Page 116 of Absinthe Minded

“I wanted to make sure the woman raising my daughter was a good person.” Her voice cracked.

Something didn’t add up.I ran through everything I knew about her situation and everything she’d said. “Why tell me this tonight?”

She drew a breath and delivered a bomb. “I came to confront your father. I found the original documents from the sale of mine and Martin’s bar. I’ve contacted an attorney and plan to go public with the information. Your family will be ruined.”

“And you’re here to give me one last chance to pay you off?”

She gave me a sad smile. “That or to warn you to distance yourself from your father so Maggie and Ella don’t get caught in the crosshairs.”

I sank onto the loveseat. I had no idea what had happened between her late husband and my father, but I’d pay any amount to protect Ella, Maggie, and my mother from scandal. “I’ll give you the money, but I expect you to sign a statement that the problems with the contract have been rectified.”

“Agreed.” She reached for me but seemed to think the better of it. “This can wait a week or two. Make sure Maggie’s all right first.”

“Thank you.”

The front door opened, and my heart stopped.

Hildie rounded the corner with Ella in her carrier and Ryan by her side. “Any word?”

“No.” I glanced at Chantal, half-expecting her to make a break for the baby, but the woman turned to face the wall.

“I thought it best if we were all under the same roof.” Hildie took in the scene as if she knew exactly what she’d walked in on. “I’ll take the little ones upstairs and put them to bed.”

“Thank you.” I stood but had no idea what to do next.

Shanna cleared her throat. “I’ll walk Chantal out and catch Detective O’Malley up to speed.”

“I’ll be in the study.”

The two hours Maggie had been missing felt like days. It was a strange feeling, needing to do everything in my power to find her, and being powerless to lift a finger.

I wandered through the house in search of my father. If I couldn’t help Maggie, I could damned sure get some answers.

“Why haven’t they found her yet?” Zach’s voice echoed down the hall.

“They will.” I set my hands on his shoulders.

He reared back and punched me in the chest a few times. “I told you if you hurt her— If anything happened to her— You’re supposed to protect your women.”

“I’m sorry.” Feeling as helpless as the kid, I wrapped my arms around Zach’s shoulders.

“She has to be okay.”

My phone buzzed. A call from a blocked number. “Go get your uncles.”

Zach nodded and took off down the hall.

“Marchionni.”

“I have something of yours.” The man sounded as if he worked to disguise his voice.

Heart pounding, I forced my voice to remain detached. “I’m listening.”

“One hundred thousand in cash and another five million transferred into my account. You’ll receive a text with the wiring instructions. I’ll contact you with the location of the exchange once I have confirmation of the transaction.”

“You hurt her and I will rain hell—”

The caller disconnected.

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