Page 36 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

Gripping the sides of his desk, Henry tried to think through the steps. What did he need to do? What would fix this problem? Obviously, Gilly had messed up. And even if Gilly hadn’t messed up, the idiot was weak. As soon as the threat of prison was dangled in front of him, the loser would give up Henry’s name. Gilly wouldn’t even hesitate to make a deal.

So getting rid of Gilly before the police spoke to him was the main priority.

His second priority was getting rid of Macie. If she was still alive, Macie was the only employee who knew the computer tracking system well enough to find the evidence that could sink this operation. So, Macie had to go.

One phone call could solve both problems.

Yes, that’s what he would do. Ricky was the perfect solution.

With trembling fingers, he dialed the number.

Chapter 12

“We got them!” Edward announced, stepping into the kitchen.

Macie turned around, her face flushed red as she bent to look into the oven. “What did you get?” she asked, emerging with something in her hands.

Edward stared at her hands, still trying to figure out what she was holding. “That smells incredible!” he said, coming closer to savor the lemony, sweet scent. “What is it?”

“I made you a lemon cake,” she told him, setting the pan on a wire cooling rack, then stepped back to admire her efforts.

“You made me a cake?” he repeated, stunned and…charmed. “Lemon is my favorite.”

She smiled and shrugged, lowering her lashes as a blush stained her cheeks. “I know. You mentioned it a couple of days ago.” A second later, she jerked to attention. “Oh, wait! I need to…” she rushed over to the stove and lifted a pan that had an even stronger lemon scent. “Ms. Kealy helped me make this lemon syrup for the cake. It has a touch of rum in it as well.”

Edward watched Macie because she was more delicious than the cake. She looked adorable with her whole body tilted at an angle so she could watch the syrup as it dribbled from the pot and was absorbed into the warm cake, her pink tongue, a tongue that had done some amazing things to him just last night, poked out as she concentrated.

“All done!” she said with a sigh, putting the pot back on the stove. She returned to admiring her work. “That needs to sit for five minutes, then I flip it over and we can have a taste!”

He laughed softly, pulling her into his arms. “You aren’t going to make me wait to try it after dinner?”

She lifted her hands, sliding them up his chest until her small fingers rested on his shoulders. “Would you obey me if I put such a restriction on you?”

He peered over her head at the cake. “I would make a valiant effort.”

She laughed, then leaned forward to kiss him. He met her halfway because…why not? He enjoyed kissing her. And the scent of vanilla and lemon surrounding them made the kiss even sweeter.

“You said something about getting someone?” she asked when he lifted his head. It took Edward several moments to remember what he’d been talking about. Between her soft body pressed against his, the sweet promise in her kiss, not to mention the cake right behind her, he was a little distracted.

But when he remembered, his eyes sharpened. “The information you gave me earlier allowed us to track the shipping manifest to the warehouse manager. Mike, who normally drives the forklift and loads the cargo into the planes, talked to one of the law enforcement officers. Apparently, some man named Gilly Cultain was late for a happy hour meet up last night. Mike went back to the warehouse and saw Cultain take some of the boxes off the plane, and replace them with wooden crates. Mike told the officers, a warrant was issued to search Cultain’s home, and they found a box filled with cash, as well as notes on previous shipments. The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms officers were able to track those shipments to previous arms deals.”

“Gilly?” she gasped, pulling out of his arms. Distractedly, Macie grabbed the serving platter and flipped the cake over, tapping the Bundt pan to gently release the cake, then stepped back to admire her efforts. A moment later, she turned and frowned up at Edward, confused. “Gilly is a nice guy. I’ve spoken with him several times about various issues while working on the shipping program. He explained the various nuances of packing a plane.”

Edward nodded. “Apparently, there is enough evidence to convict him.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Gilly is a sweet guy, but he’s not bright enough to figure out how to ship illegal arms around the world. He’s just…just a golden retriever of a guy who likes women and beer, in that order.”

Edward’s brow furrowed. “So, you think someone else was orchestrating the deliveries?”

“There has to be someone else,” she said with a slow, considering nod. “Besides, Gilly isn’t ambitious. He knows how to do one thing really well and, when I worked with him, I didn’t get the impression that he wanted to do anything more challenging than organizing boxes and making sure that the boxes got onto the plane. He’s good at his job, don’t get me wrong. And he’s been doing it for a while now. But he’s just a worker, not a leader.”

Edward considered her words carefully. “But you said he understood the nuances of packing the plane.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But that’s all he knows. He’s been doing it since he was about sixteen years old. And he’s in his early thirties now. So, he has a lot of experience, which is why he’s a good manager. But leader?” she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Gilly’s just a sweet guy. He wouldn’t slash my tires, much less set my house on fire. That would take time away from drinking beer and pursuing ladies.”

He waved her towards the door to the kitchen. “Sean is in Philadelphia, working with the ATF agents. Why don’t we give him a call and see if he has anything to add?”

She started to follow him, but Edward abruptly turned and hurrying back to the cake. “I’m not letting this out of my sight,” he explained with a playful growl as he also grabbed a knife, two plates and two forks. “We’ll sample this while we talk with Sean.”

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