Page 15 of Kane's Bounty
Chapter 3
The factthat she’d escaped custody was incredible. She must have skills she had not yet shown him. Kane tried to be neutral in his feelings for her, but it was impossible. The idea that her ex-husband had tortured and beaten her sent fire to his guts. He would make Thorn pay. He didn’t know how, but he knew he would hurt the wealthy entrepreneur before this was over.
It didn’t change the fact that she was a fugitive, all because of some rocks. It was ridiculous. Thorn had claimed Lena had stolen seventy-five million dollars from him. If that had been true, then she would never have been captured. That kind of money was enough to stay off the grid for decades.
“What were you meeting Porter for?”
She’d gone inside their room and ordered room service. She’d just hung up the phone when he asked the question. “I needed money.” She made her way back out onto the balcony.
“How do you know Porter? He’s a money launderer.”
She put one hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. “How do you think? Oscar used his services all the time. John came to the house for dinner.”
“What made you think he’d help you?” Something didn’t fit. Kane couldn’t put his finger on it, but something in this whole scenario bothered him.
“Why are you interrogating me? I thought you were just going to turn me in to the Boston authorities and be done with me and my troubles.” She didn’t raise her voice, but there was fire behind her words.
She was adorable, angry with him, yet hopeful that somehow things in her life would work out. He loved the swirl of emotions always flowing around Lena. She emanated hope. He’d never met anyone like her and sure as hell not a fugitive. Most marks were devoid of positive energy. Usually the people he picked up spewed hate and derision from every pore. She was definitely different.
“Try to think of it as a fact-finding series of questions,” he said.
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “John always liked me. He was nice to me when other associates of Oscar thought of me as a nuisance, if they thought of me at all. I hoped he might loan me a few thousand dollars so I could get out of the country.”
“Did he say he would help you?”
She shrugged. “He said he would need a few hours to get the money. He may have been stalling long enough to call Oscar and get me captured.”
Kane nodded. “It was probably Porter’s call that sent Banta and his men to Savannah. If all you wanted was a few thousand dollars, he probably could have taken it out of his wallet and handed it to you.”
“Why would Oscar hire both Wade and Banta?” she asked.
“That’s a good question. Maybe Wade isn’t working for Thorn. Who else knows about your stones?”
“My grandmother, me, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Bill, Oscar and now you. I don’t think Oscar is broadcasting what he really wants from me. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have made up all the crap about the cash. Did you notice, no one even asked him why he would have that kind of cash lying around for a terrible person like me to take?”
He hadn’t given it any thought. He’d been given an assignment and a promise of a good payoff and taken it. That was what he did. She was not going to make him feel ashamed of his job. He shook it off. “You think he paid off the judge?”
She gave him a look that said “duh”.
“Okay, so your ex pays off a judge and maybe a couple of attorneys and has you arrested. How did you escape?”
Lena walked around so she stood in front of him. She’d put on the bikini he’d bought her. The tiny scrap of red material barely covered her full, round tits and shapely ass. Everything about this woman was a distraction.
“I bribed the guard.”
His gut tightened and he could feel the muscle in his jaw twitching. “With what?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you think?”
He had a feeling this was a trap. He’d tread carefully. “I don’t think you’d like what I’m thinking and I can tell you, I don’t like it much either.”
Her hands were back on her hips. “Can you actually read my mind?”
God damn, but he loved those hips. “Only if you think hard on a particular thing. I know how you feel and can sense a yes or a no if I ask those kinds of questions. I’d know if you’re lying or hiding something. Though you block your mind pretty good. If you wanted to, you could keep me out.” He expected her to shut down. Half of him wanted to be out of her head. It was dangerous to have feelings for the fugitive he was responsible for. She remained open to him. His body ached to be back inside her. He couldn’t remember ever wanting anyone as much.
Kane forced himself to focus. “What did you bribe the guard with?”
“Right now, I know what you’re thinking too. Maybe I’ve discovered a new gift.”
