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Ryan shrugged. “That was all Lucas.”
“It’s still your house too. And we’re all thankful to be out of the noise and dust. I’m sorry about your employee. How’s he doing? Have you spoken with his family?”
“That’s where I was actually—looking for his family. The address he gave me here in town was fake, and none of the other workers have any idea how to get in touch with anyone. The emergency number he gave me doesn’t work either. As far as I know, he’s still unconscious.”
Lucas nodded. “That was my last report too. Vince hasprobably discovered the fake address and phone number as well. I was following other leads today so I hadn’t heard. I’ll check with Vince in the morning.”
Ryan yawned. “You mean today.”
Lucas grinned and rose. “We’d all better try for some shut-eye. I hope Kostin wakes up so I can question him.”
“It’s enough to scare me off hiring any new workers, and I need help in the worst way,” Ryan said.
The monitor made a noise, and Carly picked it up. “Sounds like Noah is waking. I’d better check on him.” She squeezed past Ryan and vanished into the shadows.
Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. “You like her, don’t you?”
Lucas considered how to reply for a brief instant. He didn’t want to have a deep discussion this late, but he didn’t want to blow off his brother’s question either. “Yeah, I like her. She’s been through a lot.”
“What about Eric?”
“What about him? He’s out of the picture.” He told Ryan what they’d discovered today.
Ryan straightened. “Lucas, she’s going to have baggage from this. Be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt.” He chuckled and passed his palm over his hair. “I never thought I’d say those words to you. You’ve always had a steel plate around your emotions as thick as a battleship. Just—be careful.”
“I said I like her. I didn’t say I was thinking about marrying her. Good grief, Ryan. I’m simply helping her solve the egg’s mystery, and it’s escalated into murder and break-ins. Once this is over, I won’t be seeing her so much. We’re just friends.”
“I’ve heard that before. What I haven’t seen before is theexpression on your face when you look at her. And you invited the whole gang to stay here without talking to me about it. You’ve always liked your privacy, but you tossed it out the window without a second thought. You’re fooling yourself if you think you don’t feel something deeper than friendship. Maybe it’s just starting, but I think it’s probably too late.”
Lucas shook his head and started for the door. “You’re crazy.”
His brother’s soft chuckle followed him down the hall to his bedroom.
Twenty-Three
Carly wanted to look as professional as possible for her meeting with William Taylor, and she smoothed the wayward strands of hair escaping the French twist at the back of her head. Her feet already hurt, unaccustomed to wearing pumps, and she couldn’t wait to ditch the navy skirt and white blouse for shorts and a sleeveless top. The sun beat down on her head as she waited with Lucas in front of the bank.
“You remembered to get the key out of your safe?”
“Of course.” Perspiration beaded Lucas’s forehead. “We could go inside, you know.”
“I wanted Mr.Taylor to be able to spot me easily.”
Lucas lifted his phone and studied the picture on it. “Bald guy, big mustache. Should be easy to identify. He’s a little late. Wasn’t he supposed to be here at eleven?”
She nodded. “His flight could have been a little late.” Noah had been fed before she left him in Isabelle’s care, but she didn’t want this to take all day either.
Or had he lost interest in the egg? Maybe he’d seen a red flag that indicated it wasn’t genuine. She rejected the idea—everything in her knew the egg was genuine.
A black Escalade pulled into the parking lot, and a man gotout. He was in his thirties with blond hair and a clean-shaven face. The smile he turned her way as he stopped in front of her spoke of recognition. “Mrs. Harris? I’m William Taylor.”
Her answering smile faltered, and Lucas tensed at her side. She grabbed his forearm in a warning squeeze as he started to speak and shook her head. “You don’t look much like your picture on the website, Mr.Taylor.”
“Call me William. We all have fake pictures online. Privacy, you know.”
His explanation made sense, but she wasn’t convinced. “Could I see some ID?”
“Of course.” He whipped out his wallet and showed her his driver’s license as well as his official Willard Auction House card. “I’m eager to see the egg. Shall we go in?”
