Page 29 of Fallen Dane

“If you don’t sort it out for yourself, you’ll marry when I fucking tell you to. You’re twenty-four. I was a widower with three children by your age.”

“And you walked uphill in five feet of snow—”

“Goddamn smartass. Thankfully, I have two other sons who can carry the line forward after I murder your ass. Will you tell me what you came here for?”

Fox taps the folder on my desk. “Harrison Lockwood is broke.”

I open it and see the financial records and property information that Fox has collected.

“He has mortgaged every property he owns,” Fox continues. “He took out loans against them all. It seems he recently sold his estate in Connecticut for fifteen million. But last week he had to pay most of those funds to various creditors.”

“How much does he actually have?”

“Maybe fifteen million in assets if he liquidates everything. But he owes at least twelve million to people who want their money now. And it would leave him homeless.”

I flip through the documents. Harrison’s financial situation is a disaster. The man is drowning in debt.

“The man’s desperate.” I’m still working out what all of this means for my wife.

“Very. And desperate men make stupid decisions.” Fox leans against the desk. “It’s odd he bid on Whitney at the auction.”

I look up from the file. “I was thinking the very thing.”

“There’s no way he could have afforded to buy Whitney. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Harrison bid on my wife knowing he couldn’t pay for her, which means he either had a plan to get the money or he was driving up the bid. But neither makes sense.

“He wanted her for a reason. Something worth the risk of bidding money he didn’t have.”

“That’s what I thought too.” Fox taps the file. “The question is what. What could Whitney possibly give him? She didn’t get to keep Gerald’s money. It never goes to the wife. The money went to his brother from what I know. But I’m still digging into Gerald’s finances.”

I think about Whitney’s fear. And her lies.

I close the file. “Keep digging. I want to know everything about Harrison’s finances. And Gerald’s, too. We already know from the information Cain gave us that Gerald was as despicable as they come with his involvement with underage girls. I would have killed him myself if he hadn’t died in that car accident. Go through the list of people Harrison owes money to. See if we have anything on any of them.”

“I still can’t believe you let Cain leave with Briar, alive.” Fox tapped his foot, his tell that he’s irritated.

Fox would never have allowed that to happen. It was against a direct order and my sons are the only ones that know they are alive. But he should remember that I’m the one in fucking charge here.

“Everything I do is for a reason, son. You just don’t always need to know what it is.”

My son wisely chose not to argue. “You think one of Harrison's debtors might know something?”

“It’s possible. And we are going to figure out Harrison’s next move before he makes it.”

I’ll ruin the bastard for looking at my fucking wife. But I’ll torture him for days and then snap his neck if he thinks he’s going to harm her.

Fox nods. “I’ll see what I can find. Anything else?”

“Yes, find out if Harrison has had any recent meetings with other Council members. Anything that might explain why he’s suddenly so interested in my wife.”

“Did something happen? Has he threatened Whitney?”

“I’m not sure.”

Fox stares at me in disbelief. “What the fuck do you mean you’re not sure?”

“I mean. I’m not fucking sure. He spoke with her today, but I don’t know about what.”