Page 76 of The Last Dance You Saved
When Adam never responded to Lauren’s message or returned to the ranch, Steele had sent Parker to go check out the Hurly house. He said it looked like no one had stepped inside it in weeks. Steele wanted to trace Adam’s Mercedes, but I wasn’t at the point of stepping across the lines of the law yet. I might not have to. If I could put enough evidence together, I could hand it over to the authorities, and they’d search for him legally.
Midday, Mayor Nattingly returned my call, and after a handful of niceties, I cut her short and flat-out asked her what was happening with Puzo. “At first, everyone was thrilled to have him here,” she said. “He doled out advice, donated to schools and charities, and fundraised for local politicians. He embedded himself in the community, filling in the gaps the Harringtons used to fill but couldn’t afford to do anymore.”
“And then he turned the screws,” I said.
“It was that damn poker game. No one who’s lost their business to him will admit that’s how it happened, and he’s kept them as the face of the shop, but he’s now a silent owner in many of our local businesses.”
My family had let the community down, just like I’d let them down. We’d turned inward, focused on ourselves. Days ago, none of that would have mattered to me. Now, I couldn’t stop thinking how to make it all right.
After Dad’s funeral, Spence had tried to tell me Dad had been wrong. When I’d asked for my cut of the inheritance in cash, he’d asked me to take a walk with him before we decided. We’d ended up sitting up on the cliff, looking out over the valley, the river, and a hint of the lake as the sun had gone down.
When all that remained was a hint of peach blending into the midnight blue, he’d said, “There doesn’t have to be just one winner in life, Rafe. Success, coming out ahead, doesn’t have to be about first place or who has the most money.” He’d waved his hand at the land that had become part of our family’s blood. “It isn’t even about who has control of all this. The real winner is the person who has someone who loves them and a place to call home.”
I’d scoffed, told him I expected my inheritance to be handed over by the end of the month, and then I’d walked away. I’d left him and his tentative peace offering behind on the same damn cliff he’d gone over in the tractor.
A chill went up my spine.
But he’d been right. Because now I had success, and I’d won in the eyes of most of the world, but I had a daughter I didn’t really know, and I’d lost my brother before I could tell him I loved him again.
The sun shifting through the windows of the office drew me back from troubled thoughts of what I’d lost. I stared at the computer and papers strewn across the desk and knew I’d had all I could stomach of spreadsheets and stolen money. I needed to find the love Spencer had insisted made you a winner. The family and home I’d gifted my daughter but denied myself.
I texted Steele to find out where everyone was at, and he responded they were down at the waterfall for the wedding rehearsal. I made my way down to the spot where the three rivers joined, gaze automatically finding Sadie and Fallon as they sat in the back row of chairs covered in blue linen. Steele and Parker stood behind them while Lauren talked with Puzo and his cousin Marielle. They were watching a bridesmaid finish making her way down the yellow runner to the flower-covered arch at the end.
The sun filtered through the trees, sparkling off the diamonds and sapphires at Marielle’s neck, and it reminded me of the picture of Grandma Beatrice that had fallen out of the box Adam had been looking through. What had he wanted with the boxes? He’d said he’d been looking for the movie studio shares, but they’d been easy enough to find in the paperwork today, so what had he really been searching for? What had he wanted with the stolen jewels? Had he just hoped to keep them for himself and add to the kitty of stolen money?
Lauren sent Puzo and Marielle down the aisle. He smiled as he walked her down to her groom, kissing her cheek and stepping aside. From here, Puzo looked charming and suave without a hint of the evil I knew existed behind those eyes. Was he involved in the theft with Adam? Had they plotted the ranch’s demise together? Or was one unrelated to the other?
My gaze lingered on Sadie again, my body tightening at the memory of the taunt she’d tossed at me before shutting the bedroom door in my face. How had she come into my life at just this moment? A slice of goodness arriving just as my world crumbled, as I was faced with all my failures rather than my successes. It would be so easy to allow myself to get lost in her sweetness like I had last night. To use the love I felt for her to make her mine. But even if there wasn’t danger hanging around me like a chain, would it be the right thing to do?
In trying to win her, would I cost her the family and home she already had?
As if feeling me watching her, she turned, eyes finding mine across the distance. She whispered something to Fallon before rising and hurrying over to me. “So what did you find?” she asked, curiosity and worry crossing her face at the same time.
Lauren sent a sharp look in our direction, and I took Sadie’s hand, pulling her back up the path toward the house. All my worries, all my grief felt less with her fingers twined with mine, as if, somehow, I could find the real win my brother had said was more important than anything else.
When we were far enough away that the sound of the waterfall faded, I answered her question. “Three hundred thousand dollars that he’s taken in the last five years alone. That’s as far as I got today. I’m sure it’s been carrying on since he took over managing the money after Dad died.”
“With Uncle Phil, the money was still in the bank, as it was mostly just screwed up on his end. Have you checked?” she asked.
“It’s not in the bank, but I also can’t find any withdrawals that show he moved the money. It’s just disappeared. The police might be able to find it if they get warrants for the accounts and the banks records.”
“Do you think someone at the bank was helping him?”
“It’s a local community savings and loan that’s been around since the forties, so it’s possible someone there was helping him. There’s got to be an electronic trail somewhere, unless Adam was using Puzo’s hackers. Then it might be impossible to find.”
“You really think they’re in it together, then?” When I didn’t respond, she said, “I told you about Gia, Ryder’s wife, right? She still has a lot of her NSA contacts, and one friend there is an exceptional hacker. I bet Rory could find the money trail for you.”
As we crested the hill to the field behind the house, a loud crack echoed across the open expanse that had me jerking to a halt just as the air by my ear buzzed. Shock was followed quickly by fear as the dirt kicked up in front of us.
“Was that a—” I shoved her to the ground just as a second shot boomed.
A sharp burn cut through my tricep as I landed on top of her.
Goddamn it. God fucking damn it. We were under fire. In a fucking field! How the hell was I going to protect her?
I glanced over my shoulder as another shot rang out from the east tree line, spraying dirt all over us. Shit! We were sitting ducks here.
“Someone is shooting at us!” she cried out. Panic was in every syllable, and her body tried to rise. To run. I pushed her back.
