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“Well, good thing I don’t need your permission to give it.” She smirks. “Now, listen, her family is a fucked up brew of power, money and megalomania that runs deep in their traditions. That’s why there are so few of them. They either leave or die. And this generation is no different. Her mother, her brother, her sister, her aunt. You. All she’s got is her future. She’s not taking any chances with it.”
“Yeah, I get how alone she is.” It’s one of the things that’s kept me up at night this week.
She shakes her head. “I know your family is famous, but hers is really rich and very powerful.”
“Look, I get that. But, what’s that got to do with--”
“In their world, the most valuable member of a family is a beautiful young, fertile, wealthy woman. It’s what makes ordinary men look like they have something special about them. It’s the first thing average men buy when they have money — a trophy. And that’s all. She lives in a gilded cage and if she’s going to escape, she has to get the person with the key to unlock i
t. There’s no other way.”
I lean across the table, incredulous. “But why…I don’t understand.”
She puts her palm up to stop my advance. “It’s a lot of money. When she gets married, it will all be hers. And Duke’s. But hers, too.”
Puzzle pieces start to shift and fall into place. ”I didn’t know she needed money?”
“Don’t we all?” Dina reaches across the table and takes my hand. “She’s terrified of falling prey to what her brother has, or what her mother did.”
“She’s so talented. She doesn’t need their money. I could take care of us.” I grumble.
The missed message request keeps me awake at night still. How would things be different if I’d seen it when she sent it?
She narrows her eyes. “You’re going to have to prove that. Right now, you’re a washed up singer who a lot of people now only associate with your cologne and car commercials. You’ve been to rehab and have fights in public. And you let her down before.”
Damn. She aims to kill. Her straight up assessment isn’t far from the truth at all. “I know all of that. But I won’t ever let her down again.”
“If you want her, you’re going to have to fight for her. Duke isn’t going to let her go. And…compared to him, you’re just a kid.”
My back stiffens and I stand a little straighter now. “I’m not a fucking kid. And neither is she. Sure, her dad and him are powerful. But this is America.”
Her finger points at the table. “No, This is Winsome. Wolfe owns it. All of it. Including the people. They work for him, live in homes he owns, owe money to banks he underwrites. He’s turned his money into a weapon. He’s used it to buy influence and power. She doesn’t think she has any other choice.
I shake my head in vehement disagreement. “No, she made a choice.”
“She wants you,” she pushes back.
“Did she tell you that?” I challenge.
She shakes her head.
“Then how the hell do you know what she wants?”
She groans in exasperation. “How do you not? This would all be a lot easier if the two of you weren’t both the sensitive artist type. Just ask her. Or better yet, open your damn eyes and look. Whatever you do, don’t leave here without making sure she knows how you feel. It’ll break her heart and Duke will be waiting to pick up the pieces.”
Her prediction hits me square between the eyes, and I need to think. “I thought I paid you to help me find someone, not for relationship advice.”
My phone rings and I grimace when I see it’s Dean.
“Sorry, can you give me a second?”
“I need to check my email anyway. Go ahead.”
“Bosch, pick the nicest restaurant in town and make a reservation for three.”
“Three?”
“My wife is with me.”
