Golden Trail (The 'Burg #3)(62)

“I know it’s Carlito, I got some boys I can give calls. I’ll run this down for Colt and Sully, Mike and Sean too. We’ll see what we can shake out,” Merry offered.

“Good,” Layne replied.

“Sorry you gotta deal with this shit, brother but I’m afraid I gotta lay more on you,” Merry told him.

Layne stared and didn’t say a word. He had other things to talk to Merry about but he’d take whatever Merry had to dish out and move to the important shit later.

So he invited, “Lay it on me.”

Merry sat back. “Well, this morning, I got word from a friend, who has a friend who’s been hired by Jarrod to investigate you and Rocky.”

There it was. Rocky was right.

“Not a surprise, Merry, I saw him taking pictures into Rocky’s house when I was there last night. She called it, knew exactly why he was there. The only problem with that shit is he’s usin’ up money she should get in the divorce settlement with this garbage. He’s got a girl who looks like she kissed her teenage years good-bye about a month ago in his bed and Rocky has been outta that house for months. Her bein’ with me isn’t gonna get him shit.”

He watched Merry’s lips thin then he said, “She would call it, seein’ as I phoned her during her lunch hour to give her the head’s up and then I got her to share what she’s not been sharin’ with anyone but Dad.”

That did not sound good. Raquel shared everything with Merry. If she was keeping something from him, it was something bad, as in, something that would make good ole boy Garrett Merrick go ballistic.

“What?” Layne asked.

“Where should I start?” Merry asked back.

“Garrett,” Layne said low.

“Okay, first, he’s moved their money. All of it.”

Layne’s back straightened in his chair. “Come again?”

“Drained their joint accounts, bank, investment and liquidated stock portfolios. Opened up new accounts in his name only and deposited the money there.”

That didn’t come up in his searches.

“When?” Layne bit off.

“Last week. She started buyin’ shit for her apartment, he cut her off. Started there, she found out on Saturday when she tried to buy something that he cancelled her credit cards. She only has two but they’re also joint and he’s cancelled them both.”

“Fucking shit,” Layne ground out.

“Unh-hunh,” Merry nodded.

“What the f**k are her attorneys doing?”

“What they can, which isn’t much since he’s refusing to meet. You know, brother, the wheels of justice don’t roll, they grind. Their court date isn’t for five and a half months.”

“He can’t take all the money like that, Merry,” Layne clipped.

“He can until the powers that be tell him to give it back,” Merry returned.

“You’re wrong, Merry, he can’t do that. He pulls this shit, Rocky’s attorneys can move to have his assets frozen.”

“I’m right, Layne, because Dr. Astley isn’t just Dr. Astley. Why do you think their court date is buried for five and a half months? She’ll be lucky to see that, big man. They’ll postpone and delay until she’s desperate. He doesn’t just make money, he comes from it. These boys who got Roc’s life in their hands aren’t in his pocket, they grew up together. They’re brothers, brother, like you and me.”

“Goddammit!” Layne exploded, pushing back and out of his chair, curling his fist around his phone, he turned to the window and stared out at Main Street, his fists to his hips.

“I’m guessin’ from that reaction she didn’t share with you,” Merry noted.

“No, she didn’t share,” Layne told the window. “She said he was playing dirty, she just didn’t say how.”

“Now you know.”

Layne made a decision and turned to face his friend.

“Names,” he growled.

“What?”

“You said he was bangin’ every nurse on staff, I want names. I want the name of every woman he even looked at too long since two seconds after he laid eyes on Rocky.”

Merry smiled and it was cruel. “Not enough paper in the ‘burg for that list, Tanner.”

“I’ll order a box for you on-line, have it delivered to your condo.”

Merry nodded, still smiling but the cruelty had gone out and humor had seeped in.

“You might find time to walk across your street,” he suggested. “Natalie Ulrich isn’t Dr. Astley’s biggest fan considering he’s not just a dick, he’s an arrogant dick and, if he isn’t bonin’ the nurses, he’s givin’ them shit. Emma’s friends with Natalie and Emma tells me Natalie’s in throes of ecstasy that Rocky’s Merc is in your drive. Apparently, she’s big into romance novels and she’s thinkin’ one’s playin’ out on her very own street.”

“Natalie just got scratched on the top of my to-do list,” Layne muttered and his phone chimed in his hand.

He dropped his head, flipped it open and saw that Rocky had sent him the number. Nothing else, just the digits.

Fuck.

He flipped the phone shut, tossed it on his desk, sat back down, looked at Merry and got down to the important shit.