A sob broke. “I’m sorry, Soph. Please don’t hate me. I was such a fool. My God, I can’t believe I’m that woman.”
“I’m not going to hate you, Lola. Just tell me what happened.”
Silence turned to quiet sobbing before Lola finally spoke. “He ripped us off,” she said. “Hawk stole everything.”
Sophie tried to quickly process the information. They really didn’t have much for him to steal. “What exactly did Hawk take?”
“I really do mean everything, Soph,” Lola said softly, then paused, trying to control her breathing. “He got into the safe.”
Sophie felt the blood drain from her face. A violent shiver surged through her body. “How did—” She wouldn’t ask. It didn’t matter. Staying calm, keeping Lola calm, those were her priorities. Not dropping her phone would be good, too. Her hands were beginning to shake. “Since you guys had a fight maybe he’s just trying to get your attention.”
“No, I think he might’ve been planning this for a while. I’m gonna kill him. I am. God, I’m so stupid. This is all my fault.”
“Don’t go there, Lola. We need to stay focused. Okay?” Hell, Sophie was one to talk. She’d made her own mess. “How long ago could he have done this?”
“Last night, I think. Late. After we talked around midnight.”
It was eleven-forty now. That gave the prick a head start. Sophie had to get to the research she’d done on him a few months ago. With any luck, there would be a clue as to where he’d gone. First, she’d get a hold of Mandy. And she had to talk to Craig. Jesus. Ethan was supposed to be in court in two hours. Hopefully Craig had worked his magic and it was a moot point by now. But she couldn’t count on it.
“You’re awfully calm,” Lola said. “Do you understand what I’m telling you? He took everything.” Her voice had risen and she sounded close to losing it again.
“I know. I’m just trying to think about our next step.”
They’d always disagreed about how much cash to keep in the office. But after business had picked up, Lola had stubbornly insisted on having a minimum of twenty thousand dollars they could get their hands on quickly. “Okay...so, I’m going to call Mandy first, but she’ll still want you to fill in the details, and then I’m going to see if I can track him electronically. We both know Hawk is too stupid to hide his trail.”
“Yeah,” Lola said with a small laugh. “There is that.”
“So...” Sophie had to ask. “Just so I know what we’re dealing with, can you narrow down what you mean by everything?”
Lola let out a sob. “Thirty-five thousand cash,” she said, and Sophie wanted to faint. “And two pieces of jewelry we were holding as collateral.”
Sophie held her breath. How could she have forgotten about the collateral items? “Do you mean the antique brooch Mrs. Sellars gave us for her son’s bond?”
“Yes,” Lola choked out. “And the signed Mohammad Ali glove from Mr. Polinski.”
Sophie held in a whimper. Mrs. Sellar’s ruby-and-diamond brooch alone was worth about sixty thousand. So Lola’s Bail Bonds was pretty much ruined financially. “Anything else?”
“I don’t know how you can be this calm. I really don’t.”
Guilt, probably, because Sophie had created her own mess. She turned and saw Ethan approaching. He looked worried, so she tried to clean up her body language. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m still in shock,” Sophie said. “But let’s use it to our advantage. Let’s hang up and I’ll contact Mandy, then get online.”
“You have to call me soon, or you know I’ll go nuts,” Lola said. “I think I’ll go to the bar and ask around. Hawk might’ve shot off his mouth.”
“Mandy should probably do that.”
“Everyone there knows me.” Lola sighed. “They probably all think I’m a dumb ass, too, so what the hell?”
“For the record, I didn’t say you were a dumb ass, nor do I think you are a dumb ass. We all have our blind spots,” Sophie said, watching Ethan advance on her. “I’ll call you soon.”
“Wait. You have Styles, right? He’ll make it to court?”
“Let’s worry about Hawk for now.”
“We really don’t need to fork out money for Styles.”
“I know that,” she snapped, adding another layer of guilt to the growing pile. “Sorry.”
“Nope. You have every right. Call me.” Lola disconnected.
Sophie wanted to lay her head down and sob her heart out. She found a smile for Ethan when he set the paper bag on the table in front of her.
“Problem?” he asked, his eyes narrowed.
“Nothing I can’t handle. Duty calls, though, and I have to get my tablet out of my bag.” She glanced around, mostly because she was having trouble with that intense gaze of his. She couldn’t explain anything now. She’d lose it and be tempted to hide in the comfort of his arms. He’d feel guilty they hadn’t returned to Wyoming and she didn’t want that. He had the finals to worry about.
* * *
THERE WAS ANOTHER ISSUE. She needed privacy and good Wi-Fi. “How about we find someplace where you can get some rest while I do a little work? Would that be okay?” she asked lightly. “I don’t care if we go back to the same motel for a while.”
Ethan’s eyebrows went up. He looked as though he had a hundred questions. “Whatever you want.”
“I have to make a quick call first, okay? To Mandy. She works in our office,” Sophie said, trying like hell to sound normal. “Oh, and Craig called while I was talking to Lola. I had to let him go to voice mail, but I’ll get back to him. Fingers crossed that he has good news.”
Ethan stood there stone-faced, just watching her. She wasn’t fooling him at all. He stepped back so she could get up, then offered her a hand. His skin was warm, his grip solid and sure. She felt safe with him. Alive. Happy. Whole. Which made her feel all the more a fool. This bubble in which they’d existed for the past three days was only a blip in time. A page torn from their normal lives and soon to be discarded. Yet she’d been willing to give up so much of herself, jeopardize the reputation of the business she’d built with Lola.
But Sophie couldn’t afford self-pity or to let her shame interfere with finding Hawk. There would be plenty of time for all that later.
They were halfway to the truck when a sudden flash of memory stopped her cold. That day in the office when she’d announced she was going after Ethan... Hawk had sided with her. Lola had already been annoyed with him, yet he’d spoken out against her, taking Sophie’s side. It made sense now. Lola was right. The bastard had been planning the theft for a while. Hawk knew Sophie didn’t like him and he’d wanted her out of the way. But even worse, he’d used Lola.
Sophie was going to find that asshole. She would, because she was smarter than him and she knew so much more about him than he could imagine. And when she finally got her hands on him...
“Sophie? Please.” Ethan put his arms around her. She’d never seen him look this worried, not even about his own problem. “Is it me? Am I causing you this grief?”
This wasn’t fair to him. And anyway, she couldn’t avoid his gaze forever. “We have a problem at the office. It’s—” She cleared her throat. “My cousin Lola’s boyfriend... We were robbed. The office safe was cleaned out.”
“Jesus.” Ethan touched her cheek. “I’m sorry. Did he get away with a lot?”
Despite trying to be stoic, she let out a whimper. “It’s bad. He stole a lot of cash, some expensive jewelry we were holding as collateral, a piece of valuable sports memorabilia that might be irreplaceable.”
When Ethan touched her cheek again, she realized he’d been wiping tears. She jerked away, embarrassed and twice as furious with Hawk.
“Obviously we have to do something,” Ethan said, easily staying abreast of her on the brisk walk to his truck.
“I’m sure you have an idea.”
“You will do nothing. Except whatever it is you do to get ready for the finals.” She checked her cheeks for moisture. “I’m calling Mandy, a bounty hunter who works with us. She’s the real deal. Totally badass. She’ll help me find the stupid prick. Hawk really is stupid, probably left electronic footprints all over the country. I’ll work on that while Mandy does her thing. Oh, we will find him, and when we do...”
They got to the truck and Ethan opened the passenger door for her.
“Look,” she said, keeping her gaze lowered, “I feel horrible for Lola because she’s blaming herself, and she shouldn’t. This has nothing to do with you.” As soon as Sophie was seated, she glanced at Ethan. He’d been so quiet.
His expression grim, he closed the door. She watched him round the hood. He looked angry.
She understood. She’d been incensed with Wendy Fullerton on his behalf, so she got it. Of course Ethan would be upset for her. And then she thought of something else. Damn. She couldn’t afford to lose it now. Craig. She had to return his call. God, she really, really hoped the news was good. She wasn’t about to leave Ethan twisting in the wind. Maybe he was angry because he thought she’d dropped the ball on him.
After he slid behind the wheel, she laid a hand on his arm. “I haven’t forgotten you. I’m calling Craig now.”
“You think I’m pissed about that?” His eyes were blazing mad when he turned to her. “You’re a smart, capable woman, Sophie, I’ll give you that. But obviously you’re in trouble. Do you honestly think I could stand by and not help? Is that the kind of man you think I am?”
“No, of course not, but—”
“Frankly I don’t give a shit what you have to say about it. I’m going to help you any way I’m able.”
She’d never seen him this angry. Maybe that day back in high school. “Okay.”
Looking straight ahead, he turned the key and started the truck. His lips were a thin line, his jaw clenched. Leaving the engine idling, he reached over the console, grabbed her upper arms and pulled her toward him.
“Damn independent little cuss,” he muttered, and then kissed her hard on the mouth. He released her, took a deep breath and asked, “Now where the hell are we going?”
17
AFTER CONTACTING MANDY and receiving the bad news from Craig, Sophie worked from her tablet at the small table in the dinky motel they’d found three miles down from the snack bar. The room sucked, but the Wi-Fi was good.
Ethan had stepped outside so he wouldn’t disturb her while he called his agent. Brian would probably come in person to strangle Sophie. If they’d gone straight to Wyoming last night as they’d planned, Ethan wouldn’t be missing his court date in—she looked at the time and felt a little sick—five minutes.
There was still a possibility that everything would work out for him. Mandy was on the case, and Sophie had a great deal more faith in the bounty hunter than she had in herself at the moment. Sophie was pretty damn close to blowing everything.
Craig was furious that she hadn’t warned him about Wendy being Broderick Fullerton’s wife. Apparently Craig was on retainer with two of Fullerton’s subsidiaries. They’d exchanged a few choice words, and Sophie might’ve called Craig a yellow-bellied chickenshit. It was actually one of the nicer names that had come to mind after discovering he’d called Lola and told her everything. So now her poor cousin was a complete basket case, worrying that Fullerton would have his bank call in their loan and kill their line of credit.
Sophie had only herself to blame.
Sighing, she rubbed her eyes. The screen blurred. She was tired from stress and lack of sleep, and staring at Hawk’s—no, Floyd’s—background file was frustrating. She was missing something, but she couldn’t seem to pinpoint it. For the third time, she searched through his late teenage years, the job-hopping, being nailed for shoplifting cigarettes, petty stuff. Mostly his past was uneventful.
Her cell buzzed. She picked it up and read the text from Lola. A warrant had just been issued for Ethan’s arrest. Sophie briefly closed her eyes. She wanted to call Mandy, but there was no point. If she had news, she would’ve called.
Sophie stared at the text, wanting so very much to curl up into a ball. Oh God, what had she done? He could’ve made it to court. They had been on their way to Wyoming. Did she have to pick then to rail against life’s injustices? Did she need any more proof that she was hopeless when it came to Ethan? She had no judgment, no ability to reason, and now two people she deeply cared about had been caught in her well-intentioned but destructive wake.
She wondered if she should call Lola. And say what? Sorry I wasn’t there for you? Sorry I was too busy chasing a childish dream? Sorry I didn’t warn you about Hawk? Sophie could go on forever about the ways in which she’d failed. And she hadn’t even gotten to Ethan yet.
Speaking of which... She heard the door being unlocked. She looked up as Ethan walked into the room. He looked grim but gave her a smile. She tried to return it. Had he been keeping track of the time? Was he expecting to hear about the warrant? She had to say something.
She moistened her lips. “A warrant has—”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry, Ethan.”
“Why? You tried to warn me.” He slipped behind her chair and massaged her cramped shoulders.
His strong, gentle hands felt so good, but she didn’t deserve his kindness. Or his forgiveness. She didn’t deserve him. “I’m also the person who encouraged you to drive to Vegas instead. I was so sure Craig would come through, or that Wendy would finally—”
“Shh, it doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does.” She stopped when her voice shook.
“Aren’t you going to check that?” he asked.
“What?” She realized she’d gotten an alert and looked at the corner of the screen. Floyd had used his credit card to buy gas—he was in Reno, Nevada.
Ethan took the other chair. “This is good. You’ve located him, right?”
“For now.” Something clicked in the back of her mind that made sense about him being in Reno. “I have to check something before I call Mandy,” she said, knowing Mandy would head for the airport as soon as she heard the news. So if she hadn’t made progress solving Ethan’s problem... Well, that was that.
“You should be happy,” he said, frowning.
“I am.” She paused. “Ethan? Why do you think this might be your last chance to go to the finals?”
His face darkened. “I never told you that.”
“I overheard you mention something to Arnie.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing.” He glanced at her tablet. “Shouldn’t you be moving on this information?”
“Please tell me.” She begged with her eyes even though she wouldn’t blame him for never trusting her with anything again.
He stared back, then sighed. “You ride long enough your body’s bound to suffer some wear and tear. I’ve had some trouble with my shoulder. Nothing serious, but I’m going to quit before I blow my future. That’s all.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m being sensible. Imagine that.”
Sophie smiled. She wanted to kiss him. It would be a stupid move. She’d already proven she couldn’t think straight when she was around him. She glanced at the file on her screen just when her phone rang. It was Mandy. Sophie told herself not to get excited yet. “Tell me something good.”
“Something good,” Mandy said in her usual calm voice.
Sophie’s heart lurched. “How good?”
“Mrs. Fullerton turned out to be extremely cooperative once I explained all the possible ramifications of making a false charge against a popular rodeo celebrity. She agreed it would be best to explain she’d misplaced her jewelry and drop the charges. Done deal. I jus
t left the sheriff’s office.”
Sophie looked at Ethan. “What about the husband?”
“He’s out of town again,” Mandy said. “But hell, that’s her problem. Have you got anything yet?”
“I think I might. Call you in ten?”
“Yep.”
The moment they disconnected, Sophie hugged Ethan.
“She found him?” He held her tight, his smile matching hers.
“No, not yet. Wendy dropped the charges. You’re in the clear.”
He frowned. “I thought you guys were looking for Hawk.”
“I am. Ethan. Aren’t you excited? No more charges against you. They’ll cancel the warrant.”
“Well, yeah, of course I am. How?”
“Mandy had a talk with Wendy. She pointed out how easily a trial could get out of control with other men stepping up to swear Wendy had sex with them and turning everything into a media circus.” Sophie didn’t mention that she’d thought up the tactic during their drive. She’d told Mandy, who thought it was a brilliant maneuver and volunteered to do the deed. “Of course Wendy didn’t know that you’ve been trying to keep it out of the media. I told you. Mandy totally rocks.”
Ethan smiled. The relief on his face lifted her spirits. “Well, now that I’ve given Brian heart failure,” he said, “I’ll call back and tell him to relax. What about Hawk?”
“The prick’s real name is Floyd,” she said, focusing on the information on the screen. Sophie had finally realized what she’d overlooked in his file. Annoyed with herself, she shook her head. “We got you, you dumb ass.”
She grabbed her phone again and while waiting for the connection, glanced at Ethan.
He was watching her and frowning. “What?” she said. But then Mandy answered. “He’s twenty miles outside Reno,” Sophie told her. “The idiot was too lazy to walk inside and pay for his gas with our money. He used his credit card.”
“Reno’s a big place,” Mandy said. “Any thoughts on whether he’s passing through or sticking around?”
This Kiss (Made In Montana Book 12) Page 17
