Page 84 of A Tempting Seduction

“Possibly,” Simon said gently. “But if Horace had your father killed, it sounds like he was trying to get out when he died. That suggests he wasn't a willing participant.”

“More likely he was coerced,” Roan agreed. “Someone in his position would be vulnerable to pressure, especially if family members were involved.”

I thought about Diane, about how she’d strategically inserted herself into Dad's life. “What if the marriage was part of the setup? What if Diane targeted my father specifically because of his position?”

“That would fit the pattern,” Simon said. “Organized corruption schemes often involve compromising key officials through personal relationships.”

Ford leaned forward. “What about Lance showing up here? How would they have found Ruby after two years?”

“Good question.” Roan looked at me. “Have you had any contact with anyone from your old life? Any digital footprints they could have traced?”

Idiot!

“Yeah, it was me. I really thought I had done everything right.” I explained my early morning Gmail check. Simon and Roan listened without judgment, but I could see them mentally cataloging the security implications.

“We can help you secure your digital presence going forward,” Simon said. “But right now, our priority is understanding who we're dealing with and what they want.”

“Lance said he needed to put rumors to rest about his affair,” I said. “But he also mentioned that his new role puts him under a microscope.”

“I don’t think they would kill your father and threaten killing a baby, just to stop a scandal about Lance. It has to be bigger than that.” Roan looked over at Simon, who nodded.

What Roan said made sense. “But what could Dad have done to have made them want to kill him?”

“What if he threatened to go to the police?” Ford threw out the question.

“FBI,” Simon corrected. “That’s good,” he smiled. “Horace would definitely kill to stop him from going to the feds.”

“But that doesn’t explain why Lance say that Horace would kill my niece? Why is Horace so anxious to have me come back and marry Lance if he murdered my dad? Isn’t the threat gone?”

We all looked at one another. Ford reached out and put his hand on mine. “They must think that you know something. That your dad gave you information that you could use as leverage to keep yourself safe.”

I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous. He didn’t give me anything.”

“Yes. But they don’t know that.” Simon gave me a soft smile.

“So, if he was willing to kill Dad, he’s definitely willing to kill me. Heck, he liked Dad, he’s never liked me. Just my luck.”

Ford snorted out a laugh. The other two men grinned.

“But why send Lance to have me come home?”

“LA is their turf. It would be easier for you to have an ‘accident’ over there.” Roan put air quotes around the word accident.

“Lance just gets slimier by the second.”

“No. He becomes more of a target by the second,” Ford growled. I sat up in surprise. Looking at Ford I could see he was serious. The anger I’d seen in his face ten minutes ago had morphed into cold resolve. When I looked at Simon and Roan, they wore similar expressions. Most of the time I forgot that Ford had spent time in the military. Now, I remembered.

“Why would Horace choose now to come after Ruby?”

I looked at Simon and Roan. “Yeah, why now?” I echoed Ford’s question.

Roan shrugged. “I’ve got nothing.”

We all turned to look at Simon. “If I said anything, it’d just be pure conjecture.”

“Conjecture away,” Ford said.

Simon grimaced. “He could be on the razor’s edge of pushing through some controversial legislation and is backed by some of these shady jerks. If that’s true, then he’s going to tie up all loose ends related to Ruby’s dad, to make sure nothing goes wrong.”