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Chapter Five
Lacy Lynch poured straight whiskey into Nash’s glass.
Yeah, Lynch must be desperate to get him drunk. Nash shook his head with a knowing smile. “No thanks.”
Lynch had dismissed his security and brought Nash into his office upstairs. It was tucked into the back of his mansion, away from the loud sounds of the rowdy party. The study was paneled in wood with libraries of books that clearly no one had read. The drapes were drawn against the bright lights illuminating the dark walkways outside, and a warm glow blanketed the loveseats in the room. Nash had a feeling that he wasn’t the only one who Lynch brought up here, especially considering the rumors of his womanizing.
“How long have you been working for Trout?” Lynch asked him.
Nash helped himself to the peanuts in the side dish. “I work for my brother, so I don’t.” In other words, Lynch was wasting his time wining and dining him. Nash wondered when Lynch would figure that out and release him to go babysit Eva again.
“You enjoying the party?” Lynch asked.
Not exactly, but that would be rude to admit to the host, so Nash nodded.
Lynch sat on the end of his desk.Uh oh.This was his signal that he was getting chummy. His every move was practiced and designed to elicit his prey to relax. It pretty much did the opposite with Nash. “You going to tell me about this lucky woman?”
She wasn’tthatlucky. Nash swallowed the peanuts. “Don’t mind my brother. He’s…”an idiot.“He likes to give me a hard time.”
“So thereisa female.” Lynch leaned closer to Nash. “I will get this out of you.”
Doubtful.
Nash grabbed more peanuts. “You hungry?” Lynch asked. “I can get you a good steak dinner? Female company to enjoy it with? A trip for two to the Bahamas?”
This was what Nash had been afraid of. West’s words came back to haunt him—every man has his price.His mind drifted to Emily. She seemed scared to death of her performance tonight. She really needed something to calm her down. “I could use some cold fireworks,” he muttered.
Lynch startled him by agreeing. “Done.”
It was a joke… wasn’t it? But it might be the perfect distraction—for Emily and for the audience. Nash broke into a grin, despite Lynch’s arrogant demeanor, or maybe because of it. A light show might actually do the trick, a subtle fountain of light to match Emily’s sweet voice. It wasn’t like the request was so big that Lynch could chalk it off as a bribe, just a favor from one man to another. He sat up, suddenly interested. “Have them set up the fireworks around the stage. It’ll give the performance a little bling.”
Lynch laughed heartily, far too heartily to actually be sincere. “I can arrange that.” He picked up his phone and easily ordered the addition to Emily’s performance, as easily as adding anchovies on pizza. He put down the phone. “I told you that I’d get her name out of you.”
“Who?” Nash asked coyly while Lynch took a deep swig of his own whiskey. “Mia Hart?”
Lynch spit out his drink with a laugh.
Well, that was rude. How did Lynch know that he was lying? Nash felt a grin take over his face.
“I can tell we’re going to be friends,” Lynch said.
That made Nash’s stomach tighten with warning. That wasn’t the best of ideas. The guy was a snake… who agreed that cold fireworks were a good idea. Nash felt conflicted. He straightened in his chair. What did West think was going to happen tonight?
Lynch stood and dragged out some magazines on fast cars, throwing them on the desk. On the front was a shot of the latest GMC Hummer. The guy had done his homework on Nash, that was for sure. “You see that?”
“Yeah.” Nash wasn’t impressed. “The tires look like they belong on a smart car. A baby one.”
Lynch let out a laugh. This one seemed less forced than when they’d started out. “You should check out my garage, Nash, see if you can find some wheels that are more your style. I’ll let you take the Trevita out for a joy run.”
“A Trevita? You’ve got a Trevita?” Nash couldn’t hide his admiration anymore. No one would need to twist his arm to take out a luxury sports car like that. Emily would look beautiful in the passenger side with her hair blowing around in the wind.
“Definitely. You should look into getting one yourself,” Lynch said. “You pull a few jobs for us and you’d have one in no time.”
A few jobs? Who did Lynch want him to kill? Nash forced himself back to reality. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got a great job already.”
“You do,” Lynch agreed cheerfully. He didn’t look displeased that his offer had been thrown back into his face. “I bet the benefits are real good, too. Working for West can be profitable. He rewards good business sense.”
Nothing that Nash had seen personally, but who knew what went on behind the scenes with West? Nash stiffened uncomfortably, wondering what Lynch was getting at.
