Deadly Game (Fortress Security #5)(49)

“How could I not? Their murders are plastered all over the news.”

That made Rowan pause. She hadn’t watched the news since she and Brent found Heather and Jay. Now she was glad she hadn’t. Seeing the media coverage of the murders would contribute to the nightmares she already wrestled with at night. Rowan suspected she wouldn’t sleep undisturbed for years to come.

She yanked her attention back on task. “I scheduled Jay and Heather’s funeral for Friday at noon. Since you were a colleague, would you be willing to share a couple of funny stories about Jay?”

Nolan grimaced. “I don’t do public speaking,” he muttered.

Rowan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Barely. “I was going to ask Toby Minter to share a story, but that’s impossible now. I’d be grateful if you would contribute to their service, Nolan. I don’t know who else to ask. You and Toby were the only friends of Jay that I met.”

“What do you mean, it’s impossible to ask Toby to speak? He’s not answering his phone or refusing to talk to you?”

Oh, boy. Nolan didn’t know about Toby. “I can’t ask him to speak because he’s dead.”

Nolan’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. I talked to him a few hours ago.”

“Someone shot him in the head. I need you to help me out at the service. Will you do it?”

The balding, paunchy man sat in silence a moment. “Yeah, okay. Where is this service?”

Rowan gave him the address of the funeral home and repeated the time, wondering if Nolan would show up. Wouldn’t surprise her if he didn’t bother. “Thank you.”

“Sure. Is that all?” Nolan stood.

“Did you know Jay’s daughter, Alexa, is missing?” Brent asked.

The man froze. “Missing?” His gaze shifted to Rowan. “You don’t have her?”

“The men who killed Heather and Jay took my niece, Nolan.”

“Took her? Why?” His voice rose. “That doesn’t make sense. She’s just a kid.”

“A very scared one. The kidnappers called me. She’s crying all the time. I’m afraid they’ll hurt her. I need your help, Nolan. Alexa needs your help.” Surely he wouldn’t refuse to help a young child?

Nolan swallowed hard. “What am I supposed to do about her disappearance?”

“Talk to us.” Brent rested his forearms on his thighs as he leaned closer to Jay’s colleague. “Alexa’s life is at stake.”

“I don’t know anything,” the other man insisted.

“I think you do.”

“You claim to be her boyfriend. Why haven’t I ever seen you with her before?” Nolan asked, suspicion in his voice.

“We’ve been friends for a while,” Rowan said. “The dating relationship is new. You, Toby, and Jay were all in business together, weren’t you?”

“Stay out of this, Rowan. You don’t want to get involved.”

“Too late for that. Answer my question.”

“All right, all right. We had a few business deals. What’s that got to do with the murder?”

“Their deaths have the earmark of a cartel hit,” Brent said.

Nolan started for the door, in an obvious hurry to get rid of them. “You have to go. I’ve got stuff to do.”

“There’s nowhere to run.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Yeah? How about this? You three decided to take a shortcut to easy money and started your own drug business. The Navarro cartel makes no secret of its desire to capture a major portion of the drug trade in the United States. My guess is the militia groups were looking for a quick score. I don’t know yet why they wanted to get involved with drugs, but I know the Volunteer militia in particular is chummy with the Navarro cartel. I’ll keep digging until I find out all the details.”

“Why do you care? This doesn’t concern you.”

“It matters to Rowan and that makes it my business.”

Nolan turned his desperate gaze toward her. “Keep your nose out of this. These people aren’t fooling around. If you don’t stop, that little girl will end up a ward of the state.”

“Never happen,” Brent said. “Rowan is mine to protect and that makes Alexa mine as well. No one will hurt either of them.”

Rowan stared at Brent. He sounded as if he meant those statements. Did he think of her and Alexa as belonging with him? Butterflies danced in her stomach at the prospect. He was such an amazing man. The idea of a close personal relationship with the Navy SEAL made her feel giddy inside. If he was making those statements as another form of protection, she’d be disappointed. She more than liked Brent Maddox. Too bad for her peace of mind the Fortress CEO was better at hiding his emotions than she was.

“You don’t know these people,” he hissed. “They’re dangerous. They’ll do anything to protect themselves and their business enterprises.”

Brent snorted. “Business enterprises? Navarro deals in misery, White. They prey on people, selling drugs, promising a false happiness that ultimately leads to their destruction. And the human trafficking? No one deserves to be sold into slavery. If Navarro obtains Alexa, that beautiful child will end up a sex slave and die before she reaches adulthood.”