Page 134 of High Reward

“Let’s get this moving. I don’t like being away from Trinity right now,” Hunter says as he lifts the crystal tumbler to his lips.

Owen’s mouth presses into a firm line. He’s all too aware of how much Hunter doesn’t like being away from Trinity thanksto the complaints he’s getting from VIP casino guests who count on face-time with him during their stay. Billionaire gamblers don’t often care about pesky things like wives getting shot when they’re dropping ten grand at a time on poker and Blackjack.

But he pulled himself away from her side at the club where we’re all still staying to have a meeting with the four of us so that Owen can tell us just how bad the recordings that Jacob gave us are.

Owen taps a few keys and presses a button on a remote lying next to him. “I’ve spent the last few days analyzing what Jacob brought us. You’ve already heard the condensed version but believe me when I say there is so much more here.”

“And you’re sure it’s legitimate?” Hunter asks, still standing, rather than sitting.

Owen nods. “Voice recognition confirms it’s Griffin Price. And the other voices match known associates of his. There’s no manipulation of the audio.”

I lean forward in my chair. “Any indication who Jacob got it from based on the other voices?”

Owen frowns and shakes his head. “There are a few voices that appear in a majority of the recordings, but I haven’t identified them yet. And I doubt we can convince Jacob to give us that information. Not when he already risked his life to get us what he did.”

“Get to the point, Thorne,” Hunter snarls.

He’s more surly than usual today, and I wonder if the pressure of caring for an injured wife and running an empire as large as his is starting to get to him.

Owen presses something on the remote, and Griffin Price’s voice fills the room. “The Russians want back into Las Vegas. Draven and that cunt of a mayor are our way in. They’re too stupid and power-hungry to realize they’re pawns. The trouble is going to be those bastards who run the sex club and HunterNovak. He runs Las Vegas and ran the Russians out five years ago.”

Owen pauses it. “There’s a lot more like this, but it changes the equation. We’ve been operating under the premise that Phineas Draven is the one behind everything. The data on these recordings say it’s really Griffin Price orchestrating it all from behind the curtain.”

“While letting the likes of Phineas, Bryce, and Senator Pratchett take all the risk and blame,” Matteo says. His voice cracks on the mention of Bryce, his fiancée’s brother and his college best friend who is now serving time in a UK prison for his role in betraying us.

“Exactly.” Owen pulls up a diagram on the screen across from us. It’s a complex web of company names and arrows.

“These are Griffin’s shell companies. Twenty-three in total, spread across twelve countries. He’s been using them to funnel money for Russian interests trying to establish a presence in Las Vegas, among other places.”

Hunter’s glass hits the desk hard enough that I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter, and everyone turns their attention to him.

“What’s the trouble?” Owen asks when he realizes that Hunter’s eyes are locked on the diagram.

“Meridian Holdings,” Hunter says, his voice taking on a dark tone that would scare the average businessman.

“What about it?” I ask cautiously.

“I signed a fucking eighty-million-dollar contract with them six months ago. They’re handling all the security upgrades Owen requested, including the ones in the arena Skylar uses for her shows.”

Matteo curses under his breath but doesn’t leave his spot against the wall.

“How far into the work have they gotten?” Owen asks.

Hunter drags a hand through his hair and shoves his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “I’d have to pull up the file.”

He presses a button on the phone in the middle of the table. “Nadine, bring me the Meridian Holdings documents. Make sure it includes everything they’ve completed so far.”

There’s no response, but Hunter doesn’t seem to care. He stalks around the table to stand over Owen’s shoulder, staring at his computer screen.

“I swear to God I’m going to fucking bury him. Show me everything.”

Because we all believe him, and don’t mind if Hunter buries him, Owen complies, walking him through everything he’s found on the recordings so far.

“How did you find this when my people missed it?” Hunter asks.

Owen looks up. “I wasn’t looking for fraud. I was just looking for Griffin. Once I had a thread from the recordings, I just pulled on it until the whole thing unraveled, and I started connecting companies and contracts. Meridian is buried six layers deep, but it ties back to Crimson Peak, which seems to be what everything ties back to with him. We’ll want to figure out why. But right now, it’s tied to the Russians.”

“These Russians,” Luke asks, “who are they exactly? Are they tied to Maxim Agron?”