Billionaire Bachelors 6 ; Runaway Heiress(3)

Over the past twenty years, Chad hadn't had to spend anything of what he made. Every dime he received went right into investments. Luckily, those gambles had paid off well, leaving him with millions. He'd paid cash for his ranch and it hadn't even made a dent in his account. He'd been so frugal his entire life, changing his ways wouldn't be easy. As his commander had said many times, he needed to live a little, whatever the hell that meant.

The Anderson's made him seem like a pauper, though. He figured when the US government needed to be bailed out in a crisis situation, Joseph Anderson was who they called. He may be exaggerating a bit, but still, the family was America's Royalty.

Chad didn't know why he'd been summoned back to Joseph's place. He'd just been there the previous week for dinner and he needed to get his ranch settled. However, when Mark called and asked for a favor, he would always drop everything and be there for him  –  just like he knew the same was true of Mark. If Chad needed him, he'd be there  –  and with back-up.

As Chad looked around the room, the Anderson men began entering. Mark had left him sitting on the couch while he hunted down his father. He was being tight lipped and Chad's suspicions rose when he saw Mark's cousins' step into the room. They eyed him warily and he didn't back down. He stared them straight in the eye, wondering why he felt like he was in enemy territory all of a sudden.

He'd brought back a lot of battle wounds from his years of service, not just mentally, but physically, too. He unconsciously rubbed his rib where a bullet had struck. One more inch to the left and he'd have been dead. All that remained was a minor scar but it was something he looked at often to remind himself to be careful who he trusted. That bullet had come from someone who was supposed to be on the same side as him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting so long, Chad," Joseph said as he entered the room followed by Mark. If Chad had been nodding off, Joseph's booming voice would've certainly woken him. The man had a way of making people stand at attention better than Chad's old commander.

"It hasn't been a problem. I've been enjoying your whiskey," Chad responded as he swallowed down the last of the amber liquid.

"You have excellent taste, my boy. George got me that bottle for my last birthday. It's almost out so I'll have to hunt down some more. It's hard to find truly exceptional products these days," Joseph answered, not even blinking at the five-thousand dollars' worth of whiskey Chad had drank without tasting.

"What was the big emergency?" Chad asked. He didn't want to be rude but he had a lot to take care of and didn't want to stand around discussing liquor.




 

 

"I like a man who gets straight to the point," Joseph replied, not answering Chad's question. Chad looked again at Mark's cousins and felt like he was being assessed  –  and they found him wanting.

"Alright, if you don't want to tell me why you wanted me here, then do you want to explain why your nephew, Max, looks like he wants to tear my head off?" Chad said. He smirked at Max, who looked like he was thinking about stepping over and slugging Chad. After a second, Chad raised his brows at him in a bring-it-on gesture, then smiled as he watched Austin grab his brother's arm when it looked like he was about to step forward.

Chad hadn't been around Mark's cousins much; just saw them a few times when he was in town, but not enough to really feel he knew any of them. They'd never before been hostile, though and he couldn't understand why they felt a need to act macho all of a sudden.

"Sorry about my boys, Chad. We have a situation and my brother and I have come up with a solution that the boys aren't too thrilled about. They can't beat down their sister so they want to take their frustrations out on you," George said as he stepped forward.

"What do I have to do with this?" Chad asked, wanting to know what was going on. He was sick of them sidestepping the issue.

"There's no way to say this but to just come out with it, Bree's gone missing," George said. Chad instantly tensed  –  his full military training coming to the front. This was something he could handle.

"Have you put in a missing person's report, hired an investigator? Have there been any threats made against her?" Chad fired off questions.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed by her brothers and cousins. We found where she is. She's not all that great at hiding, and we were able to trace her credit cards. She's staying in a small town in Oregon. I went there to try to find out what was going on and she refused to come home. She said she was being smothered and she's determined to make it on her own. Apparently, she's refusing to come back until everyone backs off," George said a bit sheepishly.