Blaze knew that type of law could lead to any number of complicated situations. It could be manipulated in any number of ways. Someone who specialized in it certainly knew the ins and outs. What he needed to find out was if Dane Hollister was a straight arrow or someone who could be persuaded to bend the law with the promise of hefty rewards. And if that had gotten him in trouble.
Was that where the problem was? Did he have a client with some funky business that he had maybe double-crossed?
“Do you know much about his clients? Anything at all?”
The look she gave him was apologetic but uncomfortable. “It just wasn’t a subject we discussed.”
Blaze shrugged. “No, it’s about what I expected. I figured if you knew more about his clients, something might have rung a bell and you’d mention it.”
“I’m not much help. I didn’t really get into that whenever I visited him and Brianne and I never discussed Dane’s clients. I mean, why would we, right?”
“I don’t know.” Blaze shrugged again. “Maybe if the three of you were having dinner or something when you visited. He might have mentioned something.”
“Oh! Yes. A couple of times we ran into a client of Dane’s, only I couldn’t tell you much about them. I just didn’t pay much attention. He did say one time that the firm handled litigation for some pretty high-profile clients.” A tiny sigh escaped her lips. “I guess I’m not much help.”
“I’ll take anything I can get. I wonder if those photos Brianne shot involved any of the firm’s clientele? Dane’s, specifically.”
She frowned as she nibbled her lower lip. “I wish I knew.”
Blaze was shocked to feel his balls tighten at the sight of it. What the fuck? Maybe he should have gone out and gotten laid before doing this, but his discipline had never failed him before. Today it was taunting him.
“No,” she said at last. “I’m sorry. It just wasn’t a subject that came up. I had the feeling that when he was away from the office, he didn’t want to discuss anything.”
“That’s okay. There are other ways to get that information.”
Peyton cocked her head. “You think there’s something with one of his clients that could be at the base of this?”
“I don’t think anything yet. I’m just trying to get as much information as I can so I have an idea where to start digging. Tell me about their social life.”
“Social life?”
“Peyton. I truly believe that whoever did this has to have a connection with Dane somewhere, somehow. The two places people make connections like that are work and socializing.”
“Okay, let me think.” She nibbled her lip again, the unconscious habit driving him crazy. “Whenever I visited them, the three of us usually went out to dinner. A couple of times, we were joined by another couple. I swear, though, they didn’t talk about anything that sent up flags. Mostly sports, events they attended, stuff like that. Both guys were big sports junkies.”
And on it went. But at the end of two hours, he realized he’d have to go way back and dig heavily into Dane Hollister’s life. Track what he did at work, which could be a bitch since so much would be confidential. And shit like this could be twisted and complicated and have its roots in something years ago. He squeezed every drop of information out of Peyton that she had in her brain before closing out his Notes app.
“I’ll need to go through all this, put it in some kind of order and find the best starting place.” He leaned forward. “There’s no telling how far in the past the beginning of this might be, but I’ll dig until I find it. Did you program my number into your phone?”
“I did.” She wetted her lips.
The sight of her tongue just peeping out made his cock cry out for relief.
Jesus Christ, Hamilton. This is a client. You better go stick your dick in the freezer.
But there was something so appealing about Peyton West, so tempting, something that affected more than his cock. And that was the last thing he needed to think about right now. Where was he? Phone number. Right.
“And I’ve got yours.”
“I’m easy to find, anyway. I’m either at the hospital or the hotel.” She rattled off the name of one familiar to him.
“I’m surprised you’re not staying at your sister’s house.”