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Tim recovered quickly, and with a wicked grin and glint in his eye, he said, “You’ve been snooping.” He took a sip of water, then chuckled. “Well, it makes my job easier. I suspected you’d seen the papers on my desk after your mother kicked me out of the house. I wasn’t positive, though.”
I nodded. He was giving me an easy out.
“If you work with me, you’ll be a multimillionaire before you’re thirty. You’ll have more money and power than you could possibly imagine,” Tim explained.
I was already worth more than what Tim was offering, but he didn’t know that. More importantly, if he had River, would he really try to recruit me? But why in fuck’s name would I believe anything that he said? He’d lied and hid who he was my entire life.
“Weapons aren’t my thing, but thanks for the offer.” I looked at my food, my stomach churning.
“Think about it. I’ll reach out again in a few weeks.” Tim glanced at his watch and smirked. “I have a plane to catch.” He grabbed the black briefcase in the seat next to him and stood. Opening his brown leather wallet, he tossed a hundred on the table like it was supposed to impress me. I had my own money. I didn’t need his. “I’ll be in touch.” Tim stalked off before I could tell him not to waste his time. I wouldn’t change my mind.
I leaned my head against the back of the booth and cringed. Zayne slipped into Tim’s seat, and I peered at him. “You might as well order some food while we’re here. He didn’t have any information to help us with River’s location.” Defeated, I scrubbed my face with my hands. “I’m not sure he or Logan had anything to do with River’s disappearance.”
Zayne lifted his finger to signal the waitstaff, and Joanie nearly tripped over herself when she spotted him. She arched her back, pushing out her chest making her giant tits even more prominent. I was pretty sure Zayne could take her behind the building and do anything he wished with her. She’d probably already creamed her panties. Her attention bounced from Zayne to me, then to Zayne again. I threw my head back and barked out a laugh. I’d seen that look way too many times. Joanie would definitely be down with a threesome at this point. Before River came into my life, I’d have been down with it for sure. Now? I was immediately turned off by the desperation that rolled off Joanie in waves. The only pussy I wanted to play with was River’s. My cock strained against my jeans at the thought of her, then my heart cracked open.
Zayne placed his order, and Joanie removed Tim’s plates and cup. I was pretty sure that not even a minute had gone by when she’d returned with Zayne’s orange juice and coffee. He was getting the fastest service I’d ever witnessed here.
“I bet you’re used to that kind of reaction from the ladies.” I couldn’t help but grin. Under normal circumstances, I would have been laughing my ass off.
Zayne brushed a dark curl off his forehead, and his green eyes followed Joanie as she walked away. “I’ve been with a lot of women. Seen a lot of life. Not much bothers me these days.” He cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee. “Except evil shit like selling people or molesting kids.”
For the first time since I’d hired Zayne, I had a tiny peek into who he was as a man. I was intrigued. “You served in the military, right?”
“Army. I was a ranger.” He scanned the diner, then returned his attention to me. “I saw and did a lot of crap.”
“I can’t imagine.” I’d never even considered the armed forces. I was all about sports and the club. As far as I was concerned, my future had been all planned out.
“So, you lost your temper with Tim.” Zayne assessed me.
I moved my eggs around on my plate, unsure if I could eat anymore. “He said he was here to recruit me to work for him.”
“Interesting,” Zayne said without even blinking. “And what about River?”
“That’s when I lost my shit.” My nostrils flared as I recalled his words. “He told me to forget about her, that she was trash. He admitted Logan knew her, too. Tim mentioned Dan owed Logan a lot of money. But before I could dig much deeper, he insisted that neither he nor Logan had anything to do with River’s kidnapping. I find it odd that he offered the information before I asked the question. Makes me wonder what he’s lying about.” I fished out the thumb drive I’d deposited into my jeans pocket. “He gave me this to prove where he was while River …” I nervously tugged on the collar of my shirt, struggling to say the word kidnapped as I placed the small item on the table for Zayne.
Zayne took the black and silver drive and looked at it for a moment before tucking it into his pants pocket. “Have you considered the idea that Tim took River to be able to control you, then recruit you? He could have planned every step of the kidnapping and your conversation today.”
“As in maybe he paid someone at the furniture company to tell him when they’d be at the penthouse and to grab her?” I hadn’t even considered the possibility until Zayne brought it up.
Zayne narrowed his eyes and peered out of the window briefly. “We sure as hell can’t rule it out.”
I tapped my finger on the side of my coffee cup and tried to sort out what motives Tim would have. “Maybe Sutton can verify if the footage was altered.”
“She can. That girl can do anything computer related.” He grinned for the first time since I’d met him. “Except fix one.”
“How long have you known Pierce and Sutton?” I could only deal with the conversation about Tim and River a little at a time. I should have been out scouring the earth for her, but I had no idea where to start now that I leaned toward believing Tim. Maybe. The back and forth was wearing thin. I needed a straight answer, but it wouldn’t come from him. Hopefully, Sutton would know something soon.
“We all attended high school together and trained in karate. Vaughn, too. He’s a year behind us.”
“Those friendships are invaluable. The trust that they’ll always have your back and be there for you … It’s hard to find. I have that with Brynn, Jace, and Chance.”
“I can tell. It’s good that you have support around you right now. When someone you love is in danger, it drains the life out of you for sure.”
I wanted to ask Zayne how he knew, but Joanie injected herself into our conversation with Zayne’s breakfast.
Once she was gone, I tried to eat a little bit of my biscuit. I slapped some butter and grape jelly on it, then took a bite.
Zayne nodded at my plate. “Try to finish your food, man. You’ll require your strength for when we bring River home. She’s going to need you, and you’ll slip into caretaker mode and forget to take care of yourself.”
