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“You weren’t worried I was going to hurt Kat?”
“No,” he says, his face taking on a hard cast. “Because you’re not that stupid.”
I let that sink in. Ford’s a good guy, jovial, funny, charming, but he can be scary as fuck when it comes to his wife and his family. “Understood,” I say and suppress a shiver. “Do me a favor though. If you ever find out anything about War, let me know.” I suddenly want to get the heck out of here as fast as I can.
“Actually, now that you say it, there is one weird thing.” He stands and walks over to his desk. “God, I forgot all about this, but I got a random message from this girl—” He boots up his laptop, clicks and types. “Yeah, here we go, it was like over a year ago. You know me, I never check this shit, but she randomly popped up in my messages asking if I knew where Warren Temple was hiding, and that she knew we were related. She’s some rich girl that runs in the same circles as me and I told her I didn’t know. Never heard from her again. But maybe she can tell you more about him?”
I blink rapidly and stand. “That’d be great. What’s her name?”
“Sam Silvan. I’ll send you her Facebook page and you can get in touch.”
“Thanks, Ford. You think she’s like an ex-girlfriend?”
“Maybe? Who knows.” He sits back and sips his drink. “Hopefully you can get to the bottom of my very weird distant cousin. Either way, I have your back.”
I smile at him tightly and nod. He’s got my back, at least until he doesn’t, but that’s not a line I ever plan on crossing. “I appreciate it.”
“Good luck.”
Sam Silvan hassleek blonde hair, lips packed with filler, and a scowl that could set the Texas prairie on fire. I meet her in downtown Dallas at a cute little coffee shop. She shows up ten minutes late in a sleek pencil skirt, expensive heels, and a blouse that looks like it costs more than my yearly salary.
“I cannotbelieveyou asked me about Warren,” Sam says as a greeting and sits down heavily in the chair across from me. She’s pretty, pale skin, blue eyes, pretty much the prototypical Southern belle. “What did he do to you?”
“Uh,” I say. “Hi, I’m Melody, nice to meet you.”
“Sam.” She shoves a hand at me. Her manicured nails glitter in the overhead lights. I shake. “Seriously, what did he do?”
“Nothing,” I say and she gives me a skeptical look. “Honestly, he didn’t do anything, but I’m considering him for a job—”
“Don’t.” He crosses her legs and plops her bag in her lap protectively. “Warren Temple’s nothing but trouble. That asshole still owes me six grand. Seriously, if you talk to him, tell him Sam still wants her money. That piece of shit.”
I don’t know if I should laugh or what. “Okay, uh, I’ll pass that along.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re really thinking about hiring him? Warren Temple? What sort of trouble are you in?”
“None,” I say, totally bewildered. Sam’s not at all what I thought she’d be, and this conversation is getting out of control. “It’s just, uh, an inheritance dispute—”
Sam snorts. “Typical. If there’s money, there’s Warren Temple sniffing around.”
“I went to him. To hire him. I was hoping—”
“Listen, Melody, you seem sweet or whatever.” She leans forward, eyes narrowing. “Do not, under any circumstances, get involved with Warren. I’m serious. Run the other direction.”
“What did he do to you?”
She leans back again. All her gestures are big and exaggerated, like she doesn’t know how to do anything halfway. “It started out like how you’re saying. I had a job and he had references, so I hired him. But things went south after that. He started asking me for more money, kept saying he needed cash if he was going to take care of my problem.”
“And did he? Take care of it, I mean.”
“Eventually.” She waves that away. “After he drained as much money from me as he could, and you know what I found out weeks later? I found out he’d finished almost as soon as I hired him, and the extra money was just to line his pockets, that thieving piece of shit.”
“Oh,” I say, blinking rapidly, trying to square the guy she’s describing with the War I know. And honestly, it doesn’t sound far off.
“He’s a conceited prick. He gets results, but who the fuck cares? There are a million people that can get stuff done, and most of them won’t screw you in the process. I bet you’re sitting there thinking you’re different, but I’m telling you, you’re not. Warren’s no good. Just run away.”
Already did that once. “What do you know about him? I mean, from before you two met and he started working for you?”
“Not a whole lot.” She purses her lips. “Comes from a good family. At least his name is good. People vouched for him. Like I said, he gets results, but he’ll make you bleed for it first.”
