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“Natalie might not have our skills, but she isn’t as inept as you believe. In any case, the Holguíns have their suspicions about who took Oskar. They just won’t release a word of it to Bullstow. They don’t want the press, and I’m bett
ing Chairwoman Holguín still wants to complete her deal, which they can’t do if her buyer thinks she’s lost Oskar. She’s stalling until she finds him.”
“What do you know about a deal?”
Max shrugged, his hazel eyes coyly tracing the floor. “Lila, Lila, Lila… Do you really expect me to answer that?”
“You’re telling me far too much already. They didn’t hire you to find Natalie, so you’re blabbing everything to me as an act of petty revenge.”
Max cleared his throat. “It’s not petty.”
Lila said nothing, and poured another glass of wine.
“It’s not,” he muttered, and sipped his wine. “It’s costing them far more than it’s costing me, and I’m not just talking about money.”
“Now who’s pissed?”
“I’m not pissed. I’m just free to say what I will.”
“How many families know that Natalie and Oskar are both missing?”
“None that I can tell. You and your mother’s spies always scoop theirs, but I’ll make sure my clients know soon. Four of the families pay me quite well, after all. The other six can’t afford me or refuse to spend the money. Cheap fools.”
“What about Ms. Park?”
“She’s not cheap, nor is she a fool.”
Lila drummed her fingers on the counter. “Natalie’s going to use Patrick’s plan, or some version of it, only she’ll remain in Burgundy. No one can extradite her there, and Chairwoman Holguín will be out much more than ten million credits. It’s smart and bitchy, just like Natalie.”
“Maybe she’ll move to Burgundy, maybe she’ll move somewhere else, but one thing is for sure. She won’t stay in New Bristol for very long.” Max stilled Lila’s fingers on the countertop. “You’re tired and nervous, Lila. What’s got you so wound up? Was it that man last night at the auction?”
“No, just work.”
“Good, because he did it to himself. Take a vacation. I don’t like seeing you like this. I don’t like seeing bruises all over your face and your hands torn up, either.”
“I have too much work to take a vacation. Part of that work is locating Natalie. Could you do it?”
Max shook his head and played with the stem of his glass. “Ask me to do something else, Lila. Anything else.”
She narrowed her eyes. Max rarely refused to take a job from her.
“You don’t want to find Natalie. You want to find Oskar. I’m not an idiot, Lila. Unfortunately for you, the boy destabilizes the playing field too much. A looming war? Families in a tizzy? It only helps my bottom line if the boy remains missing. Surely you understand.”
“I know you like chaos, sometimes you even create it, but I don’t care about your hobbies tonight. That boy could die if he’s not found soon.”
“You want to rescue him, is that it? What will you do when you find him? Give him back to the Holguíns? No, you want him for something else, and I don’t like where that will lead. Not for my bottom line and certainly not for your future. Stay out of politics. The world gets messier the farther away you get from New Bristol. Riskier, too.”
Lila hopped off the stool, annoyed at how much Max sounded like her whenever she spoke to Tristan. “Don’t tell me what to do, Max.”
“Fine, but I’m not going to help you find Oskar. Ask me to do anything but that.” When she turned to leave, he grabbed her arm. “Let me help. I want to help.”
Lila eyed her friend. He’d never betrayed her trust in all the time she’d known him, but she still didn’t trust him. Not completely.
Perhaps she didn’t have the luxury of focusing on herself. Missing kids needed her attention, attention she could not give them if she spent her hours searching for a ghost.
Something in her eyes made him frown. He pulled her close and put his arms around her, resting his chin against her forehead. His stubble grazed her skin, and his embrace tightened around her so hard that she couldn’t help but melt into him.
Kissing her hair, he rubbed a calming hand over her back. “I’m not your brother. Not even close. Let’s get that straight right now.”
