Page 27 of Conquering Oz

“Did she seem afraid of Sal?” Nash asked.

Trey snorted. “The opposite. It wasn’t what she said, it was how she said it. There was an underlying anger in her tone.”

Oz remained silent. The description Trey was giving wasn’t the woman he’d met a few days ago.

Trey darted his gaze between him and Nash. “Has there been a new development?”

Oz could’ve shared his encounter. He didn’t.

“No. I’ll be in touch after I speak with Ace,” Oz said, dismissing Trey. He lowered his chin, turned, and left the office. Nash stepped closer and parted his lips but Oz held up his hand. He wanted to make sure Trey wasn’t within hearing distance. There weren’t many secrets between the three of them, but Oz had always protected Rogue and Trey, and vetted information. With the link to Sal, it was imperative.

Business was different. It was transactional. This was not. Sal was family. It was personal to all of them. Oz walked across the room, making himself another drink. As he walked back, he glanced through the open door down the hallway. Security was lined up as usual, but the hall was empty. He gestured toward the door, and Nash immediately closed it.

“Tell me.”

“Elodie Martin, age forty.” He glanced up at Oz, arching his brow. “As of a few days ago. She owns a clothing store downtown. Lived in Lawry most of her life except when she wentoff to college out of state. Never married, no children. Clean record.”

It was minimal and basic. Oz wanted more. Especially details.

“Family here?”

“Not much. Just her mom, who died a few years ago, and an uncle. He’s local.”

“No father?”

“None listed on her birth certificate. Don’t have much on her childhood, but it seems like it was just her and her mother.”

“And her finances?”

“Drowning in debt with a lawsuit pending against her. She took a private loan from a friend, who’s now taking her to court to have it paid back. Court documents are pretty cut-and-dry. They didn’t have a written agreement in place, but she’s not denying the loan. Lawyer fees are hitting her bank account hard.”

Interesting.

“No life insurance from the mother?”

“No. From what I gather, she was sick for a couple of years. Mounting medical bills. Loans taken against her house left no profit from the sale after she died.”

“Did that fall on next of kin?”

“Yes. Traced her finances and housing. Up until about four years ago, Elodie was in a fairly good position financially. Lived in a higher end apartment on the west side. It looks like she moved in with her mother until she died two years ago. There’s a gap year where her business sales plummeted.” Nash glanced at him. “Drastically. Right after her mother died. That put her in severe debt.”

Oz folded his arms. “What else?”

Nash flipped through the folder. “Did find one interesting connection.”

Oz straightened. “To Sal?”

“No. Not sure how their paths could’ve crossed. The connection is to one of the two men she was seen arguing with at the club. Julian Shipman. He loaned her the money. According to this, they’d known each other for years. Friends. And I use that term loosely.” Nash’s gaze darkened.

They both heard the tail end of her argument with Julian before the other guy came to her rescue. By all accounts, Julian had an ulterior motive for loaning Elodie the cash.

“As for the other?” Nash shrugged. “Dalton Kyler, twenty-four, just graduated the university. His comment about them being lovers speaks for itself.” Nash chuckled. “Of course, she didn’t seem too thrilled about his exposing that piece of information.”

No, she didn’t. Oz didn’t care for it much either.

He stared across the room at the expensive art on his wall, giving no reaction. He had no ties to this woman. She was a stranger. Her relationships had no bearing on him. Still, the idea of her being with the asshole from the club gnawed at his chest. He ground his teeth, rolling his shoulders. They needed to get back on track, and that didn’t include thinking of her with another man in bed.

“Nothing to link her and Sal?”

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