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“Need you to track my dogs.”
He gave me a confused look. “They’re not out back?”
“Missin’ a pup.”
“Ah. One got out, huh?” He sat up and pulled up a program, clicking the mouse several times before he pulled up a screen similar to the one on my phone. He frowned. “What’s that one doin’ way the fuck up there?” He looked over at me. “You sell one?”
“They ain’t ready to sell. Not weaned. And if I knew the answer to that fuckin’ stupidass question, I wouldn’t be here. Dumbass.”
Ignoring my temper -- it was legendary, after all -- Wylde punched some keys, clicked the mouse a few more times -- I got no idea what he does with that shit but it ain’t Google -- then his eyes got wide, and he whistled low. “That’s Theodore Winston’s place.”
“The mayor? Huh. Wasn’t expecting that.”
“Wait a minute…” Wylde narrowed his eyes, clicked a bunch more keys, then started swearing. “Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” He sat straight up, on the edge of his seat now, continuing to punch buttons. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and the various monitors covering the wall and his desk started flashing with different images and data. There was no way I could follow what he was doing, so I waited as patiently as I could and tried not to get motion sick from watching the monitors flash.
“What?” It was a demand more than a question. Wylde pointed at something on the screen. I might be forty-one, but I refused to use reading glasses, so I had to squint at the document on the screen. Wylde rolled his eyes and increased the magnification so I could read… “Son of a fuckin’ bitch! That her old man?”
Wylde looked as furious as I felt. “I did a background check on her when she first met Rose. Granted, I just scratched the surface, but this didn’t come up any fuckin’ where. Someone did a fan-fucking-tastic job hiding who Blossom really is.” Then he muttered. “Shoulda found this a month ago.”
I waited but Wylde didn’t offer anything else. “Maxim Hollister’s daughter. Are you sure it’s that Maxim Hollister? The billionaire oil man?”
“Well, her last name is Evergreen. That’s all a matter of public record. Looks like that’s the name that was given her at birth. Her mother started out as Eliza Brown. Then she married this guy, Maxim Hollister. Soon after marrying him, she changed her name to Petunia Hollister. Why the first name change too? No fuckin’ clue. Bit of an odd name though, but hey. To each her own.” Wylde did some more things with his mouse to bring up more documents. “Somewhere in there, Old Man Hollister kicked the bucket. How they kept that shit quiet is beyond me, but Petunia inherited everything, provided she name Blossom as her sole heir, no matter if she remarried or not.”
“So?”
“So, Petunia married Mayor Winston. You know. Back before he became mayor.”
“Bit of a step down, don’t you think?”
“Huge. I’ll have to look into things, but my guess is that Winston had no idea there was a stipulation on the billions his new wife had acquired.”
“Makes sense. Wouldn’t matter much, though. I mean, she had the money. He could just get it from her.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“Nope. She was the only one allowed to have access to her trust fund. Granted, it’s a substantial amount, but her late husband made sure there would be plenty of money for their daughter and any children she might have. There’s no way for Petunia to spend it all. Or, more importantly, for Winston to get his hands on more than he should.”
“So where does Blossom come into play? And why is her last name Evergreen?”
“To protect her. She’s given a last name not related to Hollister so no one can readily link them out in public. ’Course, she was only two when her daddy died. Her last name staying Evergreen until she marries is also in the will. Mr. Hollister took great pains to protect his daughter, even after his death.”
“So, Blossom is the stepdaughter to the mayor.” I mused, trying to figure out exactly what her angle was.
Wylde’s expression scrunched up. “You think the bitch’s been playin’ us?”
“That’s exactly what I think. I knew she was up to something; I just have no idea what.” I’d kind of felt bad about how hard I’d been on her before, but now I realized I hadn’t been nearly hard enough. It also looked like she’d stolen one of my fucking dogs.
“Why the fuck would she take a dog?” Wylde was still concentrating on the screen but looked puzzled as hell. “According to this, she had access to one-eighth of her trust the day she turned eighteen. That percentage increases in increments at certain milestones. She won’t have full access until she turns thirty, but that’s still enough to buy a small country. She could have any fuckin’ mutt she wanted.”
