from our bank as a result of his actions. ”

Harley didn’t strike me as the violent type, but I’ve encountered loan sharks in my side job and heard downright scary stories about them. “Do you think some people he loaned money to might be afraid to speak up?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe? As far as I know, Harley was working alone, and I’ve never seen him so much as lose his temper.

I suspect he just charmed them all so thoroughly they think he was doing them a favor when he charged them fifty percent interest. He’s a hell of a conman, Mr. Jones.

If that’s the kind of employee you’re looking for, he’s great. Just watch your back.”

“Thank you for your time. I appreciate your honesty.”

I hang up and stare at the wall. The police looking into Harley might be enough of a reason for him to get out of town fast, but selling his house at a loss doesn’t make sense. It’s like he needs a lot of money in a hurry. But why?

Before I even think it through, I’m hitting Gentry’s contact on my phone. I almost don’t expect her to answer, but she does. On the third ring.

“Levi?”

“Hey, Gentry. I’ve been looking into your dad, and I’ve found something—”

“Something illegal?” she asks quickly, her voice tight.

“Not technically. But—”

“Something that physically hurt someone else?”

“No. But, Gentry—”

“Emily’s happier than I’ve seen her in years, Levi. I know Dad’s not perfect, but Sophie and Emily need him. He’s the one who should be here taking care of them. I need to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I need you to stay out of it.”

“I get that, but you need to know—” The frustration making me grip the phone too hard feels like anger. No one has ever thrived by sticking their head in the sand and ignoring the potential dangers.

“I appreciate you looking out for me, Levi, but I need you to let it go. This is my family, and you and I are done. Live your life and stay out of mine.” Her voice breaks on that last word, and it gives me pause.

“Is there any chance you can forgive me?”

“I’m sorry, but you and I aren’t going to work out.”

She hangs up on me before I can argue further, and I stare at the phone in my hand. She has every right to still be angry at me, but why wouldn’t she want to know what I found out?

It doesn’t seem like Gentry to choose moderately happy ignorance over the truth.

I’m definitely not capable of it. My instincts have never steered me wrong before and, right now, they’re insisting that Harley Lendew is up to something that could hurt both Gentry and her sisters.

The only way to find out is to take a trip to Cheyenne and break a few laws of my own.