She Can Hide (She Can #4)(71)

The old man nodded. One member of the security team faded to stand against the wall. The other exited, Ethan assumed to take a post on the other side of the door.

The old man held out a hand to Ethan. “Ryland Valentine.”

Holy freaking shit.

No wonder he looked familiar. Tycoon. Mobster. Whatever label you wanted to hang on him, Ryland Valentine was a serious BFD. Sporadic racketeering, drug dealing, and murder investigations on Ryland magically melted like ice cubes in August. Maybe his fancy suit was coated with Teflon. Ethan had never seen him in person, and the last time Ryland had been in the media spotlight was several years ago. He’d been heavier. Ethan supposed aging was the one thing Ryland couldn’t buy or bully his way out of.

And Abby had been one of his…? Ethan tried to block the mental image as he stared her down. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about him.”

“I’ve never told anyone about him.” Abby closed her eyes for two seconds. When she opened them, she looked to Valentine. “I changed my mind. I’d love a scotch.”

Valentine went to a small bar and poured her a generous shot of amber liquid from a decanter. He didn’t offer Ethan a drink.

She took a sip and a deep breath. “My relationship with Ryland isn’t public information.”

“I’m hardly the public,” Ethan said. Had anything between them been real? Or had he been duped? “But seriously, isn’t he a little old for you?”

Her jaw dropped. “You think…?”

Ethan ground his molars. “Was it the money or the power?”

Ryland barked out a surprised laugh. He returned to the bar, refreshed his drink, and poured another. He handed Ethan the tumbler. “Now I understand.”

What. The. Hell?

Easing into a white leather chair, he raised his glass to Abby. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”

Her brows drew together. “Is it all right with you?”

Ryland lifted a hand. “Go ahead. Your Officer Hale isn’t a threat to me.”

Ethan wasn’t following the conversation, but for some reason he resented not being considered a threat.

Abby held her glass in both hands. Her eyes met Ethan’s. “Ryland is my father.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Abby waited for Ethan’s reaction. His gaze darted back and forth between her and her father.

Ryland set his glass down on the table. “We don’t look much alike. Abby looks exactly like her mother.” His eyes softened. “She was beautiful and blonde as well.”

“I came here to ask for Ryland’s help.” Abby took another tiny sip of scotch. The liquid warmed her throat and stilled the turmoil in her belly.

“You shouldn’t have taken off like that.” Ethan still looked shell-shocked by her news.

Abby didn’t apologize. “I’m desperate. Ryland can do things you can’t. He doesn’t always play by the rules.” The jab at Ethan left a foul taste in her mouth. She washed it away with scotch.

“That’s not fair.” Ethan’s jaw jutted. “I didn’t have any choice.”

“I know,” Abby admitted. “But the fact stands that Derek is in foster care, it’s my fault, and you can’t help.”

“I’m doing everything I can, including wasting time chasing you to Atlantic City.”

Ryland snapped to attention. “Derek? Foster care. Do you have a child?”

“No. Derek is my neighbor’s son. The man who tried to kill me twice started a relationship with Derek’s mother so that he could watch me. He was stalking me from the house next door.” Abby shivered. Sleeping had been difficult before. How would she ever close her eyes again? “I think he took my neighbor with him when he ran. I’m worried he’ll hurt her or go after Derek. They’ve seen his face. They can identify him. If he’s arrested and tried, they could testify against him.”

“We no longer need Derek or his mother to establish his identity.” Ethan put his glass down and paced the carpet in front of the coffee table. “His fingerprints were in the system. We know who he is.”

Abby sat up. “Who?”

Ethan addressed Ryland. “Do you know Joe Torres?”

“No.” Ryland motioned to the silent man by the door. The guard nodded and slipped out of the office. “We will know everything about him shortly.”

Abby rolled her glass between her palms. Light swirled gold in the scant amount of liquid left in her glass. “Did Torres kill Faulkner and Detective Abrams? If so, then why? If not, then who did?”

“Other than being established criminals, is there any relationship between Torres and Faulkner?” Ethan pivoted, took three steps, and turned again. He swept both hands through his hair. Frustration pulsed from his ever-moving body. “Since Abby has never heard of either of them, did the same person hire them both to kill her?”

Ryland’s man came back into the room. Ryland got up and met him at the door. The guard murmured in his boss’s ear. Ryland turned back to Abby and Ethan. “Excuse me. I have to make a call.”

The only sound in the room was the soft scuff of Ethan’s boots in the carpet.

Abby tossed back the remaining mouthful of scotch. Her empty tumbler clinked as she set it on the glass table. The liquor melted her inhibitions. She raised her chin and followed Ethan’s lean body as he stalked back and forth across the office. “I’m sorry I took off.”