“Don’t worry, I’m not going on a blind date with some shrink that Nicki thinks I’ll fall all over. We have totally different taste in men.”
“Is that right...?” Jax drawled, his mouth edging up.
“That’s right.” Mindy’s tastes agreed more with Muffin’s, but she couldn’t say that. Not even jokingly.
“Care to elaborate?”
She couldn’t believe he had even asked. “No.”
He turned back to her laptop. “There’s a notice here from the Texas State Bank. Your monthly statement is ready. I thought you banked at Wells Fargo.”
“I’m authorized to write checks to pay Mom’s bills.”
“Paying for a health care facility like that must be expensive.”
“It is. The only good thing that came out of the accident was the settlement my mother received. The other driver was completely at fault. He was young, and his parents were extremely wealthy. The money my mother got is what pays for her medical care.”
Jax’s head turned in her direction. “How much?”
“After attorney’s fees, her portion was five million dollars.”
His dark gaze sharpened on her face. “That’s a lot of money. How’s it handled?”
“A trust fund was set up at the time of the settlement. A monthly check is deposited into the bill-pay account I manage at Texas State Bank.”
“Who’s in charge of the fund?”
“A lawyer who did work for my father, a man named Marcus Handley. He’s with Gibbons, Eckstein, and Riggs, Attorneys at Law.”
“Like I said, five million is a lot of cash. Even if some of it was spent on your mother’s care, there’s probably still a lot left.”
“Around three million according to the latest quarterly statement from Handley’s accountant.”
“We need to follow up on this, Mindy. Someone tried to kidnap you. They didn’t want you dead, or they would have just shot you. That means they want something from you. Maybe access to three million dollars.”
“It’s not my money. It’s my mother’s.”
“If you were kidnapped, would Handley pay the ransom?”
Mindy sucked in a breath. “Oh my God.”
“Exactly.”
CHAPTER FOUR
JAXSILENTLYCURSEDas Mindy’s pretty face drained of color.
“It never occurred to me that the men in the van might believe they could ransom me for money from the trust fund.”
“How many people are aware of the money?”
She shook her head, shifting long mahogany curls around her shoulders. The scent of lavender teased his senses, and his groin tightened. Jax bit back another curse.
“I never even think about it,” Mindy said. “It’s there to take care of my mother. Paying her bills is just something I do to help.”
“So no one you can think of would know you have access to three million dollars.”
“I don’t really have access. Mr. Handley controls the funds.”
