Joy reached over, giving her knee a squeeze. Her touch was warm and comforting. “That’s why we’re here.”
“And that’s why you have Finn and the Brotherhood. You’re not alone anymore,” Naomi said as she raised her glass. “Here’s to friends who pick you up when you’re feeling down.”
Lainey clinked glasses with them, the soft chime a quiet reminder that she wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
These women, her friends, had shown up on a minute’s notice with wine, tacos, and chocolate.
Maybe whatever was going on with Finn wouldn’t go anywhere. But she had friends she could count on.
It didn’t fix everything.
But for the first time in a long time, she let herself hope.
Finn carriedin bags of food. It was the least he could do since Dex was giving up his down time to look into Hartwell Redevelopment Group. He set them on the table.
“Any luck?”
Dex shook his head. “Nada.”
“Damn.” They ate quickly, and Dex got back to work. An hour later, Finn’s phone buzzed. Pennsylvania area code.
He swiped to answer. “Yeah?”
“You were right to call me.”
Finn straightened. “How bad?”
“Bad. Hartwell isn’t just a shell company. It’s a goddamn maze. Multiple layers, foreign investors, real owners buried behind dummy LLCs. They’ve been hitting historic zones all over the Southeast—Gainesville, Charleston, Wilmington. Always the same pattern. An offer to buy out, use pressure if people say no.No paper trail. Rumor is that it’s tied to two construction firms flagged by the feds for money laundering.”
“They’re using real estate projects as cover?” Finn asked.
“Yup. And Haywood Lake’s Historic District? Prime target. It’s sitting in the middle of a corridor already in play.”
Finn muttered a curse. “Why now? It doesn’t make any sense. They could have tried to get the project before Lainey took over.”
“Don’t know yet,” Tex replied. “You might want to ask your girl. Maybe she knows.”
“If she knows, she’s not saying.”
Tex didn’t reply right away. “She might not know how dangerous this is. Or she’s keeping quiet to protect herself. Or someone else.”
Finn’s stomach lurched. “She’s got a kid,” he said before he could stop himself. “Lives with her.”
A pause. “Then this just became a much more dangerous ball game.”
“Do you have any information on Cummings?”
“Still checking. I’ll get you the rest by morning.”
“Thanks, man.”
Tex hesitated. “Watch your six, Scorpion. These guys play for real. They don’t leave witnesses.”
The line went dead.
Finn scrubbed his face with his hands. What he originally thought was just simple protection detail was turning into something much bigger and more serious. And Lainey was caught in the middle of it.
CHAPTER 25
