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The one thing he had noticed from Fyre however, was that she had gotten quieter since their picnic. She had sent a message she would not be able to come tonight and work on his books, as she was watching her nephews and niece.
While he didn’t like that, he knew it was what they had been after. The break they had been hoping for. And why he was out here now, picking up from Archer.
The man he currently trailed slowed and looked around himself more than once before he ducked into the trees a bit more, and when Phillip followed, he saw there was a small shack there.
Moving with more stealth than he’d known he had in him, Phillip paused by the one window that barely let out the light of the lantern inside. It had been covered by some material but he tried to see in.
“What did she say?” a low, gravelly voice asked. Did he know it? He wasn’t positive.
“She never speaks to me, sir. Just hands me the note.” This voice was thin and reedy but also one he didn’t recognize.
“Give it to me then. I cannot be seen here with you.”
The voice was familiar but he couldn’t see either of the speakers to make a viable identification. Nor could he pull the name from his memory.
“Get moving. I will leave after you.”
The man he had been following muttered but left. Phillip watched him from the shadows. Part of him wanted to go after that man, but he had to find out who the one who stayed behind was. So he waited.
And waited.
About fifteen minutes later, the light went out, but he heard nothing. Moving slowly and with caution, he opened the door but didn’t see anything. At all. He dug in his pocket for a match and lit it. The small flare of light was enough for him to know that there was no one in the small building.
What the fuck? Not even evidence that anyone had been here.
He had to come back during the day to see what he could find. Backtracking, he returned home in a foul mood. Zander was there and Phillip gave the man a nod as he walked by him into the study to pour himself a drink. After swallowing it, he poured another for himself and one for Zander, who joined him.
“Hate to say it, boss, but you look pissed.”
Handing over the drink, Phillip grunted. “I am.” Another drink, not the entire glass this time. “I followed that asshole with the message to a shack and he went in, heard him talking to someone. Then the one I followed left. I waited a bit and the light went out. No one left that shack and when I stepped in, it was empty.”
Zander leaned against the wall, feet hooked at the ankles as he tapped a finger along the glass he held. “Where is this building?”
Giving him a basic idea, Phillip waited for Zander to say something more.
“Pirates used to run around here, there is a good chance that floor opened into a tunnel that took him somewhere else.” A shoulder shrug. “Or…”
Phillip exhaled. “I know, that messenger is not the messenger at all but the one behind it and he is playing Cara as well. And he was putting on a show in case someone, like me, followed him.” Phillip placed his glass down and sank into his chair with a heavy sigh.
Zander nodded.
Silence stretched between them for a moment and Phillip opened his eyes to pin a look on the man in there with him. “What are you not telling me, Zander?”
“I did not want to make things worse.”
“What? Did I lose more workers? Someone else drop out of this coalition I am trying to get running?”
“It has to do with your woman.”
His feet hit the floor as he was suddenly completely alert and focused on Zander. “What about her?”
“I ran into Kolby on my way here. He told me that she had a run-in with Caulfield on the road.”
Anger burned in his blood. “Why the fuck did no one tell me?”
Zander just held his gaze until Phillip gestured for him to continue. “Her brother showed up with the children and she left with them.”
“So it was today.” Did that mollify him? Not in the least. The thought of Caulfield around her pushed him toward rage.
“I do not know all the words of the discussion but I know that she was not happy with whatever he said to her. No, Kolby did not hear it either, as he would have had to have exposed himself to do so.”
“Fuck. Why can this man not just get a damn clue and stay out of her life?” He slammed the rest of his drink and wanted another. However, he refrained. Becoming drunk wouldn’t do a damn thing except give him a headache.
