Joy to the Wolves (Red Wolf #1) - Terry Spear Page 0,128

for your honeymoon.”

“Fiji? I’ve always wanted to go there,” Brooke said.

“That’s where we’ll go then.”

“We’ll have you covered,” Maverick said, Adam agreeing.

Then it was time to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. The guys all took seats on sofas and chairs. Josh smiled at her and pulled her into his arms, and the guys were quiet until the scene where Uncle Billy lost the money he was supposed to take to the bank.

“That was $8,000, worth $100,000 today,” Mr. Lee said.

“Now that’s a lot of cash to be carrying around in an envelope,” Adam said.

“Hell, you know that $242 that the bank loan customer took out? That would be the equivalent of $3,500 dollars,” Ethan said, figuring it out on his phone.

“The $17.50 would be worth $250 today,” Maverick said.

Brooke started to laugh. “I will never watch this movie again without thinking about the inflated value of money.”

The guys all laughed.

“Totally different perspective for me.” She snuggled against Josh and got all teary-eyed when George wanted to end his life because he was worth more money dead than alive. Some things never changed for her, and she loved that she could watch a movie that moved her and cuddle with her mate at the same time.

At the end of the movie, everyone agreed it was great, and then Maverick said, “Hey, want to watch Jingle All the Way?”

* * *

Josh deferred to Brooke because, even though he’d love to watch the movie and he knew they’d all be commenting on that one, too, and they were all having a good time, he was just as ready to make love to his mate on Christmas Day.

Brooke smiled. “That would be fun. I’d love to see how you guys react to that movie.”

“If I had a kid who asked for something for Christmas, I wouldn’t forget,” Ethan said.

“Ha! You get so caught up in your drug busts, you’d be just like the dad,” Adam said.

Mr. Lee admitted, “That was me when my kids were young.”

“I won’t be. I’ll be retired,” Josh said.

Everyone looked at him.

Brooke blushed.

He chuckled. He’d sort of walked into that one. But making beautiful babies with Brooke? That was next on the agenda, once the guys took off.

Mr. Lee eyed the Steiff reindeer on the mantel that Brooke had given Josh for Christmas. “That’s from my brother, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, from one of the boxes of stuff he gave me,” she said.

Suddenly, Mr. Lee and Josh were headed for the reindeer.

“I didn’t see that in any of the boxes,” Ethan said.

“Me neither,” Adam said.

“Not me either,” Josh said.

“I didn’t want Josh to see it because it was a Christmas surprise,” Brooke said, sounding guilty, like she’d done the wrong thing.

Josh smiled as Mr. Lee pulled a thread loose from the belly of the little reindeer and out popped a thumb drive.

Chapter 30

Brooke pulled out her laptop, and everyone gathered around to see what was on the thumb drive. It showed videos of the men who had broken into Brooke’s shop talking to Mr. Gulliver about drug shipments. And his stepdaughter, Daisy, arguing about where they should be sent.

“They shouldn’t be sent to a stupid antique shop. Sure, the lady’s old and she’d probably never figure out what’s in the pottery, but what if she puts them out to sell?” Daisy said.

“Have you got another location to ship them to that would be more secure?” Gulliver asked Ackerson.

“A warehouse.”

“Which we raided and took possession of the cocaine,” Mr. Lee said for everyone’s information.

“Not all of it,” Josh reminded him.

Another video revealed the stepdaughter arguing with her stepfather. “Your daughter lives in Paris. She’s not interested in running the family business. Neither of your sons are interested either. They’re in Geneva. Let me run part of the business to show you how well I can do. You know I can be as ruthless and cunning as you.”

“You’re only my stepdaughter,” Gulliver said. “My sons will tire of Geneva, and when they do, they’ll return home to run the business.”

Daisy laughed. “You always said I was like one of your own kids, but when it comes to business, I’m not. Fine. Have it your way. Not.” She pulled out a gun. He raised his hands in a pleading way, but she shot him in the chest with a bang, and he crumpled to the floor.

Brooke gasped, not expecting that. She thought… Well, she didn’t know what she thought. That Mr. Gulliver would reconsider? He probably would have had her terminated after threatening him. “Your