by Jillian Neal
“As for the rest of you and the rest of Iodex, you’ll each be given a player. You’ll have to stay at their houses. It’s only two nights. Tell your wives to call me if they feel the need to screech at someone.” Dan was certain that he’d be receiving numerous phone calls.
“I’m just gonna go ahead and beg you to give me Sasha, since her husband is a pharmacist at the hospital where my wife works. She knows and trusts him, so that would make my life a hell of a lot easier,” Logan begged.
“Done,” Dan instantly agreed.
“Connor and Katie are still hot and heavy. Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind her staying at the farm. No one will bother her there,” Garrett offered. Dan agreed, as he was quickly running out of officers.
He turned the office over to Portwood and assigned Angels to Ericcson, Ramier, and Tuttle. He filled in the rest with Non-Elite officers and then sighed. “I’m short one man.”
“Hey, let me help,” Fitz jumped in. “Maddie won’t care, or I can switch with one of the guys guarding the owners’ families.”
“You sure?” Dan felt bad that Fitz would be working nights, when he was really only here to help with the sheer amount of evidence they’d taken in. The smirk Fitz shared with Dan let him know why he might not mind not being in the house with Fionna and Dan.
“I don’t fly out until Saturday. We can celebrate after we get the job done Friday night.” Fitz, who was much better at team morale than Dan had ever been, united the men in their mission. “When the ladies aren’t here practicing, we’ll be with them.”
Garrett was glancing back and forth between Fitzroy and Dan. He’d caught Fitz’s earlier smirk. Part of what made Garrett Haydenshire such an excellent officer was his ability to notice every little detail. It was also what made him so popular with women, in Dan’s opinion. At that moment, as Garrett started laughing, Dan wished he hadn’t figured out what Fitz was insinuating.
“All right,” Dan drew everyone’s attention back to him and away from Garrett’s laughter. “Our main concern for the rest of the week is obviously keeping everyone safe, but also to make absolutely certain that by three o’clock Friday afternoon every one of Wretchkinside’s bank accounts, that we are aware of, has been seized and shut down.
“I need every piece of information in that briefcase gone over with a fine-toothed comb. If there are other accounts, I sure as hell need to know about them. I plan to force whoever shows up, to purchase the available stock, to show their hand. When they try to access the accounts, there better not be any available money.”
Rainer was visibly impressed with the plan, and seemed to have forgiven Dan for his reprimand after being told that he was being assigned to be in Emily’s presence constantly for the next sixty hours.
“You know, if it’s Pendergrath, he’ll show up with a briefcase full of cash, hoping to catch Kent’s eye,” Fitzroy huffed.
“I know,” Dan sighed. “But he’ll do that in hopes of actually getting the stock at a lower price. Kent’s not stupid. Neither is Magnus. Not to mention, that in their shortsighted plan, if they are the ones threatening Magnus’s family, even if he sells, he’d rather sell to me than to Pendergrath.
“They’re counting on Sawyer not wanting the press to find out that a large percentage of stock is going up for sale. Sawyer doesn’t like having too many owners to deal with. They don’t think there will be any other buyers available that night. I’m monitoring the accounts closely and so is Buffett’s team. I’m not shutting them down until a large withdrawal is made. Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with. I want to know what they’re going to go in with as their opening bid.”
This time the entire table looked impressed. Dan smiled. He’d earned his title even if he was rather young when he received the job.
“The Angels are working out in the gym until lunch, so I want you to continue going through the documents we were going over yesterday. I’m heading back to the office to hand out the other assignments, and then I’ll be back.”
The Heart of Fionna Styler
By that evening, Dan had worked the Elite team hard, and they were all complaining as they showered and redressed.
“Can it. Your wives and girlfriends will thank me. I plan on pointing out that they like that you don’t look like a bunch of sloths when they call me up and demand to know if I really assigned you to stay with one of the Arlington Angels.”
Thus far, Tuttle had been the only person excited to be assigned two nights with one of the Angels. Mostly out of spite, Dan had switched Tuttle to the person who would be keeping tabs on Bridgette for the rest of the week. She was still spying on Wretchkinsides’ guys, as she still wanted the paycheck from the Senate. Though Dan never wanted to see her again, and was ashamed that he’d agreed to date her only to gain himself access to the information she had, he did feel responsible for keeping her safe.
As soon as practice was over, Dan helped Fionna pack to go to his house. He heat-casted all of the pipes to keep them from freezing until the repairman could come. Dan had phoned an old friend of his father’s that he trusted, and Mr. Wheaton was meeting Dan at the house at ten the next day to repair the lines. As Wheaton was Non-Gifted, he had no idea who Fionna Styler was or what Dan did for a living.
“I just really want to spend Christmas here,” Fionna fussed as she packed.
“Of course, baby. I just want you at my house at least until Friday.” He paused and then corrected. “Actually, that isn’t true; I want you at my house all the time.”
“You sound a little desperate, there, Officer Vindico.”
“For you, always, honey. I told you that.” He wasn’t backing down. He’d prove it to himself, and he’d prove it to her. He just had to keep her safe.
She turned thoughtful again as she continued to pack clothing. She’d packed enough to stay for several weeks. Dan didn’t see this as a good sign. He was well aware that women always over-packed and always wanted options.
“You said the gas lines would be fixed tomorrow, so why should we stay there until Friday?”
Dan tried not to be offended that she very obviously did not want to stay at his house. He reminded himself that since he’d worked her from a one-night stand, to his girlfriend, to what he hoped would someday become his wife in just two weeks’ time, she’d been through quite a bit.
“Wretchkinsides did this, Fi. He had men here, and I’m holding it together pretty well, but that scares the shit out of me, baby. I’d just feel better if you were somewhere that he didn’t know about.”
She nodded and tried to hide her fear inside a smile. “Your house is kind of hidden away, I guess. Is it unlisted or something?”
“As unlisted as they get. I don’t own a landline telephone. I bought the house in cash, so no paper trail of the purchase. The deed is registered to an alias that I have used only for the purpose of buying the house. All of my utility and credit card bills are sent to a Senate P.O. box, which is also the address on my bank account and my checks.”
“Wow.” She looked simultaneously impressed and concerned.
“You need anything else? We could grab some movies.” Dan hoped to change the subject and for her to have things that would make her more comfortable there. She blushed and gave him a sheepish grin. He was instantly intrigued.
“Can I bring my pillow?”
“Of course,” Dan grabbed her pillow off of the bed. “Just this one?” He was perfectly willing to pack her entire bedding ensemble if that’s what she wanted.
“Do you think that’s weird?”
“No, honey, if that’s what makes you comfortable, then that’s what I want you to have.”
She looked relieved as she glanced around her room wistfully.
There was more she wanted. Dan studied her closely but couldn’t put his finger on any one thing. She shivered, and he set down the bags and pillow and moved to her. He formed a heat cast around her as he pulled her to him.
“Why don’t we go get you warm?”
/> She nodded but still didn’t seem to want to leave. “Dan,” she choked on the verge of tears.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? It’s just two nights. I’ll bring you back Friday.” Defeat settled harshly in his gut. She wasn’t going to ever move in with him if she hated his house that much. He didn’t understand it. He had a very nice home, safer than any in D.C. It had a great deal of potential. He’d just never cared enough to do much with it, but she was so good at seeing the possibilities in everything around her, especially in him. Why didn’t she want to see the possibilities in his home, unless she didn’t really want to spend that much time with him? His shield tensed. When he was with her, it was perfection, but she just seemed to keep pulling away.
She looked embarrassed by her own emotional display. “I do want to stay with you.” She’d read his heartbreak in his rhythms.
“I may not be much with emotional energy, Fionna, but even I know when you’re lying.”
Tears tracked down her face as her chin trembled. His eyes closed in regret. She buried her face in his chest. He felt her entire body brace for rejection.
“Fi…” he held her tightly. He had no idea what to do to make this better. Even if she wanted him to leave and never to see her again, he had to keep her safe until he made certain she wasn’t being targeted because Wretchkinsides wanted the Angels. If she ordered him away, he would still make the purchase. He would keep her safe whether she wanted him or not. If she walks away, Vindico, you might as well go ahead and dig your own grave. Life isn’t worth it without her. You tried it that way, remember?
“Dan, I do love you. Please, please don’t feel this way. I just… I just want to bring my teapot.”
“What?” Of all the things she could have said, that wasn’t one he’d counted on.
Giving up on ever figuring out women, Dan managed a nod. He wondered why on earth she wanted to bring her teapot. He had numerous ways to heat water, one of them being his own hands. Not to mention the fact that her teapot was rather worn and in need of replacement. Dan had planned on purchasing her a newer, fancier one for Christmas.
“I know that’s weird, and I’m being such a baby.”
“It’s fine, sweetheart. Will you tell me why?” He kept her tucked against him, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. She nodded and Dan felt tears began to permeate his shirt.
“It was my mom’s.”
Realization flooded through Dan.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t understand. The house…”
She nodded and tried to swallow down another round of emotion.
“I made my house feel like the house I grew up in on Kauai. It reminds me of my Tutu’s. Whenever I miss my mom really badly, like at Christmas, or when I’ve had a rough day or week, I make the Hawaiian tea she used to make me when we had tea parties, growing up. My Tutu dries the leaves and has her own line of tea just for Receivers. I just miss Kauai sometimes, and I miss my mom every day. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t love you or don’t want to stay with you. I just….” She shrugged, unable to explain what he already understood.
“Fionna, baby, look at me, please.” She turned her tear-filled eyes up to gaze into his. “I want you to bring anything at all that makes you feel safe and content, and helps you be the absolutely amazing woman that you are. I’m sorry we can’t stay here, but if you want me to box up your entire room, or your entire kitchen or, hell, the entire house and get a truck, and move it just for the week, I will. I will do anything to make you happy. I’m sorry I pressured you to move in with me. If you never want to leave here, I’ll understand.”
“It’s just moving is really hard for me. Until I bought this house, I never felt like I got a say in where we lived. Daddy forced me to leave my farm and my island right after Mama died. He dragged us to Texas for two years then moved us up here. He kept saying he was doing it for me, but all I wanted was to go back to my island and that was the one place he’d never go again. He hated when I went to visit my grandmother. I just tried so hard to make this house mine.”
Dan kissed the top of her head and recalled the conversation they’d had, sitting in a hotel room in Sydney.
“Fi, do you remember telling me that it was okay for me to miss Amelia?”
She nodded and lifted her head in confusion.
“It is okay for you to miss your mom, sweetheart. It is okay not to want to move, and you absolutely should have made your home a place that makes you comfortable. It’s also okay not to necessarily want to share all of that with me. I understand. I want to help you, Fi. I want to help you heal and feel more like you. Maybe, when you’re ready, I could go to Kauai with you, but for now, I’m going to stop pressuring you to do anything at all. We’ll stay here until you say you want to leave, if you’ll just stay with me this week.”
“I would love to take you to Kauai some time. I think it’s all just been a little fast, and everything seems to be going wrong. Eric kept calling me today. I didn’t answer, but he called over and over. I didn’t want to tell you because you’re already so busy. I don’t know what to do.”
Dan bit back the urge to scold her for not immediately telling him that she was being harassed. He drew a deep breath. He needed to work in order. She was cold, in the house with no heat, and he could rectify that now.
“We’ll talk about Eric and everything else later, okay? I’ll get all of this.” He indicated the bags and pillows on her floor. “Why don’t you go get the teapot and anything you need to make you, you. We’ll go get settled at my house and then we can talk.” It took every ounce of chiseled determination that lived in his bones and radiated through his musculature to remain calm and to reassure her.
From what he’d learned about Fionna Styler thus far, he’d say her father was a selfish ass. Eric Kent wasn’t going to go away quietly. Wretchkinsides wasn’t going to give up the Angels without a fight. Being with him could still get her killed, and their life wasn’t going to get any easier any time soon.
On their way out, Dan grabbed the quilt, off of Fionna’s couch, that he knew was her favorite, the vintage Hawaiian cookbook, and the thick romance novel from the coffee table, that she’d been reading whenever she’d gotten a chance to sit down. Fionna beamed as he placed them in the Expedition.
“Best boyfriend ever.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek as he cranked the car.
Lock, Stock, and Barrel
Dan, Rainer, Fitzroy, and Garrett all stood reticent in the financial-planning offices of the Senate, at two o’clock Friday afternoon. The rest of Iodex was either with the team owners, or at the stadium, watching the Angels practice.
Magnus had alluded to the fact that he was going to sell, and word had gotten back to Wretchkinsides. If he purchased Magnus’s and Kent’s shares he would hold thirty-eight percent of the team; certainly enough to do a great deal of damage.
The Angels had brought the Summation Cup home to Arlington three years ago. It was then that several other teams decided that it wasn’t equitable that Chloe Sawyer’s father owned fifty-three percent of the team she captained. Formal complaints were filed against Sawyer and the Angels. The Senate gave a new ruling. No one person who was related either by blood or marriage to a player could own more than twenty percent of the Summation team that the player challenged for. To the dissenters’ irritation, Sawyer had been allowed to keep his stock in the Angels. He was grandfathered in.
Dan hadn’t explained the problem to anyone, but it ate at him. Rainer Lawson, who was now the owner and sole proprietor of the Lawson family fortune, could buy the thirty-eight shares without even emptying one of his many bank accounts. Dan could not. He could split the available shares with Rainer as long as the stock remained at its current value.
If Pendergrath made a low-ball offer, Rainer and Dan might be able to get the stock for less. Rainer, who would be marrying Emily Haydenshire in a few months’ time, couldn’t own more than twenty percent of the team, and Dan would have to liquidate
most of his assets to acquire the other eighteen.
Buffet had invested Dan’s money well, and Dan had secured an excellent salary as the head of Iodex, but things could get dicey if Pendergrath managed to come up with more money. This has to work. Dan prayed that he had knowledge of all of the accounts that Pendergrath had access to, without having to contact Wretchkinsides.
“Here we go,” Will Haydenshire, who’d been named one of the VPs of the Senate bank just a few weeks before his father had taken office, called to Dan as he constantly refreshed a computer screen. “He’s requested $780,000 in hundreds?” Will’s brow furrowed. Dan rolled his eyes at the antics.
“That’s how much will go in a standard briefcase.” After receiving several impressed glances, Dan continued to watch the screen as numerous cashier’s checks, in varying amounts, were handed across the marble counter to Pendergrath.
“That was a draw from three different accounts, one not on the record you gave us, Dan.”
“Add it to the list and shut it down,” Dan ordered.
“Total in checks was $17.6 million.”
Dan and Rainer edged behind Will.
“The stock dropped after the last loss,” Rainer stated what Dan was already well aware of.
“He’s shooting low, just like I said he would. He’s hoping that if he brings in wads of cash, Kent and Magnus will start drooling, take it, and run.”
“He’s leaving, Dan.”
“Street-cam outside the Gifted Bank on Wall Street,” Garrett held up the security feed on his tablet. They all huddled around Garrett. Pendergrath’s driver opened the trunk. Dan’s heart sank. Four Haliburton briefcases were already in the trunk. He had no idea if they contained cash or the amount they held. If he drove the stock up any more than its current value, Dan would have to mortgage his home and sell his bike to make the buy. Magnus and Kent weren’t going to wait for that. The Angels, Fionna, all of them would be run by Dominic Wretchkinsides. Dan shook himself.
“Shut them down, and drain them now,” he commanded the entire financial team that had been assigned to the case.