“A very appropriate word, because if these men uncover anything, we will all be fucked.” He sat down in one of the big armchairs, still holding his drink. “We have to have a plan of action going forward. The first thing we’re going to do is go over every single thing that you did that night, including where you got so drunk and who might have seen you.”
Owen blew out a breath. “Shit. Can’t you buy off the sister or something?”
Peter stared at him. “Are you fucking kidding me? Buy her off? Would anything be a better indicator that she’s on the trail of something? I didn’t realize I’d raised such an idiot.”
Owen wiped his hand over his face then chugged down the rest of his drink and slammed the glass on a small table.
“I’m not an idiot. Just unlucky. You need to help me fix this. Think of what this would do to Diane.”
“You should have thought of that before you got involved with Hayden Kellerman. Certainly before you got drunk and got behind the wheel of your car. I have not got one idea what the fuck you were thinking.”
“I was thinking that if I got rid of the problem, we could cover everything up.”
“Yeah.” Kendrick rubbed his forehead. “How well did that work out for you?”
“But I—”
“Just shut up and sit your goddamn ass down so we can make some plans. Whatever it takes to fix this, you’ll do exactly as I say. Period. Starting with getting your wife up here. Now.”
* * * *
Peyton had seldom been so glad to see the end of a day. From the meeting on the plane that morning to meetings with the partners to studying database search results, she felt as if she’d been run over three times by a truck. Possibly the worst moment came in the early evening, at the meeting with Rocket and their attorney, Tom Hernandez. They had stopped to get a quick bite on the way, but now the food sat like lead in her stomach.
“Just wait until Tom gets everything out before you say anything,” Rocket cautioned.
“Why? What am I going to say about it? How bad is it? I don’t even know who’s after us. Right?”
“Just… Keep your shit together.”
Peyton couldn’t imagine who or what would make Blaze so angry that Rocket had to warn him before revealing the information.
He looked from Rocket to Tom and back again.
“Well, somebody better tell me. And yes, I promise to behave. How bad could it be?”
Rocket waited a moment then nodded to Tom to give him the information.
“You know,” the attorney said, “you aren’t exactly the word on the street, which is the way you wanted it. Your names are given out only to specific people who are vetted in advance.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know all that. We planned it that way.” He made a motion with his hand to speed it up.
“I mention that because it would take someone with powerful connections to be able to ferret out this information. It would take a lot of pressure from a powerful source.”
Blaze huffed his impatience. “Let’s have it already.”
“The person who’s been digging up info on who you are is your old enemy Warren Sulzberger.”
Blaze stared at the man for a long moment. Peyton could almost feel the cold anger rising inside him, and a look came over his face that she hoped never to see again. She was stunned by his fury.
His eyes were filled with rage. “Are you fucking kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?”
Rocket shook his head. “I wish. But he’s got the connections and can apply pressure.”
“How did I not know he lives here? How did none of us know? Why didn’t this show on our radar when we decided to settle here? I thought he’d disappeared from sight.” He was clenching his fists, his whole body rigid with anger. Then, with an abrupt movement, he rose from his chair and began to pace the office.
“He actually lives in Miami,” Rocket told him.
“He has a large estate there,” Tom added. “He seldom comes up here and my guess was that until all this happened, he had no idea you all had settled here and opened Galaxy.”
“You can tell me it’s none of my business, and it probably isn’t, but who is Warren Sulzberger? Why is this a big deal?”