Paige stared at him, a little surprised. “You’re not mad at me?”
“I just needed the whole story.”
“Gunner, I’d understand if you no longer wanted to have to do anything with me.”
“What are you talking about? Nothing’s changed between us,” Gunner said, slamming her mouth with his. She clutched at his shirt, then paused.
“What’s going to happen now?” she asked him.
“First, we need to figure out what was stolen from you,” Gunner said.“From there, we can formulate a new game plan. Deal?
“Deal.” Paige suddenly hugged him.“Thank you for sticking with me despite all the luggage I came with.”
“Not your fault your ex-husband’s a prick,” Gunner said. “But I have one condition.”
“What’s that?” She suddenly looked wary.
“Now that your location’s compromised, you’re no longer safe here. Move in with me at the clubhouse. Whoever Richard hired won’t be able to find you or touch you there.”
Paige seemed to think about it for a few moments, then nodded. “I understand and I agree.”
Gunner thought he would have needed to convince her more to move out of her apartment. “Okay. That’s enough excitement for the day. Let’s head back to the clubhouse. Rest up and tomorrow, we’ll come back here. I’ll get Brick to help us search. Deal?”
“Deal,” she answered.
Chapter Six
Fred Black, the private investigator Richard Montgomery hired, gave Richard a greasy smile as he joined him at the table. The prick had chosen a pricy steak restaurant in the city for their meeting place. No doubt Black knew Richard would foot the bill. Richard tapped his manicured fingernails on the table cloth, impatient.
The waiter arrived and asked what they wanted to order. Richard chose a glass of wine. Black studied his menu intently, then ordered an entire bottle of the restaurant’s finest white wine, along with a prime cut of steak.
Richard’s patience was at a limit, but he reeled in his temper. In truth, the meal would cost him peanuts. His concern was losing his temper in public, a huge no-no, especially from someone of his stature.
Hell, being here with a lowlife like Black was a risk. That was why Richard said they should meet early, before the dinner crowd came rushing in. “Well, what have you found?” Richard demanded.
“Let’s wait for the wine. I’m thirsty,” Black said.
Richard gritted his teeth. Black knew how hungry he was for information about his bitch of an ex-wife. While his father paid a good PR team to keep his divorce under wraps, Richard’s close acquaintances, friends, and the rest of his family members all knew the sordid truth. That his darling ex-wife had blackmailed Richard’s father so Richard would divorce her.
When Richard married Paige, she’d been a poor nobody. He thought having a doormat to push around might be convenient. Richard never planned to be married to Paige long-term. Someone who came from a prestigious family like him ought to be married to someone more worthy. But being married to Paige allowed him a certain freedom, like his whores and his mistresses. All that came to an end after his father confronted him with the evidence Paige had gathered. Richard thought he’d married a brainless pushover. Paige must be gloating by now, wherever she was.
After Black finished one glass of wine and took a few bites of his steak, Richard had had it. “If you’re not going to provide me with the information I hired you for, Mr. Black, then I’ll hire someone else,” Richard said in a biting voice. “And I don’t need to remind you that those who’ve failed me always suffer the consequences of my rage.”
Black quickly swallowed a thick piece of steak. He coughed, drank more wine, and then cleaned the steak juices on his chin with a napkin. “Right. Let’s get to it.”
Black pulled out a brown envelope from his battered briefcase. Richard accepted the envelope, then dumped the contents on the table. Papers. Richard picked them up and smiled, seeing Paige’s name on an apartment rental agreement. He frowned as he read the address.
“Grace? That’s an actual town name?” Richard asked. “Where the hell is that?”
“A small town of no importance. It’s about a three-hour drive from the city,” Black said. The repulsive man cut another piece of steak. “Grace also happens to be your ex-wife’s hometown.”
“Paige never mentioned the place,” Richard said drily. Maybe Paige did, but he never paid attention to whatever came out of her mouth. It was always nonsensical drivel. Her naivety had been endearing at first, but that hadn’t lasted long.
“It’s a shithole,” Black said.
Richard shuffled through the papers and saw photographs underneath. Pictures of a crappy-looking apartment, the street view of the apartment building Paige lived in. The other photos interested him more.
Paige in some sort of bookstore, wearing an apron. Black had taken the picture from outside the store. Was she actually working in such a place? Richard frowned at the last photo. Paige was behind the counter, talking to a large, muscular man wearing a leather jacket. Richard couldn’t make out the man’s features, but Paige was laughing in that photo.
