Page 51 of The Texas Ranger: Saddled Up
“I love being surrounded by all these people who smell like money,” Bear said through clenched teeth.
Sin chuckled softly. “I’ve got eyes on the north terrace. Fletcher and another man are smoking cigars.”
“Maybe I can get closer.”
“The terrace is off the second floor.”
Bear went back out to the main hallway and rushed for the back staircase. He almost crashed into a waiter with a loaded tray of champagne flutes. The young man let out a growled curse, but when he stepped back and got a full-view of Bear, he planted a smile on his face and said politely, “Excuse me, sir.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, Bear strolled down the hallway, peeking into each room until he found the one he was looking for.
He peered inside and could see Fletcher on the terrace. The glass doors were left open. Neither Fletcher or Deacon Clark, MedLabOne’s manager had any clue that Bear snuck inside and took cover behind the curtains.
“Fletcher just slipped the guy an envelope. Thick. Probably money I guess?” Sin said through the earpiece.
Bear could hear Fletcher say, “If you know what’s best for you, you’ll take the money.”
Clark answered, “Dirty money to keep me quiet? Irony at its best.”
A frustrated sigh vibrated the air before Fletcher said in a tight tone, “You’re a smart man. Take the money and leave the emotions at the door. You and I…this can’t happen.”
“But she’s gone now. Out of our hair. We can continue this without anyone the wiser.” Clark’s voice suddenly held desperation.
Bear leaned in just enough to see the two men. Fletcher held the brown envelope, and Clark was shaking his head in what looked like an attempt to understand.
“It’s over,” Fletcher’s tone changed. “I can’t take the risk.”
Bear pulled back, not wanting to be spotted although the men seemed absorbed in their conversation.
The sound of rustling of paper was followed with Clark saying, “You think this is enough to buy my silence? I’m worth double. I could ruin you.”
The tension escalated.
“Listen, and listen good,” Fletcher growled. “That’s all you’ll get. If you dare, try to bring me down you’ll regret the day you were born. Don’t be stupid.”
“Fletcher’s on the move,” came Sin’s warning.
Bear took backward steps and slipped into the restroom. Through the crack in the door, he watched Fletcher leaving, and a few minutes later a red-faced Clark also exited.
“Apparently Fletcher has multiple secrets,” Bear said into the transmitter.
“You ain’t a kiddin’,” Sin’s voice rasped in the earpiece.
“I’m going back downstairs before Aasia starts hunting for me.”
“You sure you’re ready to walk back into that circus?”
Aasia could make being stranded on an island bearable.
Bear adjusted the transmitter and the cufflinks, then made his way back to the elegant room that swallowed him like a bad case of indigestion when he strode in.
He searched for Aasia, but she wasn’t near the bar.
He skimmed the room and felt relief when he saw her.
She was speaking to a man and woman. She’d traded her whiskey for more champagne and was sipping delicately, looking a bit bored with the conversation.
Guilt plagued Bear. A big part of him wanted to tell her what he knew about Fletcher and his secrets. But it wasn’t possible—not yet. Maybe in time.
