Page 215 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Hamilton held out a hand. “Don’t get up.” He sat down in the chair next to Piper. She did the introductions. “Maddox, this is my dad, Hamilton Gentry. Maddox is a close friend of Addie’s.”

“Hello,” Hamilton said cordially as he touched his glasses and nodded. He offered a polite smile to Addie. “Nice to see you.”

“You too.” As close as Addie was to Piper, she hardly knew Hamilton. To her, he would always be Dr. Hamilton Gentry, the renowned surgeon, who was a little uptight for her taste. Mid-height, Hamilton was wiry with dusty-blonde hair going silver around his temples and thinning on top. In other words, he was the quintessential picture of a successful doctor. He turned to Piper, a brief smile touching his lips. “What did I miss? I was in my office on a phone call,” he explained.

“Maddox was questioning the effectiveness of PZT,” Piper said.

Piper’s tone was neutral, but Addie could tell from the tight pull of her jaw that she didn’t like Maddox calling her workinto question. Addie didn’t blame her. In Maddox’s defense, however, he was turning over every stone to discover the truth.

“I told Addie and Maddox that I believe Brent Barrett or someone at Barrett Medical is responsible for Jordan’s death, that they were trying to steal the formula for PZT. Maddox asserted that my theory hinges on the validity of PZT.”

Addie leaned forward. “Even if that’s true, it still doesn’t explain why someone would be after me.”

Hamilton’s brows darted together, concern seeping into his eyes. “What?”

“Someone broke into my cabin and tried to kidnap me.” A shiver ran down Addie’s spine as she hugged her arms.

A stricken look came over Hamilton. “Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Maddox answered.

Piper gave Addie a probing look. “Did Jordan say anything to you? Give you the formula? Obviously, someone thinks he did, or you wouldn’t be a target.”

Addie had never been blessed with a poker face. She knew the answer was broadcast in her expression.

Piper leaned forward, eyeing her. “Addie?”

Rather than answering, Addie turned to Maddox. She’d been fully prepared to tell Piper about the key this morning. Now, however, everything was muddled and confusing. Never in a million years would she have dreamt that Jordan and Piper would’ve kept so much from her. She couldn’t help feeling betrayed by them both. Especially Jordan! How could he stoop to having an affair? Did loyalty mean nothing to him? Clearly, he was not the man she thought he was. So much for her ability to judge character. She gave Maddox a questioning look.

He nodded. “It’s okay. Tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Piper asked, an edge in her voice.

Addie tucked her hair behind her ears. “Right before Jordan left the terrace where we were having lunch, he dropped a key into my purse.”

Piper frowned. “What sort of key?”

“Show her,” Maddox prompted.

Addie bent over and reached for her purse, placing it in her lap. She retrieved the silver key and held it up. “This.”

“What does it go to?” Piper asked.

“We were hoping you could tell us,” Maddox inserted.

Addie handed Piper the key. She examined it. “It could go to almost anything.” Disappointment sounded in her voice.

“Did Jordan have a gym membership? Or storage facility?”

“Not that I know of.” Piper looked to her dad for help.

“I have no idea.” Hamilton shook his head regretfully. “Jordan’s behavior was so strange at the end. Who knows what was going through his head.”

Addie caught the note of bitterness in Hamilton’s voice. His distaste for Jordan was twofold—he’d been unfaithful to his only daughter, and he was sabotaging the company Hamilton helped him create.

“Wait a minute.” Piper’s voice grew animated. “When Jordan’s mother passed, he put her things in a rented storage unit until he and his siblings could sort through her will. I assumed after everything was taken care of, Jordan would have no further use for a storage unit.” She paused, tilting her head. “I wonder if, maybe, he still had it.”

“There can’t be that many storage facilities in Birchwood Springs,” Maddox said. “Let’s start by calling those.”

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