Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(40)

The introductions had been brief, consisting mostly of first names. Since Reagan knew most everyone at the table, she hadn’t been listening, choosing instead to wipe the condensation from her glass with one finger.

“Wait,” Rhys said. “Your last name is Adorite?”

Her brother was talking to the beautiful woman they’d been introduced to earlier. Apparently, she was a lawyer, or going to school to be one, but Reagan didn’t quite know what she specialized in, nor did she know how her being here was going to help the situation. It seemed they needed more guns, less people since this crazy fuck was on a rampage, trying to kill anyone who was even close to Amy.

The woman nodded.

“As in the Southern Boy Mafia?” Rhys questioned. The way he said the words didn’t sound as though he was all that impressed.

“Yes,” she replied flatly.

“And you’re related to Max Adorite how?”

“He’s my brother.”

“Fuck.” Rhys thrust his hand through his hair.

“What?” Lynx asked. “What does that mean?”

It appeared no one, including Reagan, knew what the hell was going on. No one other than Rhys and this woman. Madison Adorite.

“And you asked her to be here?” Rhys confirmed, his tone suspicious as he glanced over at Travis.

“I did,” Travis confirmed. “Her brother wanted her here.”

Reagan watched the lawyer skeptically. It was obvious she hadn’t been told what was going on until this morning. Probably not until she had arrived at the diner, Reagan would venture to guess. She seemed to be eyeing everyone the same way Rhys was eyeing her. With both curiosity and not a small amount of distrust.

“I need to talk to you,” Madison told Amy, her eyes softening. “I hate to put you through it again, but I need to get the full story. From the beginning.”

Madison Adorite looked confident, despite the fact that she was definitely young. Really young, if Reagan had to guess. Twenty-three, maybe twenty-four. How she was a lawyer at that age was beyond Reagan.

As though she’d read Reagan’s thoughts, Madison’s tone changed slightly when she added, “I’m here because my brother Victor couldn’t be. If this is something Max can help with, my brother will take it on. However, I’ll be feeding them information.” She peered over at Travis, then back at the group. “It has been requested that my presence here in Embers Ridge be exploited as much as possible. The consensus seems to be that once this man hears the name Adorite, he’s going to get curious.”

“Why?” Wolfe asked, leaning back and watching them.

“Because she’s an Adorite,” Rhys mumbled. “As in mafia. No way the chief of police isn’t familiar with the name.”

That seemed to draw Wolfe’s and Lynx’s attention.

“That’s correct. This man”—her voice lowered—“the chief of police, is going to recognize my name for sure. The man is power hungry. If he thinks he can possibly bring down the Adorites, or the Southern Boy Mafia as you so kindly refer to us, then he’ll likely step out of the shadows. It works twofold. If he can work a case, he’ll have a legitimate reason to be here, and since he wants to be here for other reasons…”

Reagan still didn’t understand what the point of it all was. Why didn’t someone just call the guy up and challenge him or something?

“And why would he do that?” Wolfe inquired.

“Because it’ll make his career,” Rhys stated, as though that was completely obvious.

“But what sort of criminal activity can he possibly get you on here in Embers Ridge?” Wolfe asked.

“He can’t,” Madison said, her tone a little haughty. “But he doesn’t know that. And the overall objective is to get him here.”

“And how do you propose we get the word out?” Lynx asked.

“If this place is anything like Coyote Ridge, it won’t take much,” Gage noted.

Lynx laughed, apparently amused. “True. I did manage to put together a party in a matter of minutes.”

“More than once,” Rhys grumbled.

“Well, then I’d think it wouldn’t take much,” Travis said.

Lynx leaned back, his arm coming around Reagan, resting on the back of her chair as he stared at Madison. “Well, I hope you’re ready, ’cause you just inserted yourself in the middle of town, honey.” He used his free hand to wave around the diner. “This is it, sweetheart. And as of the second you stepped in the building, all eyes went to you. Shit. There’s prob’ly gossip takin’ place as we speak. Don’t let the lack of warm bodies in this place fool ya.”

“Good thing is, most of the town’s at church right now,” Wolfe stated, glancing between Travis, Gage, and Madison. “But that won’t last long, so I suggest you get your grins on and we kick this up a notch.”

Yep, Reagan knew that, come noon, the diner would be flooded. And by two, everyone would know who Madison Adorite was and they’d likely have a million different reasons as to why she was in town. With Reagan’s bar exploding, everyone was going to want to know what happened, and the fastest way to do that was for the busybodies to congregate in town.

Which reminded her, she’d need to call the insurance company first thing in the morning since she’d been right. When she’d tried to call earlier, she’d gotten a voice mail system.