Page 37 of Jack's Devotion

"Is it? In that case…" She turns around, raking her gaze up and down my body as she sips her coffee with a smirk.

I shake my head, my cock turning to stone. "Stop looking at me like that. Dillon is here to see you."

"Well, his timing sucks."

"Hard agree." I hold out a hand for her. "Come on. The faster we deal with him, the faster I get to take you back to bed."

"You have to work today."

"Uh, no, I don't."

"You missed work yesterday, Jack."

"I work for my damn self, baby. I can miss work if I want to miss work."

"You're terrible at secrets, just so you know," she mumbles, marching past me into the living room.

I swat her gorgeous ass.

"Morning, Sheriff," she says, scowling at me over her shoulder.

"You started it," I mouth at her.

She harumphs and turns to look at Dillon, who just shakes his head like he thinks I'm an idiot. Which, now that I think about it…

"What can I do for you this morning?"

"Do you know Kenneth McDougal?" Dillon asks her.

"Kenneth McDougal?" Her brows furrow. "He's one of my father's old college buddies. He lives in Houston. Why?"

"He's the one your father called after you talked to him the other morning," Dillon says. "And McDougal showed up in town a few hours later. He stayed at a hotel over the weekend before heading back to Houston."

"McDougal," she whispers.

I step up beside her, sliding my arm around her waist. "We're going to bring the fucker down, baby."

"I know, I'm just…" She shakes her head. "I don't know why I'm surprised, really. I guess I just liked him more than most of my father's friends. He was always nice to me."

"Well, from what I've been able to put together, it looks like he may owe your father a considerable amount of money," Dillon says. "Your father bailed him out of some financial trouble some years back."

"His company was struggling," Madison mumbles, her expression twisting as if she's remembering something from a long time ago.

"Yeah." Dillon jerks his chin in a nod. "Gerald cut him a check to bail him out. It would have been before…"

"Before my mom died," she whispers, glancing up at Dillon. "I remember…" She pauses, exhaling a breath. "I remember them arguing about it. I can't remember the details, but I don't think she knew what my father was going to do until he already cut the check. It was a lot of money." She looks at Dillon as if seeking confirmation.

"It definitely wasn't pocket change."

"She wasn't happy about it, but he said it was a good investment. Then she got sicker and it just kind of ended there."Madison shakes her head. "I guess we know why he thought it was such a good investment now, huh?"

I press my lips to her temple. "Just a few more days, baby," I murmur against her skin.

"You should talk to Kenneth," she says to Dillon. "If he's the one…well, I doubt it was his idea. My father probably used that loan to get him on board, threatened to take his company or something. He may talk to you."

"Or he'll run to your father," Dillon says.

"Speaking of which…"

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