“I’ll just say that we’ve had a bit of a hiccup moving some stuff.”
“What kind of product?” I stepped forward, inserting myself into the conversation even as Charlie shot me a look.
Michael Swanson’s gaze went to me, running down the length of my dress, though his gaze seemed more critical than admiring. He didn’t want to tell us anything else, I could see.
“I only ask because Lacy said that your town is basically a massive cattle ranch,” I clarified.
Charlie put a hand out as if to silence me. He didn’t want me engaging in conversation with this man, but I was fairly certain that the elder Mr. Swanson wasn’t the kind to pull a gun on a lady. On another man, sure, but not on me. Not tonight.
“We’ve been expanding,” Michael said simply. “I was hoping Anton might be able to step in and help us move things along this weekend.”
“Doesn’t seem like the most opportune timing,” I said innocently, tilting my head as if I was simply a confused little woman. “You know, with it being his wedding,” I added, in case the man had forgotten why he was actually here this weekend. “In fact”—I lowered my voice, but my tone was steady—“your wife, Patty, also seems to have an ulterior motive for coming here this weekend. One that has nothing to do with Anton marrying Lacy.”
Michael stared into my eyes. “I can’t answer for my wife’s behavior, and I don’t care who Anton marries, as long as he comes back home to work when the ceremony ends.”
The image of Anton dragging an angry Lacy across state lines came to mind, and I shot Mr. Swanson an angry look. “Anton and Lacy are starting a new life together, one that has nothing to do with the activity your family is involved in.”
Charlie huffed out a quick breath as if someone had punched him in the gut.
Michael’s eyes flickered to Charlie as if to ask why he wasn’t keeping his woman quiet.
Charlie ignored the unasked question, saying instead, “I’m still not sure exactly what you need from me at this late hour, Mr. Swanson.”
The man inhaled and studied the floor for a long moment. There were obviously many things he wasn’t saying and he was measuring what to reveal.
“Listen, my son and I went back to the Billiards Room to talk business,” Michael continued, glancing at me as if waiting for me to interrupt. I crossed my arms and let him keep talking. “A few minutes later he excused himself to go to the restroom. I waited for a couple minutes, then five, then ten, then a half-hour before realizing Anton wasn’t coming back.” Michael’s eyebrows dipped slightly. “I didn’t mean to run him off, so I called him, went to his room. Hell, I even went to find his mother again. I got an earful about how she hadn’t seen him or that damn priest that she brought with her this weekend.”
The vitriol in his tone as he said the last few words was enough to concern both me and Charlie if we hadn’t been on guard already.
I mentally scanned The Rose, thinking of the place where Anton was most likely to go. Then I realized that when we’d arrived back at our guest suite, I hadn’t gone inside. Instead, I’d followed Charlie back to his room. Of course, Anton had been in there, waiting for Lacy.
Not that I would say this out loud, but I was 99 per cent sure where Anton was right now; and I was equally certain that I wasn’t about to tell his father where to find him.
NINETEEN
It took a few more minutes and a promise to look for Anton and call Mr. Swanson immediately if we found him, in order to get the older man to leave Charlie’s room.
As soon as the door shut behind him and the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, I turned to Charlie, who caught the expression on my face.
“What are you thinking?”
“Anton’s fine. He’s with Lacy, has to be.” As I said the words, I started toward the door, certain of where I was headed next, although unsure of what I would say when I got there. Would I need to convince Anton that his family’s business—likely criminal business—wasn’t his responsibility? Would I need to reassure him that he could have a life separate from them? I hoped not. If Anton wasn’t the kind of man who could see that truth for himself, then he didn’t need to be marrying my friend.
“I’m coming with you,” Charlie said. I could see that he didn’t want me wandering the halls of The Rose alone at this hour.
A minute later, with the door locked, Charlie trailed behind me, glancing back and forth over his shoulder to make sure no one was following us as we made our way to the opposite wingof the estate and up a flight of stairs.
“Mr. Swanson didn’t seem that dangerous. Grumpy, but not terrifying,” I said, though I kept my words to a whisper.
“The worst criminals never do,” Charlie answered.
I thought back to the ones I’d met over the past few months. They were everyday people, people who seemed reasonable and friendly enough before planning—or actually committing— murder. Thankfully, no one had died tonight, but plenty had gone wrong and plenty reeked of suspicion. Patty Swanson, the priest, Bella Rivera, and now Anton’s father—all of them seemed capable of something nefarious, if not downright illegal.
When I reached the guest suite that Lacy and I were sharing, I knocked lightly, not wanting to just walk in on whatever might be going on inside. No one responded, so after trying one more time and getting nothing, Charlie motioned for me to use my key and then stepped in front of me so he could enter the room first.
We walked in to find the room empty and the windowed door to the balcony open. I wrapped my arms around myself and hurried toward the cold night air—just in time to see a gun pointed straight at me.
“Oh my God. What the hell are you doing?” I screamed as I stared down the short barrel of the pistol that Lacy held.
