Chapter 10

ten

. . .

Cross

" P ick up the phone, you bastard," I growled as I paced back and forth in my room.

What the fuck was McCreedy doing that kept him from answering my calls? There shouldn't be a damn thing aside from death or incapacitation that sent me to fucking voicemail. But I'd called twice now.

Twice.

Both times ended with me hanging up when his automated greeting kicked in.

"You better be fucking dying, asshole."

I hit the call button a third time, already thinking through how I could get out of our contract and fire his ass if he didn't answer. It would be a shame. His family had worked with mine a long time, and I considered him a friend, but River's life was on the line. I couldn't have her wasting away while he sat around with his dick in his hand.

"Cross . . . what's . . . up?" His heaving breaths between each word said he'd been running . . . or fucking. Hell.

"Where the good goddamn were you?"

"Dealing with . . . the . . . demon you saddled me with."

"She can't be that bad."

He huffed. "She's a fucking . . . hellcat."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Please tell me you aren't fucking her."

There was a slight pause. "Don't ask questions you don't want answers to."

Fuck.

"Jackson . . ."

Clearing his throat, he said, "What can I do for you, Cross?"

Bishop's words echoed in my mind as I recalled the intense conversation we had before I made this call.

"How much should I be prepared to spend?"

Bishop sat down on the couch and sighed. "We've seen girls go for half a mil, easy."

"Then we'll have a million ready," Walker said. "Can we get that much?"

I wasn't sure, but we'd have to. It wasn't so much a matter of money as time. Liquidating that many assets in a day or two would be tricky. "I'll call McCreedy, see what can be done on short notice."

"Sell Dad's cars. As many as you need to. I don't want ' em if she's not here."

My chest ached at the thought of her not coming home. Walker and I were of one mind. Money was nothing. We'd live in a shack as long as we had her. Rising from my chair, I gave the two of them a tight nod and headed to my room so I could make my call.

McCreedy said my name again, pulling me back from the memory. Swallowing through a thick throat, I said, "I need you to get me a million dollars by tomorrow. Cash."

He laughed. "You're hilarious."

"I'm serious."

"This is about"—there was a beat of silence where I could easily picture him checking to make sure he was alone—" her , isn't it?"

"Yes."

He blew out a breath. "I mean, if we were talking wire transfer, no problem. If you want me to hand you a suitcase filled with cash, that's going to take some time."

"We don't have time. We have a day. And you're wasting it."

"Jesus, Cross."

Remembering what Walker said, I added, "Oh, do you still have that guy's name? The one who wanted to buy Hades?"

"Uh, yeah. Stuart something. I'm sure I can find it."

"Call him. Tell him if he can pay in cash today, the horse is his."

McCreedy whistled softly. "You serious, Cross? You love that horse."

"Not as much as I love her." I wasn't ever gonna shy away from the truth about how deep my feelings ran for my wife again. She'd gone too many years thinking she meant nothing to me. From now on, every fucking person on this earth would know she was my everything. There wasn't another option.

"And the asking price?"

"A hundred grand. No negotiation."

He sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

"No. You'll do it, or don't show your face in town again."

"I'll call you when it's done."

"A million. I mean it. And if you can't get it in cash, get creative. Pink slips. Items from the family vault. Anything to make up the difference."

"You're gonna trade in your mama's jewels?"

"I will hand over every fucking thing I have if it means I get her back in one piece. Do you hear me? Every. Fucking. Thing. Now make it happen, Jackson. I'm counting on you. No, fuck that. She's counting on you."

Was it fair to put the weight of our mess on him? No, but I didn't care. If it was the only way for him to do what needed to be done, I'd use every dirty trick in the book. This was her life on the line. Nothing was off limits.

Not even Mama's ring. The priceless piece of jewelry flashed in my mind, and a pang of loss hit me hard. River should be wearing it, but if we had to, we'd sell it too. It might be the last piece I let go of, but we'd sell all of it.

After a longer than usual pause, McCreedy replied, "Okay. I'm on it." His tone had a somber edge to it now. He understood the gravity of my situation and had shifted from beleaguered lawyer to loyal friend.

"Thank you."

I hung up just as a female voice filtered to my ears from the other end of the phone, and I simply had to trust Jackson not to fill River's friend in on our situation. Gigi wasn't going to be any help right now, but once we got River back, I had a feeling she'd be invaluable.

I was on pins and needles as I waited for Jackson to come through our front door the day after I'd called him. He'd buzzed for entry at the gate, and now it was only a matter of minutes before we had what we needed. We had three hours until the auction, and every passing second without a call from him had spun me tighter than a rattler coiled and ready to strike.

"Calm down, Cross. You're like a damn lion in a cage over there. He's comin'. We're fine," Walker said, but his shoulders were tight, eyes betraying his own stress. If not for the cane, he'd likely be pacing right alongside me.

The second Jackson's Aston Martin came to a stop, I was out the door and moving toward him. There was no missing his passenger, the pretty brunette's hair flying wildly around her thanks to the convertible's top being down.

"You've gotta be fucking shitting me," I gritted out under my breath.

Gigi—because that would be the only woman he'd be bold enough to bring with him—clutched the leather bag in her arms like it was a lifeline.

"Get out of the damn car, Virginia," Jackson barked.

"Go to hell, jackwad."

"I'm already there, hellcat," he growled. "Have been since the day you showed up in my office."

I smirked despite myself. In any other situation, this would be entertainment at its finest.

"Did you seriously bring a date to a business meeting?" Walker asked from behind me.

"Is that what we're calling this?" Gigi asked. "Is it normal to bring bags full of cash to"—she loosened her death grip on the bag just long enough to make elaborate finger quotes—"business meetings?"

"Damn, now we have to kill her," Walker murmured.

Her eyes widened, but to her credit, she didn't back down. "I'd like to see you try."

"Don't make any sudden moves, boys. She's unhinged. She grabbed the bag and wouldn't let go. That's the only reason she's here." McCreedy looked so harried I almost felt a twinge of sympathy for the man.

I'd never seen him this out of sorts in my life. Woman clearly had him by the balls. I hope she led him on a merry chase. After we got River back.

"All right, spitfire. Hand it over," I said as she got out of the convertible. "It's important. River needs it."

Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "River? Why would she need this much money? Isn't she like a gazillionaire now?"

Christ, this was a minefield. I didn't see a way of getting through this without telling her the truth. At least part of it.

Walker and I exchanged looks, clearly on the same page, but it was Bishop who pulled the trigger. I hadn't even heard the man join us until his voice cut through the silence.

"River's been taken."

"Taken? Like the Liam Neeson movie?"

Bishop nodded.

"So what's this for?"

"Ransom," he said smoothly.

"Oh God," she whimpered. "Has anyone told Bear? He'll want to help. He still knows some guys from his days in the service. He can call in favors. He?—"

She was talking fast, clearly in the midst of a panic spiral.

Bishop cut off her ramble, his words blunt but gentle despite that. "Bear's dead. He died trying to keep her from being taken."

Well, that was one way to tell her. I was all for ripping off the Band-aid, but this seemed a bit extreme. Especially in the wake of the River bomb he'd just lobbed at her.

"Wh-what?"

Her knees gave out, McCreedy catching her before she could hit the ground. The bag she'd been clutching didn't fare as well. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Jonah . . . I can't . . . it can't be true," she whispered, the words turning to sobs.

As Jackson comforted the shattered woman in his arms, Bishop calmly strolled to the bag and picked it up, ignoring the scene he'd caused.

Returning to us, he said quietly, "My intel says she'll be the final lot of the night."

I gritted my teeth, hating that these fuckers were going to parade her around like my wife was theirs to possess.

Gigi cast a tearful but suspicious gaze our way, proving once again that she was every inch her brother's sister. "Intel? Why does a ranch hand have intel about River? What else are you guys hiding?"

"Uh . . ." Walker started, casting a worried glance between us and the crying woman.

Just because we knew Bishop's truth didn't mean we could hand it out freely. But at this point, we just needed to be done with this conversation. We didn't have time for a long, drawn-out story.

Bishop looked to me, then back at Gigi. "I'm not exactly a ranch hand."

"He's FBI," I offered, trying not to make it a big fucking deal. "And it's probably best you don't ask any more questions."

McCreedy was fuming. I could understand it. As our lawyer, it was his job to keep our asses out of jail. Fraternizing with an FBI agent was basically in direct opposition to his key directive. And now there was one more witness he'd have to deal with.

"Just don't come crawling to me when you get yourselves dead," he grumbled.

"Isn't that pretty much impossible?" Walker asked in a poor excuse of a whisper.

McCreedy ignored my brother. Instead, tucking Gigi into his side, he made to put her back in the car. "Now I've gotta deal with this. Fuck, I hate it when women cry."

Instead of allowing herself to be herded, Gigi locked her legs and stood her ground. "I'm staying here."

"Was she invited?" Walker asked.

"I want to be here when River gets back. And this was the last place my brother was alive. I'll feel closer to them both here than in some frou-frou hotel room."

Honestly, I understood her better than I thought I would. I'd want the same thing. She was River's family. Plus, now that she knew the truth, there was no reason to send her away. I was willing to bet Virginia Blake would chew off her own leg before doing anything to put River at risk.

"She stays. Jackson, set her up in the first-floor guest suite." Turning to Gigi, I softened my voice and explained, "That's where your brother was staying. All his things are still there."

With a curt nod of her wobbly chin, she shrugged out of Jackson's hold and made her way into the house.

"You should stay too, Jackson. Until this all blows over, no one is safe," Walker said.

"Y'all don't pay me enough for this shit," he said with a beleaguered sigh.

Once they were inside, I turned my attention back to Bishop. "Was it really the best move letting her in on your secret?"

"Technically, you're the one who shared it."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

He shrugged. "I don't fucking care anymore. I'll answer to the feds later. Right now, I just want to get her back."

"Then let's get ready. We've got two hours to go until she's home where she belongs."