Jackpot. All right. Wolfe dealt with the facts, shoving emotion away for now. He’d freak out later. “Oh, come on, Gary. You thought I’d miss the clues? You hire Frank Spanek as a middleman, who also somehow, just coincidentally, is a connection to both Albert Nelson and Theresa Rhodes?”
Gary sat back, his gaze shuttering.
But Wolfe knew him. There it was. A fleeting reaction. “So your pretty CEO has been, what? Running drugs through her sporting goods company and associated nonprofits?”
No response.
“Through her nonprofits that help women.” Wolfe tsked, forcing amusement into his tone. “Candy Folks tracked down that story, no doubt tugging the strings from money laundering to the heroin market. You used Theresa Rhodes and her connections with Nelson and Spanek to get your heroin out of Afghanistan, and Candy figured it out. Shit, Rock. Did you kill an innocent journalist?”
Rock lifted a shoulder, his hand steady around the trigger. “She put up a good fight. Nothing close to what I assume your blonde would give. If she lives, that is.”
Wolfe showed his teeth. “If I don’t make the phone call within the hour, your CEO dies. Do you care?” It was a bluff, because there was a good chance Gary didn’t care about the woman. About anybody.
“I care,” Gary growled. “Should we let both of our women live or die today?”
Wolfe could deny it, or he could say they were just friends, but it was too late. Dana was already on Rock’s radar. Gary’s radar. Gary, damn it. But if Wolfe’s involvement at the golf course was a surprise, then Gary hadn’t found out about the Deep Ops team. That was something. “What do you want?”
Gary sighed. “Well, world peace would be a nice start.” He shifted his weight, showing he’d been working out.
Wolfe remained silent.
“You never did have a sense of humor. Apparently being blown up hasn’t helped any.”
Wolfe barely kept his hands from curling into fists and instead adopted a slightly bored expression. “I always wondered. Why did you leave me alive?”
Gary chuckled, the sound grating. “I thought you were dead. You sure looked dead, and I was under a bit of a deadline.”
That explained it, then. “How about we leave the women out of it and just go to it, you and me? I’ve offered several times, and you keep refusing. You think you’ll lose?”
“No. I’d win, but what fun would that be? Over so quickly?” Gary leaned forward. “Didn’t you ever wonder? Who was better at the game—you or me?”
Wolfe shook his head. “I never considered any of it a game. We were on the same team, so it didn’t matter who was better.” It mattered that they covered each other’s backs. “It sickens me that you killed one innocent woman and have been stalking another one. How long have you been following Dana?” He had to make sure Gary hadn’t found the unit as well.
“I haven’t.” Gary grinned, leaning back as if they were two old buddies catching up. “Found out she was snooping around the story about Candy disappearing, had a buddy look her up, and guess what’s plastered all over social media? Yep. This wedding. The bride is very energetic and so helpful. I arrived, found you, and got to work on the building after all of the nice wedding guests went to bed, including you.”
Was he telling the truth? Seemed like it.
Bile rolled around in Wolfe’s stomach. “This is getting tedious, and we’re at a stalemate. We both need to walk away right now.” So he could get Dana and her family to safety. The urge to do so rushed through his veins.
“Oh, I’m not quite done today.” Gary stroked the detonator with his free hand. “What do you know about my operation?”
“Not enough. I was just on to Albert Nelson when he was shot in the head. You?” Wolfe asked as more of the puzzle took shape.
“Me,” Gary confirmed. “It was an easy kill. Were you at the party?”
Wolfe nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t feel you there.” Was he losing his edge?
Gary scratched his beard. “I didn’t feel you there, either. Interesting.”
Wait a minute. “The second Captive party. Were you there?”
“No.” Gary sighed. “I’d never dose you. Too easy, you know?”
Ah, shit. “It was Theresa.” Now he remembered the woman wearing the mask.
Gary snorted. “She’s a crafty one, and she did that on her own. Had a couple of men there to take Dana, and neither of us realized that you were there as well. Otherwise, Dana would’ve met me in person that night and told me all she’d discovered.”
Bile rose in Wolfe’s throat. “Great. You and a sociopath teaming up. What could go wrong?”
