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Cole growled. “And by ‘a hard time,’ he means stalking her and accosting her in public.”
“Shit.” Robert shook his head. “I mean, he’s a fool, but I never heard any rumors like that. He barely seemed like the kind of guy to have a girlfriend at all.”
Harrison cleared his throat. “For this next bit, Gabe, we need to speak somewhere more private.”
I touched Robert’s arm. “I’ll be back. I want to introduce you to Sloane.”
“Absolutely.”
A pleasant surprise. Curiosity bloomed near my heart where Sloane’s bond now held residence. I loved feeling her there. The unconscious anxiety I had when she wasn’t near me was eased by feeling her safety and her happiness.
“Why the secrecy?” I asked when we reached the corner of the veranda.
“Because the rest of the information I have for you was not obtained through legal means, and I want to limit that knowledge. Nor do I want to give the impression to people I don’t know that we carelessly give out confidential information. No offense to your brother.”
“None taken.” It was a good call to limit liability. “Is this going to make me want to kill him?”
“No more than you already do, but I think it will provide some closure, both for your pack and for Sloane.”
“Should I get them?”
“Might as well.”
Through our now echoing bond, I called them to me. They came quickly, Jace grinning like a fool. “I like this. We don’t even have to text. Harrison,” he greeted the Alpha.
Once they were all there, I spoke. “He has something about Craig. Figured it was better to hear it all at once.”
We all looked at him, determination and focus echoing through the four of us.
Harrison briefly recapped what he told me about Craig’s company before continuing. “The injection of money he got last year was from a man named Vidal Maher. Overseas investor, he’s got more money than god and has it in a bunch of places. I’m not sure what convinced him to take a chance on Sullivan’s company, but he did.”
Ash shrugged. “Clearly it didn’t pan out.”
“No. But he was still trying to make it work, and I think it was because of Sloane.”
I bristled. “What?”
A look of grim satisfaction covered Harrison’s face. “When Sloane mentioned the concert, I had my… less than legal resources go digging. Vidal Maher is one of the founding members of that concert hall. He’s a patron of the arts, but mostly music. Generally, he keeps a low profile, so I wouldn’t have expected you to know of him.”
That last bit was to me, and no, I hadn’t.
“He also happens to be a big fan of the composer who performed that night.”
Things started coming together in my head, suspicion growing. “The surprise?”
“Yes. Sloane was right. Emails confirm he’d arranged with Maher to have her meet Serrat, the composer.”
Jace frowned. “If he lost all of Maher’s money, why would he be inclined to agree?”
With one hand, Harrison gestured around us. Suddenly, the truth slammed into me. “Sloane’s grandmother?”
“Indeed. Craig lied. He told Maher that he had the full and completeimminentinvestment in the company by Sophia Glass. It was the reason he gave to convince Maher to keep investing, blaming the losses on bad luck and the market, not his own decisions. Maher wanted proof, and Craig saw the opportunity.”
Roman looked like he was about to go hunt Craig down, and I couldn’t blame him.
“But Sloane wouldn’t have been that proof,” Ash said. “Even if she’d gone with him to the meeting, that doesn’t prove anything.”
“With the way he sold it, that wouldn’t have mattered. Craig Sullivan is an excellent liar. He had Maher convinced that Sloane and he were well on their way to either bonding or marriage, and because of that, Sophia trusted him implicitly. Showing up with Sloane on his arm would have been enough, and I don’t doubt he would have forged whatever documents he needed. And further, I’m sure he would have come after the Glass fortune later.”
