holdings, a farm.”
“You know what I mean,” she said just as her phone buzzed on the table. “Duty calls. If you come now, I’ll introduce you to Travis.”
At those words, I was on my feet, not concerned at all that from Maisie’s point of view I looked a little thirsty for male companionship. I let her believe it because it served my purpose, but the moment the intro was made, we both dropped the act.
Travis raised an eyebrow and said, “You don’t know much about me, do you Ms. Ashby?”
“Call me Kat. I know you create a suite of surveillance apps and that the media calls you the Spy King.”
Travis smiled and motioned for me to take a seat in the living room of his penthouse suite. “You an investor or looking to catch a cheating boyfriend?”
“Is investing still an option?” I shook my head and held a hand out. “Wait, no. Not at the moment, but I’m definitely interested in that.”
“But not me, right?” He looked amused as he waited for me to answer.
“You’re gorgeous as fuck, but that’s not why I’m here.” I explained in as vague terms as I could my purpose in meeting him. More to the point, what I wanted from him.
“I need to find out if some people are who they say they are, and I need to dig into them in a way that can’t be traced. Period.”
Travis sat up on the edge of his seat, elbows resting on his knees with a wide, charming smile. “Well now I’m bummed neither of us are interested, Kat. But yes, I can help. How long do you have?”
“As long as you can spare to explain it all. I’ll even throw in extra ringside seats for the fight, to say thank you.”
“Even better.” He stood and rubbed his hands together, suddenly looking more like the tech geek he was rather than the jet setting billionaire. “First a quick intro and then we can get to the fun stuff. The software. And the hardware.”
Those three hours flew by quickly and by the end I felt like I was more than capable to find the information I was after, without Cal’s help. And just to prove it, I spent the rest of the day in my office, digging into Madison’s sister, Molly. And the McLaughlins.
It was a damn productive day.
Chapter Eight
Terry
“Sorry I’m late!” Kat rushed into the dining room about seventy seconds after we’d sat down for Sunday dinner, which earned her a death glare from Sadie for her tardiness. “I got lost in a project I’m working on.” She flashed an ominous smile that made me curious what she was up to.
“Something you want to share with us?” Jasper leaned forward, resting on his elbows with one brow arched in a question.
Bonnie sat quietly next to Cal. Too quietly I thought.
“Nope,” Kat said simply and poured two and a half fingers of Irish whiskey, drinking half in one big gulp that, like most things where Kat Ashby was concerned, drew my attention. Something was up with her and she was determined to keep it to herself.
As usual, the conversation around the table centered on the various Ashby interests, from the casinos to the gaming rooms, whore houses, and of course, the fight.
“I’m very impressed with the hard work you all have put in to make sure this fight is a success.” Sadie spoke slowly, almost softly, as her gaze bounced around the table, landing on each person seated there. “One more week to go and then we can all relax.”
“Whatever that means,” Jasper grumbled from his spot to Sadie’s left, and finished off his second glass of whiskey. I knew he was still worried about Ravager, even if he hadn’t said a word about it.
Virgil let out a low growl from his seat to Sadie’s right, Maisie beside him with a serene smile on her face, shot a glare at his brother.
“It means Rachel Cruz will be Emmett’s first female champ, and the House of Ashby’s first. When that happens, the rest of us can go back to focusing on the Rhymers and The Crusaders.”
Leave it to Virgil to put everything in perspective.
“Exactly,” Sadie said with a satisfied smile. “If she can keep that hunger and aggression that got her this far, we’ll have a bona fide star on our hands.”
“Too bad she’s a half second slow moving her head. Her opponent ain’t called Speedy Morales for nothing.”
Emmett glared and flipped me off. “You’re just filled with