Page 35 of Bombshell

I don't move, except to hold out my hand. “I need your car.”

“You need...what?” Luca scratches his head. “Why? Where's yours?”

“It's a long story, and this is an emergency.”

He knows I'm not asking. Luca steps to the side. “Let me grab my keys.”

I step into the threshold, mentally counting each second it takes for him to cross the room. The keys are lying next to the disassembled pieces of a Glock and a cleaning cloth. That's when I remember I left my holster and 9mm in Adair's suite.

Luca grabs the keys and tosses them, they arc through the air and land in my palm. “Do you want me to call it around?”

I shake my head. I'm not waiting for a valet, even if my friend's VIP status probably jumps him to the head of the line. “I know where they park them.”

“What about back-up?” Luca asks as I turn to go. “Two might be better than one in an emergency.”

Not this emergency, I think to myself. I can't drag anyone else into this. I shake my head and my eyes fall on the pieces of his gun. “I need to do this alone, but if you don't mind, I could use a piece.”

Luca slides the pieces of his weapon together with a precision that can only come from being the bastard child of an elite military unit and a criminal fixer. He carries it to me and holds it out. “You know what you're doing?”

“Nope,” I admit. Taking it, I tuck it securely in my waistband and loosen my shirt to cover it. “But I'll figure it out.”

It's easier than it should be to get Luca's car out of the Eaton's valet parking lot. Getting out of Nashville at this hour less so. I can't unleash the BMW's twin-turbo V8 until I reach the interstate. Even then, I'm forced to weave through people heading to the suburbs at the end of day, making it impossible to floor it. I barely get the coupe over one-hundred miles per hour before I reach the Valmont exit.

“Name?” A new guard asks at the gate to Windfall.

This isn’t going to end well. “Sterling Ford.”

My hand slips from the steering wheel to the 9mm tucked into my waistband. Given the last time I visited the MacLaine estate I threatened to burn it down, I doubt I’m still on the approved list. That doesn’t leave me many options.

The guard wanders back over to the window and leans down. There’s a name badge pinned to his khaki shirt that says Ken. “I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to let you in,” he says. “In fact, my information tells me to call the house if you swing by.”

My fingertips graze the grip of my gun, the metal is warm from being against my body during the drive. Part of knowing how to handle a road block is not over-reacting. A knee jerk reaction will only result in disaster. Pulling a gun will only make Ken panic, and a panicked Ken will probably wind up a dead Ken. That’s not why I came here today. In fact, it’s counter-productive. The last thing I want is to leave Tennessee until this matter is settled.

“Typical,” I say with a shake of the head, putting my hand back on the steering wheel. “Does Malcolm MacLaine treat all of his sister’s boyfriends this way? He’s such a dick.”

“Honestly?” Ken scratches his ear and smiles. “I haven’t been working here long enough to know, but, um, yeah. He’s definitely a dick.”

Never underestimate the power of finding common ground with someone. There’s no easier path to making an ally than finding a common enemy. Or, at least, a pain in the ass. Now that I’ve got Ken on my side, I have to hope my next move doesn’t blow up in my face. “Look, I know Adair and he had a fight. What’s new? But she arranged for me to swing by and pick up some stuff.”

“I wish I could…” He looks nervously over at the gate like he’s really weighing his options. “Maybe if you came back with Miss MacLaine?”

“It’s best we keep the two of them apart until they’ve both cooled off. Trust me. You don’t want to stoke a MacLaine temper.” Adair is the last person I want here. I don’t know how she’ll react when she finds out I came. I don’t know if she’ll try to intervene, but nothing is going to stand in my way. Not today. Still, I’d rather not have to kill Ken. “Can you call Felix? He knows all about this. Just tell him Sterling came by for Adair.”

Ken chews on his lips before shrugging. “Why not? I mean, he practically owns the place.”

He’s trudging back to the guardhouse before I can ask him what that means. Felix practically owns the place? Since when? Adair told me that her father’s will was surprising, but it can’t have been that generous. I’m still contemplating the offhand remark when the gate opens.

“You’re good,” Ken calls, waving me through.

My foot stays on the brake pedal. “What did you mean about Felix owning the place?”

“I guess when the old man kicked it, he didn’t leave the place to his kids,” my new friend tells me.

“He left it to Felix?” That doesn’t make sense.

“Nah. He’s in charge of the trust or something until the grandkid is old enough. She gets it all. At least, that’s what my buddy told me.”

“Wow.” I force myself to shrug this off like it’s not a bombshell. “Good luck, man.”