Page 41 of West Bound

“She’s the mistress’s daughter. The inheritance was from the maternal grandfather. A large sum, it sounds like, and he was an antique dealer.”

“A dealer? Do you have a name? Charlotte can start looking into it, and I can see if anyone I know worked with him when he was alive,” Rowan chimes in.

“I’ll have to ask her.” I clear my throat, realizing how simple a detail that is. It’s the kind of thing I’d never miss, and Rowan and Grant exchange glances. I've been too caught up in her story, feeling sympathy for the way she was treated rather than focusing on the job. It gnaws at me.

“As soon as you can, please.” Grant gives me a look that forgoes the lecture I should be getting, but it hits just the same.

“Of course.”

“And the husband?” Grant puts us back on track.

“The bait’s here, and the trap is set. We’re just waiting for him to make his move. All the extra security should help.”

“You don’t think he’ll reach out and try to set up a meeting? Ask if he can offer a ransom?” Rowan asks.

“I doubt it. I thought we were past the ransom idea.” I’m terser than I should be.

“Hudson wants it on the table. He thinks it could still be an avenue to returning the relics to us, slowing the governor down.”

“She says he won’t pay up.”

“You talked to her about it?” Rowan sits up straighter.

“I want to remind you all that you put me in charge of her and told me to run it my way. That’s what I’ve done.”

“But if you’re wrong about her, we’re fucked. She’ll feed all this to them.”

“She has no one to feed it to and no way to communicate it. She was at the convent as a runaway to escape his abuse.Theirabuse. She’s not going to help them.”

“So you say.” Rowan is always the skeptic. “Unless she’s faking it.”

“I know her well enough. This isn’t just from spending time with her. This is from all the legwork and all the time I spent watching her when she didn’t know I was.”

“I don’t like it. We should be treating her like a prisoner, and you have her running around with his fiancée, getting clothes. You’re having heart-to-hearts about her past. It’s distracting and useless.” Rowan’s lip arches like it’s poised for a sneer, his eyes darting between us.

“I don’t think it’s useless,” Grant interjects on my behalf. “We asked him to make a connection with her, and that’s what he’s done. Dakota might be able to get information he can’t.”

“Charlotte told him to seduce her and get what we needed out of her. Not play house with her up in the woods. His head is clouded, and you can’t see it because you’re too close to him,” Rowan warns.

“We’re not playing house.”

“She shouldn’t be walking free. She could walk straight out the door. Fuck, there’s no could about it. She did.”

“I had her tagged like fucking cattle. She didn’t get far, and I’ll remind you we’ve got the sheriff in our pocket.” I point out the obvious because we discovered my uncle, the sheriff, was a former coconspirator of her father’s. He’s since come around to seeing things our way after we applied a little well-meaning pressure.

“Who does the governor have in his pocket? I’d imagine if he were a smart man, more than just the sheriff. All it takes is one spy on your team, and it all falls apart,” Rowan argues.

“All of our guys are thoroughly vetted.” Grant holds the floor. “I don’t like the insinuation they’re not.

“Until they lose too much money in your casino or get their dick wet with the wrong girl, and then they’re compromised.” Rowan shakes his head.

“Let us handle security here.” Grant shoots me a look when I go to argue again. The mood’s deteriorating quickly, and it won’t help us make progress.

“If you lose that girl, and she runs home to Daddy, he’ll welcome her with open arms just to get information about us. I hope you remember that during your pillow chats.” Rowan gives me a pointed look.

“Noted.” I bite my tongue.

“Let’s not let our concerns about this operation going well get the better of us. All right?” Grant looks between us.