Mountain Man's Accidental Surprise - K.C. Crowne Page 0,40

triggered my panic. It had been awhile since I’d heard it, but Jack’s name sounded familiar. Everyone in Liberty knew the Wileys, especially Jack. He was nothing but trouble.

I did a quick tally of the math and the amount I came up with was astronomical. Where had Graham come up with nearly a million dollars to give to Jack?

I grabbed my phone and did a quick Google search for Jack’s name, and the first article that came up was titled, “Jack Wiley arrested for the murder of his father.”

Shit. I didn’t need to look any further than that.

I looked around the room I was in - the house was nice, sure, but a little homely for someone with a million dollars to throw around. And why would he be sending money to a criminal?

I may have been blind to my father’s dealings for a long time out a wilful ignorance, but I wasn’t about to be taken for a fool twice.

I argued with myself that Graham wasn’t like my father. There must be a logical explanation.

No. People lie, Emmy. People lie, they cheat, they steal, and they barter away their daughters for business dealings. I never thought my own father would do such a thing, yet he’d sold me off to a Mafia boss.

My heart was racing, and I honestly wasn’t sure what to think. The Harveys seemed like such good guys. Only an hour or so before, I had sat down to breakfast with them and hoped my sons might turn out like them.

But I’d also thought perhaps things were too good to be true…and it would seem that I was right.

It made sense…they were pretty sure of being able to take down the Mob. Perhaps because they had a criminal enterprise of their own? I couldn’t risk getting caught up in a war between criminal masterminds.

I grabbed my phone and quickly typed a message to Liv.

Graham was right - I was trapped and unable to go anywhere without a car. But I wasn’t completely hopeless.

My phone rang a second later.

“Liv, I’m sorry to bother you on your honeymoon—”

“We just got back this morning,” she said. “What is this about you needing a car?”

Graham

“You know, I really appreciate all you’re doing, Graham,” Teddy said.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and surveyed the buildings on the block - all of them sandbagged.

“I’m happy to help, Teddy,” I said. “How’s Madison doing?”

Teddy’s face lit up with the mention of his wife. “She’s doing well. She’s planning a surprise birthday party for Jack, but you probably know all about that now.”

“Yeah, she called me last week,” I chuckled. “She thinks it’s important that his brothers are there since we missed every other birthday of his. I agree with her.”

“Good, I hope to see you and the guys there,” he said. His eyes moved past me to the street and he frowned.

“What’s going on?” I asked, turning around.

A black car was pulled up to the curb, talking to an older woman walking down the street. A man passed her something from the window.

“I need to go check that out,” he said. “Don’t recognize the car or the driver.”

A chill ran down my spine, and I had a bad feeling about it, but I nodded. “Of course,” I said. “I think we’ve done all we can for now, so I’m heading home.”

“Thanks for your help, Graham.” He patted me on the back. He walked away from me and toward the mysterious vehicle. I stayed put, watching as Teddy talked to the person in the car. A moment later, he returned to my side.

“What was that about?”

“They’re looking for someone,” he said. My body tensed. “His wife, I guess. I didn’t recognize her, and I didn’t get a good feeling talking to him, so I think I’ll run his plates when I get back to my car.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” My eyes never left the vehicle. “I’m going to head out,” I said finally. “But let me know if you need anything else.”

I walked down the street in the direction the car was headed, and I saw it parked out front of Smothered in Love directly behind my truck. I walked to my truck and opened the door, but I heard a voice from behind me.

“Excuse me. Do you have minute?” I turned to find a man behind me. An older man. Too old to be Antonio Lombardo. He was balding with a black moustache.

“Sure, what can I do for you?”

He handed me