Page 181 of Fiery Romance

“I’m okay, but Island is going to need something more filling than dessert. Tell Amy to order her something proper.” I check my watch. “I need to go back to the warehouse.” My eyes meet Palinsky’s. “Take care of her.”

“I will, sir.”

My phone rings as I’m driving back to work.

It’s Lincoln.

“I heard you left in the middle of a strategy meeting. Did something happen? Are Regan and Abe okay?”

“They’re fine,” I murmur.

And so is Island.

Today’s visit was unplanned. I promised to give Island room, but I still wanted to help. So I asked Palinsky to keep me updated on her movements and told him to assist her with whatever she needed.

Turns out, what she needed was better and faster service from her vendors. Working that angle was easy. Even if it’s last minute, people get very accommodating when you flash enough cash.

I thought I could succeed in watching over her from afar.

Until I got a report that Island was limping into the printers because she’d parked far away.

The thought of Island in discomfort made me delirious.

Of course I couldn’t stay seated.

“If it wasn’t your kids, then it had to be for a girl,” Lincoln says, drawing my attention back to the phone call.

I don’t respond.

He chuckles. “What’s she putting down in the bedroom that you’re running out of meetings all frantic?”

“What is this call about, Lincoln?” I ask tightly.

He clears his throat, obviously realizing that I didn’t take to the joke. “It’s your mother-in-law.”

I nearly slam on the brakes. “Genevieve?”

“Her lawyer called this morning. They’re requesting the private acquisition files from United Bank. I politely told them to go jump off a cliff and they warned me that next time, they’re coming with a warrant.”

“Why would Genevieve want information on the M&A?” I mutter. “That has nothing to do with her.”

“Exactly. The timing felt off and so did the call.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know. My gut is telling me to be wary. It feels like they’re covering all their bases here, but the strategy stinks to high heaven. There’s something nasty cooking.”

“If it’s Genevieve it’s not just business. It’s personal,” I mutter.

“Think her interest in the bank has anything to do with the kids?”

“It wouldn’t make any sense. The only connection between the bank and the kids is…” The truth hits me like the ricochet of a bullet. I tighten my fingers on the cell phone. “Island.”

I pull the car over and the tires scream against the road.

Grabbing my cell phone from the receptacle, I place it to my ear. “Lincoln, contact our lawyers. I want the bloodhounds off their leashes. If we can’t fend Genevieve off on our own, turn the inspection on her. I want them armed to the hilt with ammunition.”

“Already done.”

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