Page 84 of Brooke's Bliss
Now he had Nate’s attention.“Did you see a country name onit?”
“Yes.”He had told Bay all of this and thought Bay believedhim.Now it felt like he was telling the story for the first time.“Belgium.There was another word that looked like it was maybe a point of origin or aperson’s name.FN Herstal.”
Max nodded.“We need to find this Herstal person.”
“It’s not a person.”Nate stood up.“Gemma, come in here.Ineed your big brain to check my foggy one.”He looked back at Shane.“Thatwoman should go onJeopardy.She knows everything.”
“Not how to spot a douchebag,” Max quipped.
Gemma growled his way as she entered the room.“I knew my exwas a douchebag.He was exactly what I was looking for at the time.It was NewYork.I didn’t have a lot of choices if I didn’t want an overly ambitiousdouchebag.Good news is I came to Bliss and found a couple of superhot,completely unambitious dudes who can fix my car and cook my dinner and rock myworld.I think your sister is finding the same thing.Especially the gettingher world rocked by two hot cowboys without a bank account between them.”
Gemma could also be a little mean.“We have one.It doesn’thave much, but we do have an account.”
Nate ignored him.“Gemma, where are P90s produced?”
Her eyes rolled.“I researched all of this for Nell becauseshe said she didn’t want Henry to be sad.Apparently he had a P90 he loved, andshe doesn’t want to stir the John Bishop in him.It’s Belgium.The mainmanufacturer is Fabrique Nationale Herstal.Publicly traded as FN Herstal.Giveme a hard one.”
“Is a P90 a gun?Like the Army uses?”Shane asked.
“Not the US Army.Only Navy SEALs use them regularly.They’re used by a lot of elite units around the world,” Gemma explained.
“Would they have any use when it came to ranching?”Maybethere was an explanation.
Nate had been fiddling with a tablet, and he turned itaround and showed it to Shane.“Only if they needed a submachine gun to takecare of critters.Is this it?Or did it have a longer barrel?”
Gemma looked over his shoulder.“The standard P90 isrestricted in the US.Only law enforcement, military, and people who holdspecial licenses can buy them.We can look that up, though I can’t think of areason why a rancher would need one.Otherwise, it would have to be a PS90.”
Nate shook his head.“Do I want to know what Nell’s doingwith that information?”
“Writing a magnificent romance about an arms dealer whofalls madly in love with a gun control activist.It’s actually kinda dark.Iliked it,” Gemma said and pointed at the picture.“Do you remember if thebarrel was long or short?”
He’d gotten such a quick glance before the foreman hadwhisked the big box away and sent Shane back to the bunkhouse.“I think it wasshort, but it was a quick glance, but I did see the markings on the boxes andit was FN Herstal.”
“Then it’s almost certainly a P90 and nothing that you wouldneed on a ranch.”Nate sat back.
“It would explain why he’s flush with cash when every otherranch in the States is getting creative.”Gemma was more than an officemanager.Nate relied on her to do research and as a sounding board when heneeded an opinion.She was super smart and well educated and happy here inBliss.
Could Brooke be, too?
Hell, could Bay be happy in one place?
“I’ve heard rumors he’s got ties to one-percenter clubs inCalifornia,” Nate mused.
Max’s hand came out, slapping Shane on the shoulder.“Dummy.Don’t you know you’re not supposed to get involved in illegal gunrunning?I’mgoing to work on him, Nate.We cannot have another one of those people who walkinto crazy situations all the time.We already have Mel.And Callie.And poorLucy.I swear that girl is like a walkingDatelineepisode.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to,” Shane protested.“And I got out assoon as I could.”
Nate’s brows rose.“Yes.Five months ago, so why are youonly now sitting down in my office?I had to call you here.You didn’t comeforward on your own.It makes me wonder what else you were doing for Kingman.”
Oh, that was a turn he wasn’t ready for.“I wasn’t sure.Ionly knew it felt wrong, and they were talking about dealing with the newguys.”
Max pointed his way.“And they were the new guys.Nate, whatthe hell did you expect him to do?Walk into your office with zero proof andaccuse one of the biggest ranchers in the country of gun running?He followedhis instincts and got the hell out of there and got his brother out, too.Don’tyou try to intimidate him.”He looked to Gemma.“Hey, I need you to representShane here so Nate doesn’t throw him in jail.You know how much he enjoystossing a man in jail for no reason at all.Especially men from my family.”
“Only you,” Nate replied.
“I’m going to need a retainer,” Gemma began.“And it can’tbe pecan pie or horseback riding lessons.”
“How about free babysitting?”Max offered.
