SEAL's RESOLVE - Rebecca Deel Page 0,35
me well. If you’re commenting as a cop, I’ll tell you what anyone could find, then tell my teammates more interesting things.”
Josh rolled his eyes and sipped more coffee. “Talk. I’m off duty.”
“I can’t imagine what you found,” Kristi said. “Hugh’s a good man.”
“What do you know about him?”
“We’ve been friends since elementary school. He’s a hedge fund manager for Starbridge. His parents and mine met in college and became fast friends. Hugh is well-liked and is a patron of many charities. He asked me to marry him. I haven’t turned him down yet, but I will as soon as I have a chance to talk to him.”
Josh’s eyebrows rose. “Isn’t Starbridge owned by Ward Industries?”
“That’s right.”
“Ward Industries is a rival of Stewart Group. Your father knows about Ward’s marriage proposal?”
“He’s pressuring me to accept. If I do, Dad will bring Hugh on board Stewart Group as a vice president.”
“Sounds like he’s offering a dowry to the man who marries his daughter.”
Her cheeks colored. “Dad likes Hugh and views this as an encouragement to do what he thinks is best for me.”
“Is it?”
“No.”
The lack of hesitation or a detailed, defensive explanation settled the last of Rafe’s doubts about his own relationship with Kristi. Did Ward see her as a means to a career advancement or was he truly in love with her? “What did you learn about Ward, Jon?”
“He’s broke.”
Kristi gasped. “That can’t be true. Hugh has a large trust fund left to him by his grandfather.”
“That was true at one time, but not now. At his current spending rate, he’s six months away from insolvency.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” She looked puzzled. “He’s always had a good head for business. Did he make some bad investments?”
“More like bad bets.”
“Gambling? I don’t understand. I’ve never seen him gamble or heard him talk about it.”
“Want to see a copy of his casino markers?”
“How could I not know this?”
“How much does he owe?” Rafe asked.
“I’m still digging, but the current total is $200,000.”
Rafe whistled softly.
Kristi stared at the sniper with wide eyes.
“Oh, man.” Eli shook his head. “Ward’s toast if he doesn’t pay that off in a hurry.”
“That’s just one casino,” Jon murmured. “I think he has markers at other casinos, too.”
“But casinos don’t have leg breakers,” Kristi said. “Won’t they wait until he can pay them?”
“That’s not how the process works.” Rafe laid his hand over hers. “If he doesn’t pay them by the agreed upon date, they’ll take him to court and force him into bankruptcy. He’d recover from that eventually, but no one will trust money to a hedge fund manager who can’t handle his personal finances.”
“I don’t understand why Hugh didn’t use what’s left in his trust fund to pay off the debt.”
“He’s draining the trust fund at a rapid rate,” Jon said. “My guess is he’s making large payments to several casinos to keep them off his back and maintain his lifestyle.”
“What about his investments? Can he liquidate those?”
“He’s been selling his stock for the past year, a little at a time. He sold the last of it two weeks ago.”
Kristi jerked. “But that’s when…” She groaned. “Oh, no.”
“What is it?” Rafe asked.
“That’s when Hugh began pressuring me to accept his proposal.”
Had Ward assumed that Kristi would bail him out of debt once they were married or was something else going on? “Financially speaking, what would happen if you and Ward married?”
“Not much change. I’m not giving up Kristi’s Bridal, and Hugh planned to work for Dad. He mentioned life insurance policies, but I think a husband and wife should have life insurance with the spouse as the beneficiary.”
Ice water flowed through Rafe’s veins. “Did he mention a specific amount?”
She shook her head.
He glanced at Jon. “Find out.”
“On it.”
Rafe turned back to Kristi. “You have a trust fund.”
She nodded. “A legacy from my grandmother. I used part of the money to start Kristi’s Bridal, but I repaid what I took out. I’m holding the fund for any children I might have.”
“Would you have given Ward money from the fund once you were married?”
“If he needed it, yes.”
“How much is in the fund?”
“Enough to bail Hugh out of trouble.”
“How much?”
“About $10 million.”
Holy cow. He stared. “Are you serious?”
“That would solve Ward’s problem,” Jackson muttered.
“Not in the long run,” Josh said. “Ward’s hooked.”
“Hugh wouldn’t arrange for my kidnapping,” Kristi said. “He’s not like that.”
“No offense, sugar, but you didn’t know Ward was addicted to gambling,” Eli said.
“How do you know it’s an addiction? Maybe he had a run of bad