8 Bodies is Enough(38)
The firm wall of his chest caught her and his arms enveloped her. “I got you,” he murmured.
Once she let go of her tears, the floodgate opened—tears for her injured father, tears for her sick mother, tears for her confused little sister, tears for her troubled brother, tears for her compromised heart…tears for her entire broken and bruised family. She leaned into him and heaved great, noisy sobs she’d been holding back for what seemed like most of her adult life. He let her cry for several long minutes, even though she was sure she was causing a scene. When her energy waned, she quieted, drawing on his potency until she felt strong enough to stand on her own. When she pulled away, he had a white handkerchief waiting for her, and the smallest of smiles. “Better?”
She wiped her face and blew her nose, then nodded.
“So it’s not good news,” he agreed. “But it’ll get sorted out.”
“Where could he have come into that much money?”
“Not doing anything legal,” Jack said.
“His friend Chance is into all kinds of shady stuff, but he’s no criminal mastermind. And he has a trust fund, so it’s not like he needs money.”
Jack pulled his hand over his mouth.
“What?” she asked.
“Do you know if Wes has the skill and equipment to try his hand at printing it himself?”
She touched her temple. “Maybe. He’s good at forging event tickets, press passes, things like that to get into places he can’t normally access.” She pressed her lips together, then said, “He might have created a few gala tickets for me in the past to, um…crash a party or two.”
Jack gave her a wry smile. “Imagine that.”
“But like I said, that’s in the past. And it was tickets to silly cocktail parties, not cash.”
“Does he have access to software and sophisticated printers?”
“His probation prohibits him from having computer equipment at home, but he spends a lot of time at Chance’s place. And there’s his job at the city IT office.”
Jack grunted. “Let’s hope he wasn’t printing it at all, much less on city equipment.”
She prayed he wasn’t that stupid. “I need to talk to him.”
“He’s in holding, so let me talk to someone and see if my badge will get us some priority. Will you be okay waiting here?”
She nodded and watched him walk away, pulling her heart along behind him like a battered tin can. She really needed to get over this man and figure out a way to become passionate about her fiancé.
Carlotta pulled out her phone to see a handful of missed texts and calls from Peter. Feeling negligent, she dialed his number, dreading telling him about her latest family fiasco. He answered on the first ring.
“Carly?”
“Hi, Peter.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“You sound like you’ve been crying. Is it Randolph?”
“No. There’s no change in his condition. But I’m at the police station. Wes is in trouble.”
He sighed. “What did he do this time?”
“I don’t have all the details, but he’s been charged with passing counterfeit money—a lot of it.”
Peter gave a little laugh. “There has to be a mistake. Where would Wes get counterfeit money?”
“We’re trying to get to the bottom of it.”
“We?”
“Uh…Jack is here.”
“I wish you’d called me instead.”
“I thought Jack could help speed things along. He’s talking to someone now to see if we can see Wes. After that, I’ll come back to the hotel, and maybe you and I can have dinner?”
“I’ve already eaten. I left you messages.”
She winced. “I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy day.”
“A crazy day of shopping?”
“Um…yeah. Lots of…sales. Maybe we can get dessert when I get back?”
“That would be good,” Peter agreed.
“How was your day with clients?”
“Nothing special. We’ll talk about it later.”
She saw Jack heading back toward her. “I have to go, but I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye.” She disconnected the call just as Jack stopped in front of her.
“I tried, but I’m told Wes doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”
“Even me?” She didn’t pretend she didn’t feel slighted.
“I’m thinking especially you,” Jack said. “But honestly, he’s probably just following Liz’s instructions, not to talk until she gets here.”
“Liz is coming out?”
“So it seems.”