Page 69 of Smooth Talk

“Everyone that has an account at WC B&S, check your account activity. There may have been another breech.”

“Shit, why didn’t I think of that?” Buddy’s fingers frantically fly across the keyboard of his laptop as he lets the curses flow under his breath.

“Oh my God.” I’ve never seen my dad look so stricken. “It’s not just personal accounts.”

O is next to join the expletive train, “It could’ve been worse. Thank God they’re not the only institution we bank with. He didn’t come close to wiping us out, but fuck, this isn’t the kind of money you get back from the FDIC.”

Nick and Cannon are next. Just between everyone here, Jamie took $40 million. God knows how much he got from everyone else in town. That’s some serious get-the-hell-outta-town money. O has grown our family’s wealth exponentially over the past several years, and all of that hard work is now someone else’s gain. Technically only O, dad and the corporation are worth billions. I’m happily sitting on few hundred million; most is wrapped up in stocks, investments and other assets, but I have a lot of cash, though not as much as I had yesterday. I feel like an idiot. How did I not see this coming? I look at Presley and read the guilt written all over her face.

“Did you know?”

“What?”

This man falsified school, work and personal records; managed to ace an interview at our local bank and get promoted to manager within the first nine months he was in town, and completely take advantage of Presley, as well as everyone else here. And then he leaves without a trace with over forty million dollars. He knew exactly who to target in this town to get the biggest bang for the buck, and she’s protecting him? She’s been sitting here all fucking day and didn’t say a word. This is beyond the goddamned pale.

“Did you know he was going to do it again? Did he tell you he was taking more?”

“No! I swear I didn’t know. He said there were some bad people he’d worked for at an investment firm in New York. They had a lot of power and a lot of money. The firm had taken on some shadier clients to procure more funds, and Jamie handled one of the accounts. He said he was okay with it short term because he was making so much money. He had planned to quit and start his own company. He had it all worked out, then the firm got raided by the SEC and FBI. They were questioning employees in the offices. Apparently, the guys he’d worked for had swindled millions from their investors and fled the country.”

This story sounds real freakin’ familiar. God, please don’t let it be who I think it is.

“Well, I guess some of the investors were associated with the mob and they wanted their money back. Several of the employees and their family members started disappearing or having accidents. He was terrified, he tried going to the cops, but they wouldn’t listen. They were either on the mob’s payroll or thought he was crazy. He knew he wasn’t safe. He broke up with his girlfriend so she wouldn’t be a target and called his mom to warn her. He got her out of town, then packed up his belongings and drove to Chicago. He knew a guy there that could help him create a new identity.”

Several swears sound off around the room. “Why didn’t you tell us any of this before?”

“I was scared! Jamie told me in the strictest confidence. He said if they could get to him here, they could get to anyone anywhere. I thought if I said something, the mob would kill us!” And she’s hysterical again. Great.

“What was the name of the firm he worked for in New York, Pres?”

“You know, don’t you?” her guilty face says it all.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“He worked for SandFord Investments,” Buddy says, and I want to scream. Jamie worked at Reed Langford’s investment firm. This is coming full fucking circle.

“Shit,” Cannon looks about as sick as I feel. “I should’ve vetted that asshole when I had the chance. I knew something felt off about him.”

“Is someone going to fill me in here?” Nick has finally found his voice. I think he’s been in shock this whole time. Dude takes his money very seriously. We all do.

“It’s Poppy’s ex-husband’s firm,” Cannon states quietly. An unsettling silence falls over the room.

“What does Poppy have to do with this?” My dad looks so concerned. As concerned as he would be for one of his own kids. I love that she’s been accepted into the fold as one of us. First by mom, then Mimi and my siblings, now dad. She and Harp are family. And we’ll do whatever it takes to protect them. I’d like some damn answers instead of more questions, now that I know the freaking mafia is involved. How could Reed be so stupid? So careless? Poppy’s probably only alive now because she did the right thing and gave back every penny. The thought makes me physically sick. I don’t want to live in a world without her. Have they been watching her all this time? Is she in danger?

“I’m sending over a squad car. They’ll sit on the house, sweep the perimeter and call in anything suspicious.”

“Thanks man,” it’s a little relief.

Jake pats me on the shoulder. “You bet.”

Now I turn back to Presley; she better hope she has answers for us. “Why did Jamie come to Willow Creek? Did they send him here?”

“No. He was running away. He thought he could change his name and come here to hide out for a while. Maybe befriend Poppy and she could give him a clue as to where Reed might be. There were rumors that she knew and was keeping it quiet. He was desperate. He thought if he could find the money, the mob would leave everyone alone.”

“Yeah, that’s not how shit works. Loose ends have a tendency of getting clipped,” O says dryly.

Presley nods seriously back at him, “I know. When they found him here, they threatened to kill his mom. Jamie was terrified. He knew they weren’t bluffing. He may not know where Reed and Jay were or where their money was, but he had access to funds. He’d planned to invest my money and acquire enough to pay them off, but they wanted millions more than he could get and they wanted it immediately. They wanted to use his bank access. They liked the idea of getting their money back and sticking it to a local biker gang that had messed with them at the same time. And conveniently, Poppy’s new boyfriend had a shit ton of money.’ She looked at me shamefully again.

Fuck, I really wanted this to be unrelated. I’d give them all my damn money if it kept Poppy safe. I needed her to be safe. ‘A guy named ‘Tony’ contacted him and gave him instructions. Someone dropped off an envelope with a small drive in it. All he had to do was plug it into his computer. They’d be at an undisclosed location nearby and manage the transaction remotely. He was assured that he wouldn’t be caught, and the hardware was untraceable.”

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