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“I’m tracing it now. But don’t be surprised if it’s the same result.”
All of the texts had come from different cell numbers, and Jonah had traced them to burner phones that were discarded by the time they found them. Always at one of my properties, which just made me even more angry. This was clearly a game to them.
“No luck finding the person who bought them?”
“They pay in cash, stay away from the cameras, and never go to the same place twice. I’ve got people on it, but sometimes, there’s nothing we can do except wait for them to make a mistake.”
I knew he was right, but I wasn’t exactly rational when it came to Samantha’s safety. “There has to be something we can do about this motherfucker!”
“We could set a trap. Would Samantha—”
“Would Penny?” I snapped, referring to his wife. Jonah had a reputation for being overly possessive and protective of his wife. No fucking way in hell would he ever put her in a situation that might cause her harm.
He was silent for a moment, then growled, “Point made. We’ll come up with something else.”
* * *
I stared at my cards,trying to figure out what to do next, but kept getting distracted by Samantha’s mouthwatering scent.
She was drinking hot chocolate and standing with Landon’s wife, Zoe, and my brother Jeremy’s new wife, McKenna—who we were all meeting for the first time. They’d been playing fake fiancée, and the next thing we knew, he’d called to say they were getting married.
McKenna grinned at Zoe over her steaming mug. “Thanks so much for making hot chocolate. This is delicious.”
“You’re welcome.” She took a sip of hers with a hum of satisfaction. “The weather is usually a little warmer this time of year, but at least the sprinkling of snow was a handy excuse to make some delicious hot cocoa.”
McKenna was from California, so she wasn’t used to the Midwest chill like the rest of us.
“You don’t need an excuse.” Landon got up from the poker table and strode over to his wife’s side to brush a kiss against her cheek. “If this is what you want to drink, you can have it every day of the week. Just say the word, baby.”
“C’mon, man. Enough of the lovey-dovey crap. We’re here to play cards, not woo your wife,” Jason grumbled.
Three weeks ago, I’d have reacted exactly like Jason, but I couldn’t blame Landon when I was just as obsessed with his sister. I smiled at my girl as she wandered over to stand next to me.
Tate groaned and made a face. “Yeah, you and Jeremy are so damn sickly sweet to your women, hanging out with you two might rub off on me and mess with my ability to bash the other team into the boards at my game on Tuesday,” he complained.
I glared at him. “Quit shit-talking my brother before I regret letting you bum a ride on my plane so you could have a guys’ night out away from all of the attention you’re getting in Chicago.”
Tate rolled his eyes. “Of course you’re defending him. You’ve been all over your girl ever since we got here, too.”
“Yeah, what the fuck is up with you and Samantha?” Jeremy set his cards down and looked across the table at me. “Since when have the two of you been an item? And why am I only hearing—or seeing really since you haven’t said shit—about it now?”
Landon scowled. “Ever since I made the mistake of sending my baby sister to Chicago to help with a project I’m working on with you guys there.” He buried his face in the crook of his wife’s neck with a groan, making her giggle. “If only I’d known that your brother would break all the rules about not dating your friend’s sister or mixing business with pleasure.”
“Like you have any room to talk,” I scoffed, shaking my head. Then I shot him a smug look as I wrapped an arm around Samantha and pulled her onto my lap. “Zoe worked for you before you got married.”
“And James didn’t have to trick me into getting married in order to get me to give him a chance,” Samantha added, grinning at her brother and making me chuckle.
“Seriously, how am I just learning about this now?” Jeremy repeated, shaking his head. “We talk just about every day, and you never said a word.”
I glanced at McKenna, then back at my brother and raised an eyebrow. “Dude, you can’t complain about me not telling you that I’m dating Samantha when you married McKenna before we even had the chance to meet her,” I pointed out with a shrug.
“I told you guys you could fly in for it,” Jeremy muttered.
Jason laughed and shook his head. “Only four hours before you were getting hitched.”
“It’s not my fault you didn’t drop everything so you could make it out to LA in time.” Jeremy pushed away from the table to get up and walk over to his wife.
Jason’s brows drew together. “If not yours, then whose fault would it be?”
