ROYAL ROCK(140)
“What game are you playing at here, Nathan?”
“No games, sir. Do you think your daughter would make any of this up?”
He thought for a second. “No. I have to admit that it’s very unlike her.”
“Then believe her if you don’t believe me.”
“Fine. Go on then.”
“Do you remember a man named Joshua?”
He barked a short laugh. “Joshua Rhodes is the man I’m working with here.”
“How much do you know about him?”
“Young. Made his money in real estate, primarily in this area. Seems to have a lot of local connections.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Notice anything about that?”
Realization slowly dawned on him. “No. You’re kidding. Joshua?”
“The men in the gang each have a tattoo on their wrist. Claire says Joshua has that tattoo. It only makes sense that he’s the one behind all of this.”
Jonathan said back, thoughtful. “This is very disturbing news, Nathan. I’m engaged in a serious land deal around here, and Joshua is a primary investor.”
“Well I suspect that he’s trying to kidnap your daughter for leverage against you.”
“Piece of shit,” Jonathan whispered. “I’ll kill him.”
“No,” I said, “you won’t. But I can.”
“Nonsense. You’re protecting Claire. I can hire people to take care of this from here on out.”
“No,” I said forcefully. “I’m dealing with this. You can hire all the amateurs you want, but if you want this done right, I’ll be the one taking care of it.”
“Why do you want to get so involved?”
“I’m already involved. Now I want to finish it.”
He grunted, nodding. “I understand your feelings, son, but you’re a soldier. This is a matter better handled by the police or someone more discreet.”
“First of all, the police in this town are likely either controlled by this gang or at least in their pocket. You don’t want to go to them.”
“You’re right. I also want to avoid the bad publicity.”
“Second of all, I know them already. I got the intel you need. I’m the one that should finish this.”
He sighed, looking at me intensely. “Can you handle this?”
“Sir, I’ve handled much, much worse, believe me.”
We looked at each other for a long, tense moment before he finally nodded. “Very well. You’ll have my resources at your disposal. Whatever you need, just ask.”
“Tell me everything you know about this Joshua guy, for starters.”
“Sadly, I don’t know much. He comes with stellar references, but he doesn’t have much of a past. As far as I know, he’s staying in a hotel nearby.”
“Which hotel?”
He frowned. “You know, I’ve never asked.”
Typical. He didn’t even know where the guy was staying. That was a problem.
“What else can you tell me?”
“Not a whole lot that would be useful. He’s popular in the business world, something of a young prodigy. I don’t typically go digging into the personal lives of everyone I do business with, so I don’t have much else to offer. He came with stellar references.”
“Maybe you should check people out in the future.” I took a sip of coffee. “I’ll take care of this.”
“Update me as soon as you make a move.”
“Okay.” I turned and walked out of the kitchen.
That took care of Jonathan for the time being, but I didn’t have too much more to go on. I could use Jonathan to get me close to Joshua, but it would be difficult to do so in a casual setting, especially now after I’ve revealed myself to his men. The guy that got away was sure to tell them all about the Navy SEAL that kicked their fucking asses.
I was lost in thought as I walked into my bedroom. The sight of Claire stretched out on my bed wearing only a smile knocked me back into the world. I shut the door behind me.
“Good morning, stranger. How was your run?”
“Not bad.” I grinned at her. “Keeping yourself busy while I was away?”
She got up onto all fours and crawled to the edge of the bed, a smile on her face. “Come here.”
I walked over to her, my cock already stirring in my pants. “Your father is downstairs.”
She shrugged, pouting. “Does that matter?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
She grabbed me by my waistband and pulled me closer, yanking it down to reveal my hard cock.
“Look at you,” I said. “Already starving for it.”
“I can’t help myself.”
“I know you can’t. You’re aching for me, aren’t you?”