Page 122 of High Stakes

Is he really that upset that Matteo is dating his sister, or is the issue deeper than that?

“Does Skylar know yet?” I ask.

Owen squeezes my shoulders. “Not that I’m aware of. Matteo isn’t sure how he wants to handle it, and I’m certainly not getting in the middle of that. We still don’t know his motives. What did you find? Luke said he sent you hunting for a money trail.”

I outline the major points from my digging, including the fact that the same people who paid Lorenzo and Renda St. Claire, seem to have paid Bryce, as well.

“Can we trace how far back Bryce has been getting payments?” I ask when I’m done.

Owen goes to a chair and opens a backpack, pulling out a thin tablet. “Let’s see what we can find.”

He pushes another chair close to the bed for me, and I sit, picking up Tobias’s hand as I do.

“I’m so glad you’re OK,” I murmur. “This isn’t exactly where I wanted to tell you I love you for the first time, but I’m just grateful I got to tell you at all.”

He squeezes my hand. “Where did you want to tell me, vixen?”

His eyes are tired, but I see a spark of lust in them when he asks, and I chuckle. “No dirty thoughts. It can’t be good for your blood pressure.”

He lets out a hoarse laugh. “Dirty thoughts kind of just happen where you’re concerned. That doesn’t answer my question, though.”

I lift one shoulder in a half shrug. “Somewhere special. Maybe the club, or out on a date.”

“We have a lifetime to say it to each other, vixen. You might even get me to admit to loving Owen just a little.”

I giggle when Owen wads up a tissue from a nearby box and throws it at us. It feels good and wrong to laugh at a time like this, but knowing that Tobias is going to be OK, and hearing his confession of love, has lightened my mood considerably.

“Son of a bitch,” Owen mutters a few seconds later.

“What is it?” I move to stand, but Tobias stops me, and Owen comes back to the bed and hands me the tablet.

“Jesus Christ,” I whisper when I see what Owen is talking about. “I found a payment to Donovan Bowden, too. You think Bryce was involved in killing Ernesto Trentini, don’t you?”

The payments to Bryce started just a few days after his sister came to town and testified against some Russian gangsters, and they got significantly bigger after Ernesto Trentini was killed.

“We need to uncover who is behind the shell company paying all these people,” Owen mutters.

I look over at Tobias, to ask if Bryce has said anything else, but his eyes are closed. The nurses must have given him something to help him sleep.

I lift a finger to my lips, and Owen stands, reaching for my hand. It kills me to leave Tobias, but I know he’ll be safe here. Owen and I have work to do.

In the hall, Owen holds my hand and pulls me toward an elevator.

“Where are we going to go?” I ask.

“Somewhere I can spank you,” he mutters, punching the down button for the bank of elevators.

“Come on, Sir, be serious. We have a lot of work to do. Where is Bryce?”

Owen’s laugh is sinister. “What gives you the idea he’s still alive?”

My stomach twists, but before I can ask any more questions the doors slide open. The elevator isn’t empty, so we have to be quiet. He pushes me into the elevator and slips behind me to put his arms around my waist as the doors slide closed again.

When we reach the parking lot, we walk past my bike, and I look at it longingly.

Owen smacks my ass. “Don’t even start, Bellamy. You can have it back when this is over.”

“Yes, Sir,” I mutter.

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