“I do know this guy, Emily. I just spent quite a bit of time with his finances this morning.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “How do you think I discovered your real identity? You did a hell of a cover-up job—employment history, references, driver’s license, a little social media. Helluva job, Officer Lang.”
“Stop—” she held up one hand “—calling me that. You can’t possibly believe Marcus Lanier is involved in the drug trade.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You do know what I’m talking about.”
“Okay, look. I hacked into your personal email account and I saw his name listed on some spreadsheet, but I thought maybe he was a donor or something.”
“I guess he is—a money donor to you and a sperm donor to Jaycee.” He hit his fist on his knee. “That’s really what you thought, or is that what you wanted to believe as long as he’s throwing the money your way?”
“I had no idea, and I still don’t believe it.” She plowed her fingers through her hair. “He’s an important figure in Phoenix. His wife is on all the charity boards. They’re movers and shakers.”
“His wife, Ming Lee Hong, is from a criminal family in China. She’s no angel.”
“Wait, wait. Even if Lanier is involved in the drug trade, and I’m not convinced, how does that cancel out his concern for his son?” Lifting her shoulders, she spread her hands. “Bad guys are fathers, too, concerned fathers.”
Nash tapped his head. “You’re not connecting the dots, but you weren’t a cop long enough to make detective, were you?”
She tossed her hair and shot him a glance from her green eyes that looked almost...predatory. “What dots?”
“Let’s for the sake of argument agree that Lanier is involved with the cartels. You don’t think it’s coincidental that he’s following a baby that one of the cartels is following? That his so-called mistress, Jaycee, also happens to be involved with a man, Brett, who has drug associations?”
“Are you saying that Lanier sent me and those two thugs after Wyatt? For what? Insurance?”
“I don’t know, yet, Emily, but think about it. It’s too coincidental. If I didn’t know what I do about Marcus Lanier and his connections, your story might make sense.” Nash wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel. “I could understand a man wanting to keep tabs on his son if he felt the mother was unreliable or negligent and even waiting to get paternity results before making a move, but Lanier?”
“What possible reason could Marcus Lanier have for hiring a PI to follow a baby that’s not even his?” She pressed her fingers to her temples.
“Same reason two members of a drug cartel are after him.”
“To get to Brett?” Her eyes popped open, and she took a quick glance at Wyatt in the back seat, gnawing on the corner of his caterpillar. “But why use me to do it if you’ve got a couple of violent gofers ready to do the deed?”
“For the same reason those violent gofers, which has me picturing rabid, bucktoothed animals, didn’t strong-arm their way into my house. How much more civilized and less upsetting for a pretty, young nanny to abscond with the baby. It’s still a crime, but not a crime that can be attached to him.”
“Until I tell the authorities I was working for Marcus Lanier.”
Nash met her wide eyes and then dropped his gaze.
“What?” She grabbed his arm. “What’s that look?”
“If Marcus Lanier is who we think he is, he’s a very dangerous man. He could be setting you up. He could have plans for you.”
She crossed her arms, rubbing her skin. “You’re freaking me out.”
“We have to get Wyatt to safety.” Nash tapped the clock display on the dashboard. “It’s almost your meeting time. Your buddy is going to come after you when you don’t show up at the appointed time.”
“I could’ve been more than halfway to Phoenix by now.”
“Halfway to Marcus Lanier.” Nash reached around and tugged on Wyatt’s bare foot. “Let’s get him out of here. The AC isn’t even cold anymore.”
“Your truck?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
“Can I trust you not to go speeding off to Phoenix?”
“You can trust me.” She held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
“Let’s get back to my place. We can leave your car there and we’ll take my truck out of town, just to get some breathing room.” He snapped his fingers. “Better yet, we can pick up that GPS tracker in my driveway and attach it back to your car. I can have my buddy drive the car somewhere, down to the border, to buy us some time.”
“What about Denali?”
“I’ll ask him to take Denali, too. His girlfriend has looked after him before, so the dog will be fine with them.”
“Would your friend do all that for you?”
“He owes me a couple of favors.” Nash grabbed her purse and pinned it between his arm and body. “I’ll take this. Follow me back to my place—and don’t even think about ditching me.”
“I won’t. I think this plan will work...for now.”
Leaving the keys in the ignition, Nash exited Emily’s vehicle and strode back to his truck. He made a U-turn and watched in his rearview mirror as Emily followed suit.
Did she really not know Lanier’s character? Why would she? Nobody else in Phoenix did. He was friendly to law enforcement and donated to fund-raisers and other causes. He had all the trappings of a smooth, sophisticated SOB. Emily couldn’t see past that? Nash shook his head. She didn’t want to see past it.
She’d been fired from her job with the PD and had moved out west to start fresh. Getting your foothold in as a private investigator in a new city couldn’t be easy, and doing a job for Marcus Lanier would look good on her résumé. She’d been willfully blind.
He put on his left turn signal just to make sure she remembered the way to his house. As he made the turn, she followed and he blew
