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“Well, I never figured him for kingpin brains. I mean, he wants to be the big boss, but I never thought he had the brains for it. I never found proof, but I wondered if someone was pulling his strings.”
“Someone like Finn?”
The flush of heat filled her cheeks. “Like I said, I have no proof. Just a feeling.”
“I’ll trust your gut any day. And I’ve been wondering if the time has come to do something about the mess at Murdoch.”
What did her mother mean by that? She didn’t have time to think it through as Rose continued.
“How can we prove Finn’s involvement?”
“We’d have to get Silverman to point the finger at him. Or…” She drummed her fingers on the table. “Finn never does anything without a CYA clause. If he was the puppeteer behind these machinations, he’d have something on Silverman. Either something to blackmail him with or some proof—probably false—that showed Silverman was the ringleader.”
“And if he had something like that, it would be in a secure location.”
“Like his safe at home.”
Rose stood. “I need to pay Emily a visit.”
Finn’s wife, sweet and completely focused on their two children, wasn’t one to spout family secrets. She kept things very close to the vest, and the outside world knew only the loving family. Rowan and Rose had seen the hidden bruises and begged Emily to take the kids and leave.
“She wouldn’t leave Finn when we begged her to. She’s not going to give you access to Finn’s safe.”
“Oh, you never know what will convince someone to do the right thing. I’m going to try again.”
“Good luck with that. I think I’ll go back through everything and see if I missed anything. Maybe talk to Emersyn and pull her into this. I’d, umm, have to tell Emersyn about our suspicions, though.”
“You go right ahead. It’s time to break this festering wound wide open. Barrett and Murdoch should be working together, not at odds with each other.”
Rose kissed her cheek, then with a whispered, “This will all work out, dear,” she was out the door and down the stairs like a teenager.
She watched her until she was out of sight, then closed the condo door. Murdoch and Barrett working in harmony? For a person who had divorced herself out of the business, Rose had grand ideas. Grand and impossible. Still, ideas began to gel in Rowan’s mind, and that sneaky hope started her blood pumping again. She grabbed her phone and headed for her laptop. She had work to do.
Chapter Eighteen
On their usual monthly poker night, Gerard sat in his car outside Brody’s house, brooding. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and head back to the city. To not face his closest friends, who would know immediately how fucking miserable he was. Even the drive out hadn’t soothed the deepest ache he’d ever known.
He’d been misled by a woman he missed like hell, a woman he wanted back in his bed, in his life so bad that he almost called her to grovel—more than once. How had he gotten himself into this mess? And now, he had to go inside and get razzed by the guys for losing the bet, and he hadn’t even captured the prize. Damn it all to hell.
A tap on his window said the jig was up, so he opened his car door and climbed out. “Hi, Ben.”
They shook hands, then Ben leaned back on his Tesla and ran a hand through his shoulder length hair. “You don’t usually sit in your car like that.” He nodded toward Gerard’s sports car.
“Just thinking something through.”
“Brittney being more of a pain?”
Gerard waved his hand. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Are you going to settle out of court?”
That would be the easiest way to go, and it would keep Gerard out of the tabloids. “No. I’m not going to settle. There’s no basis to her claims, and I’m betting she doesn’t want the publicity any more than me.”
“That could be an expensive bet.”
“Maybe. But if she gets away with it, others will try.”
“True. It’s tough to be the one to take a stand that we could all benefit from.”
