Chapter 18
Eighteen
F eeling decidedly zombie-like, Margot stumbled into their hotel room several hours later. They’d opted for one with two queens this time. It was playing with fire, but the specter of why they were here and what they were doing loomed over them and helped keep her in her own bed. That and the fact they’d yet to talk about that kiss.
Spying the perfectly made-up bed, she made a beeline for it, flopping onto her belly.
“Ugh. My brain is fried.”
Once they left Ranchero Bank, Dye drove them to Westwood, where they spoke to the bank staff—none of whom copped to giving Tad access to her deposit box—and cleaned out what was left of her jewelry. She removed the coins, too, not trusting the staff.
From there, they visited Karl, the jeweler, again. He identified three more pieces that had stones replaced.
Anger burned in her belly at the thought. Even though she’d never wanted the items from her parents, it didn’t mean she wasn’t upset that Tad had stolen from her.
The bed dipped as Max sat down. His hand landed on her back and rubbed slow circles on her spine.
“You know what we need to do now, right?”
She turned her head to look at him. “What?”
“Call Asher.”
Sighing, she rolled and sat up. “Let’s get it over with. I want to open a new deposit box before you make me ride all the way over to Cass County.”
Surprise flashed in his silvery blue eyes. “How did?—?”
Margot rolled her eyes, a smile quirking one side of her mouth. “I know how you guys operate. You’ll feed Asher all this information, and while he does a records search and maps the location, we’ll drive over. By the time we get there, he’ll have an entire history on the property, down to what color wallpaper was in the kitchen in 1952.”
Max laughed. “Maybe not quite that detailed.”
She waved a hand. “Close enough.”
Still chuckling, he took out his phone and called Asher on FaceTime.
“Hey, guys. How’s Texas?” Asher’s smiling face appeared.
“Warmer than North Dakota,” Margot said.
“And fruitful,” Max said.
“Oh?” Asher arched an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
Max chuckled. “We found the spare to that safe deposit box key I told you about. It was inside Margot’s safe deposit box.”
“What? Did you figure out what bank?”
“Yes. He left the key chain on it with the bank’s logo. And we got into the deposit box. It contained a map with a property circled.”
“Okay, hang on. Let me find some paper.” Asher rose from his seat on the couch.
“I dropped a pin on it. Do you want me to just text it to you?”
“Sure.” Dropping down to the plush gray cushions, Asher ran a hand through his hair. “Did you find anything else?”
“He replaced a bunch of the stones in Margot’s jewelry with fakes, took two coins, and left behind a betting ledger. I think it’s for horse racing.”
“Damn. Do you have the journal?”
“No. The FBI does.” A smile curved Max’s mouth. “But I took pictures.”
Asher grinned. “Perfect. Email them to me, and I’ll see what I can get from them. So, you gave the feds all this information before me? I’m hurt.” He pouted and laid a hand over his heart.
Margot laughed. “You’re such a drama queen. We didn’t want to ruin any evidence since Tad was murdered.”
Asher sobered slightly. “I get it. Hopefully, with all of us working on this, we can solve it quickly. What’s your next move?”
“We’re going to check out that property. It’s a few hours east of here.”
“Don’t go in. Not without the cops or unless it’s life and death.”
“We don’t plan to.” Max glanced at Margot, who shook her head. “I imagine Agent Gallagher will show up with a warrant in a day or so.”
“No doubt. All right. I’ll start researching the property as soon as we hang up.”
“Great. Thanks, Asher.” Max’s thumb hovered over the disconnect button.
“Anytime. And if you need help, I’m a short plane ride away.”
“How’s Oregon treating you, anyway?” Max asked.
After the craziness that erupted there with Edie’s sister, Esther, a couple of months ago, Asher had come home, packed up his house, and moved up there to be with her. Max was happy for him. Asher deserved the same happiness the rest of them had found.
He glanced at Margot from the corner of his eye. They still needed to have that chat about the kiss they shared. It had been… intense.
Amazing.
Life-changing.
Scary.
The intensity of it had blindsided him and was a huge factor in why he hadn’t broached the subject. They’d been friends so long it was weird to think of her that way, but that kiss left little doubt there was more between them than friendship.
What he needed to do, though, was pull on his big boy pants and straight up ask her if she truly wanted a relationship with him.
“It’s not bad. We’re enjoying evenings by the fire. And the chilly, gray beach days are growing on me.”
“Did you guys find a house yet?” Margot asked.
Asher’s computers needed a dedicated space and were currently taking up the guest room at Esther’s. They wanted a bigger place, so they had room for visitors.
“We did. It’s out in the country, but we’ll have plenty of room.”
“That’s great.” A corner of Max’s mouth tilted upward. “We’ll have to come visit once you get settled in.”
Asher chuckled. “Not all at once, please. We don’t have that much room.”
Margot gave a soft laugh. “You’d need Brooke’s lodge to house all of us.”
“That’s no lie.” Grinning, Asher shook his head. “All right. I’m going to go dig into your mystery property now. Send me those pictures and let me know if you uncover anything else.”
“Will do,” Max said. “Thanks, man.”
“Yep.” Asher waved. “See ya.”
“Bye.” Max tapped the disconnect button. He turned to Margot. “That’s one task taken care of.”
She smiled and leaned into him, wrapping her hands around his bicep and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Yeah. Sorry if I was a bit grumpy earlier. I’m mad.”
He kissed her temple. “I know.” It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest they do something to make her ungrumpy.
A slight increase in pressure behind his fly had him shifting. He leaned away from her, then stood. “Come on. Let’s go check the next thing off our list.”