“Yes, but my testimony was recorded so I didn’t have to appear in person and my voice was altered.”
“Well, someone knew, and that someone wants fifteen mil to stay quiet.”
His cell phone rang. “It’s my bank.” He tapped the speaker. “Dakota Luck.”
“Mr. Luck, it’s Darla at Sterling United Bank.”
Darla was his local branch manager. “Hi, Darla. What’s going on?”
“We received a wire transfer request from an offshore account. It’s for fifteen million.”
Providence gasped. He slid his gaze to her while anger pulsed in his temples.
“Since you’ve never done wire transfers,” Darla continued, “I thought it would be smart to confirm with you. In fact, if you did authorize this, I’ll need you to come in and sign a few docs.”
“Ididn’tauthorize that.”
“I suspected as much. I have to report this to the FBI.”
Dakota pulled up the picture of the blackmail letter. “Can I get that offshore account number?”
She rattled it off. It matched the one in the letter. The son of a bitch was not giving up. “Darla, thanks for calling me to confirm.”
“Absolutely.”
He ended the call. Frustration plagued him on a daily basis, but this—this—was insane. Someone was dead set on stealing his money.
“This person is fearless and aggressive,” Providence said, breaking the silence. “We have to work harder and smarter.”
Dakota called Stryker to see if he’d made any progress on the offshore account number.
“No,” Stryker replied. “I couldn’t hack in, so I tried calling the bank and impersonating the account owner, but there are too many layers of protection built in. I didn’t make it past the first security question. I’m sorry, my man.”
“Thanks for trying.” He hung up. “Let’s keep working. If I don’t find this motherfucker, I’m going to punch a hole in a wall.”
They spent the afternoon discussing mission after mission.
“How many have we covered?” he asked.
“Nine.”
“With no progress.”
“Let’s switch tracks and—”
His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen, then blurted, “Fuck me.” He showed the text to Providence.
“You should have authorized that wire transfer. It’s going to be bad for business.”
Frustration shadowed her eyes. “They’ve upped the stakes with that threat and they want to hear from you.”
“We should craft a response.”
She placed her hand on his, shooting a bolt of lightning through him. “No, we shouldn’t.”
When his gaze met hers, the energy they exchanged grew intense. He loved how she’d taken charge of the case. How she’d remained steady and in counterbalance to his mounting fury.
She was his lighthouse in the middle of a raging sea. She was his refuge and he wanted to get lost in her for days.
