Page 78 of Million Dollar High

“You assume correctly. The cops actually came through. They found the delivery guy. Traffic cameras caught the idiot parking his motorcycle in an alley two blocks over. The plates were registered in his name.”

The red rage threatened again. “We know who sent him?”

“He said some guy paid him two hundred bucks to deliver the package. He’s been taken in for questioning. I have a friend at the precinct. We should have a description of whoever sent the package by morning.”

“And if it’s Willoughby?”

“Then it’s good news. It means he’s still in Florida and easier to track. It’s likely he has very little cash and can’t really go anywhere without the payday he was expecting. Unless…”

“Unless?” Noah demanded.

Paddy knocked back the rest of the drink and set the glass down. “The other thing you asked for. I have some info on that too. There’s definitely a connection.”

Noah tensed. Snyder. “Yes?”

“That name you gave me? He didn’t always go by that name.”

“What?”

“Who didn’t go by what name?”

They both turned around.

Leia was leaning against the door, her arms folded crossed her midriff. She’d put on his Vassar T-shirt and her skirt from earlier, but her hair was tousled and her mouth was red and swollen from the greedy kisses he’d demanded from her. He’d kissed her for a straight hour after they’d made love, and yet his need was as intense and insatiable as ever.

He held out a hand and she joined him, perching on his lap. His fingers drifted over her ear and she relaxed against him.

“You know much about Snyder’s history, specifically when he met your dad?” Paddy asked.

She sat up. “Warren? My dad met him in college, I think. They were roommates.”

“Your dad went to Yale, right?” he probed.

She nodded and glanced at Noah. “What’s this about?”

His gut churned. Despite what Warren had done, he knew Leia still held out a tiny hope that the man who’d taken care of her after she’d lost her family was redeemable. Noah had a feeling his suspicion that Snyder’s actions hadn’t been selfless right from the start was about to be confirmed.

Paddy stood and paced the terrace. “Snyder was a freshman at McGill University in Montreal two years before he transferred as a sophomore to Yale.”

Noah’s nape tingled. “Are you saying you don’t know where he disappeared to for a whole year?”

“Oh, we know where he went. He was living on a farm in Montana with a family with the last name of Willoughby.”

Leia paled. She swayed in his arms. Noah caught her before she slipped off his lap.

“Oh God,” she whispered, over and over again.

He pressed a hard kiss to her mouth, swallowed her horrified words. “Shhh, baby, it’s going to be okay. We know what we’re dealing with now so?—”

“Do we?” Her face creased with pain. “He fooled us all. My dad, my mom… He brought that… that monster into our lives, and he sat back and watched him destroy my family.” Her eyes widened into large, tormented pools. “Oh God, what if he was responsible for my dad… Warren was on the boat when the accident happened.”

Noah tilted her face to his. “If he was, we’ll find out. I give you my word.”

Paddy cleared his throat. “Without evidence or Willoughby’s corroboration, we won’t have anything concrete against Snyder.”

Pain ripped at his insides when her eyes filled with tears. Tucking her head against his chest, he looked over at Paddy. “Then find the asshole. Now!”

The older man gave a message-received nod and silently retreated.

---