“Are you sure you want to do this?” Brent asked.
“We have to learn what he knows so we can find Alexa.”
“You don’t have to do this. I’ll get the information we need.”
She shook her head. “Alexa is mine now.”
“What do you know about White?”
She breathed easier knowing Brent wouldn’t force her to step aside. Rowan knew he wanted to place her in private protective custody. Not happening, though. She wouldn’t live her life hiding in safety while Alexa was in constant danger. “I didn’t spend much time with him.” She was grateful. Her brother-in-law had lousy taste in friends and business associates.
“I see.”
His voice told Rowan he saw too much. She sighed. Brent Maddox was a smart, intuitive man and she didn’t need him punching out Nolan for an imagined offense. He wouldn’t give information if Brent punched him out. “Nolan White is a slimy jerk. Unlike Jay, Nolan never laid a hand on me. He just makes me uncomfortable.”
A sharp nod. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time before we meet the feds.”
At the front door, Brent rang the bell. The large house was lit up with light shining from almost every room. The guy must not be too concerned about paying his light bill.
Finally, the door opened. Nolan White stared at Rowan as though having a hard time believing she stood on his front porch. “Rowan. I’m surprised to see you.” His glanced past her to scan over her shoulder.
Hmm. Nolan looked afraid. He didn’t fear her or know Brent. What made him uneasy? “We need to ask you some questions about Jay.”
His gaze shifted to Brent. “Who’s he?”
Rowan wasn’t sure how to introduce Brent. She didn’t want to compromise Brent’s safety, a necessity in his line of work. She had a feeling the less information about him that Nolan knew, the better. If the wrong people captured Nolan, he’d spill his guts. Brent’s anonymity aided Alexa’s. No matter how often Detective Taylor said the FBI would use every resource to finding her niece, Rowan knew Alexa’s best chance of rescue lay with Brent and his Fortress operatives.
Rowan decided on the simplest explanation and hoped Brent didn’t mind. “This is my boyfriend, Brent. May we come in for a few minutes? We have another appointment soon.”
Reluctantly, Nolan opened the door wider for them to enter.
Rowan glanced around, curious about his home. Perfect, she decided, beautiful. Everywhere she looked, sleek lines and neutral fabrics or wood were used in decorating the place. Camera ready.
“Have a seat,” Nolan rumbled as he dropped into an overstuffed chair. “What do you want?”
“You heard about Jay and Heather?”
“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
