“Oh, it did, trust me,” Gina said. “The mic’s good, probably even picked up all the noise from the airport.”
She set the shoe on the table. “Now for the next step.Mile High Markerkilled the story and I have a feeling that other publications in Colorado would, too. Maybe even further afield. Milestone is part of a network of hospitals spreading across the country and they all use the same loan company.”
“So how do we get the word out there?” Wren asked. The frustration in her voice made Elias stroke his thumb across the back of her hand.
Gina’s eyes shone as she looked at Lachlan, who nodded. “We have a friend. She’s a journalist with her own platform who specializes in stories like these. Kyla Lewis Dean.”
Wren’s eyes and smile both got a whole lot bigger. “She’s a legend. Wait, she hired Watchdog, didn’t she? When everything went down with her a year or two ago?”
Humor danced in Gina’s eyes. “Yes. But first,Iwas investigatingher.”
Wren covered her mouth. “Was that before Kyla went…” she trailed off.
Gina nodded.
“Can someone clue me in?” Elias asked.
Wren tilted her head. “You don’t listen to podcasts, do you?”
“What’s a podcast?”
She rolled her eyes. “Smartass. Kyla used to be a reporter in Los Angeles. Now she has a huge following on her podcast,Up She Rises. She exposes all sorts of corruption.”
“If she can help us, that’s great. I might even listen to her podcast.”
Gina patted his shoulder. “If you start with episode eight,Rumors, you’ll know her story. Well, at least the parts she can tell without endangering or incriminating anyone. Including me.”
She tapped the shoe. “Let me listen to this first, then I’ll contact Kyla. She’ll want in on the story for sure.” Gina looked at Lachlan again. “Lach insists I’m retired now?—”
“Because you are, lass.”
“—but that doesn’t mean I can’t pass a little info about the loan sharks along to the Los Angeles Watchdog office. We have quite the hacker there. Once she looks into LastSave Lenders and gathers proof—and rest assured, she will—she’ll have no problem redistributing funds much quicker than the law will, if they do so at all.”
“You mean give the money back to Matthew and Arthur,” Elias said.
Gina nodded. “And Evan, and anyone else they’ve robbed. The money will also be untraceable, if needed.” She gave the room a wicked smile, her gaze dancing from Gabe on down to Bear. “You gentlemen are not the only ones who know how to help people who’ve fallen through the cracks.”
After they finished discussingthe third part of the plan—which truly made Elias feel uneasy—the meeting adjourned.
Kyle led Elias and Wren—happily out of her disguise and back in her favorite cowgirl boots—on a picturesque walk through Watchdog’s property, an entire forest-covered stray foothill east of Lyons. The sun had set but the path through the trees was lined with lampposts.
“Here we are,” Kyle said when they reached a clearing that turned out to be a backyard. “Watchdog Protection’s finest safehouse. I took you the back way because it’s shorter than using the road.”
“It’s cute,” Wren told Kyle.
“You sound surprised.”
“I guess I was picturing some sort of bunker situation.”
Kyle chuckled. “Negative. Watchdog bought the few houses scattered on the foothill, including my wife’s small ranch further up the road. Arden will be down in the morning to meet you, Wren, and make sure you’re comfortable. She loves visitors.”
“Oh, good! Ellie was telling me about her.”
“They’re good friends.” His grin lit up his ice-blue eyes. “I think you’re gonna fit right in.”
“Bear actually fixed this place up,” Elias said. “And it’s where he?—”
“Met Ellie,” she finished. “She told me all about it.”
