Chapter 9 Bit
BIT
One look, even as pixelated as the image was, and I knew the man who’d been at Eberly’s gate was the same one I saw walk into the event center two nights ago. More concerning, though, was that she knew him too.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Tiernan. My ex-fiancé.”
“What’s his last name?”
“Burke.”
My mind raced with what I knew about FAIM, the Killeens, and the two men who’d attacked me—Eddie Grogan and Clint O’Donnell. I couldn’t recall anyone with the surname Burke.
“Any idea what he might’ve wanted?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t have said this earlier, but do you think he knows something about my dad?” Her face turned ashen.
“Why wouldn’t he have called you?”
“I blocked his number.”
“Can you unblock it?”
Eberly bit her lip. “Do you think I should try to call him?”
“Maybe. I’ll let Vader, err, the sheriff, know we’ve been able to identify the guy, then see what he says.”
“This may seem like a stupid question to ask at a time like this, but why do you call him Vader?”
I leveled my gaze at her.
“What? Wait. I meant silly. That’s probably not any better. Odd?”
“I’ll take odd. If you ever heard him over the phone, you’d know.” I picked up my cell to give him an update. “Eberly’s pretty sure she knows who it is. A guy named Tiernan Burke.”
“Her former fiancé?” Vader asked.
“That’s right. Do I want to know how you knew that?”
“Not right now, you don’t,” he responded.
“Gotcha.”
“I’ll be in touch later.”
“Hang on. One more question. Should Eberly try to contact him?”
“That’s a hard no.”
“What did he say?” she asked when the call ended.
“He wants you to hold off on calling him.”
“What about the other thing you said? About not wanting to know how he knew something.”
“When I gave him the name, he knew the two of you were previously engaged.”
Her eyes opened wide. “That’s concerning.”
“I was gonna say odd, but we’ll go with your word.” I winked and she half smiled. “Why don’t you try your dad again?”
“Yeah. I should.”
When Eberly got up and went into the kitchen, I sent two texts.
The first was to a guy I’d met a few months ago.
His name was Decker Ashford, and at the time, he was looking into the kidnapping of Daphne Cullen, Cru’s fiancée.
When I happened to come out of a bar in Paso Robles and heard her name mentioned, I’d recorded the rest of the conversation.
It ultimately led to the kidnappers’ arrests.
Might need some help digging up dirt on a guy, I wrote.
Decker responded right away. Let me know what I can do.
The next was to my brothers. Need to call a meeting, I wrote.
When? Brix responded.
As soon as possible.
“Any luck?” I set my phone down and asked when Eberly returned to the living room.
She shook her head. “It rings, then goes to voicemail.”
“Can you think of anyone who might know where he is?”
“I called Baron Van Orr last night, but he said it had been weeks since he spoke to him. Given they’ve been best friends most of their lives, I found that concerning.”
“Anyone else?”
“I thought about the woman who was with him at the Wicked Winemakers’ Ball, but I have no idea how to contact her. I don’t even know her last name.”
“You know who might?”
Eberly shook her head.
“Alex.” Since it was close to nine and she and her husband had a kid, I figured it wasn’t too early to call.
“Hey, Bit,” she answered. It used to be the one person who called me that was Cru, but in the last few months, it became more common. Admittedly, I liked it more than I used to.
“Hey, Al. Do you have a guest list for this year’s ball?”
“Is that a serious question?”
“Of course it is.”
“There’s your answer. Of course I do.”
“Can you tell me the name of the woman Malcolm Warwick brought with him?”
“I’ll have to look that one up. Gimme a sec.”
I put my finger over the phone’s mic and shuddered when the lingering scent reminded me that, not very long ago, it had been inside the woman beside me. “So, uh…I forgot what I was going to say.”
“Something about Alex and finding Nancy’s name?”
“Right. She’s looking it up.”
“Here it is,” said my sister. “Do you want her phone number too?”
“Definitely. Go ahead whenever you’re ready.”
“Nancy Burke, and her number is…” She rattled it off, and as I repeated it out loud, Eberly punched it into her phone.
“Thanks, Al, I appreciate this.” I ended the call and set my phone down. “Nancy’s last name is Burke.”
Eberly’s mouth gaped. “Get the fuck out. Seriously?”
I raised a brow and smiled at her reaction. I couldn’t recall having heard her curse. “The plot thickens.”
“Should I call her now?” she asked.
“Why wait? Except maybe don’t let on that your dad’s been gone since yesterday.”
“Good thinking,” she agreed.
“Put the call on speaker.”
When she did, we both heard the phone ring; after two, it switched over to voicemail.
“Hey, Nancy. This is Eberly Warwick calling. I had a quick question for you if you’d please get back to me at your earliest convenience, I’d appreciate it.” She left her number. Less than five minutes later, Nancy returned the call.
“Hey, thanks for responding so quickly,” I began.
“Sure. What’s your question?”
“I’m visiting a friend and haven’t been able to reach my dad. He doesn’t happen to be with you, does he?”
“No. Sorry. I haven’t seen him since he dropped me off Saturday night,” she responded.
“Right. My apologies for bothering you.”
I held my phone to my ear and mimicked dialing.
“One last thing. Do you remember the last time you spoke to him?”
“As I said, Saturday night.”
“Oh, right. Well, thanks again.”
“Good job,” I said when she ended the call.
“Sadly, I’ve gotten used to dealing with fake people.”
I cocked my head.
“Let’s just say that if Isabel Van Orr smells blood in the water, she’ll attack like a shark.” Eberly lowered her hand that held the phone and looked at me with wide eyes. “If she’s telling the truth, where did my dad go after the ball? You were there when he came home the following morning.”
“Good question. Is there anyone else you can think of who might’ve seen or talked to your father?”
Eberly shook her head.
“There are some people who might be able to help us. One is a guy who specializes in, uh, locating people. I sent him a text earlier, and he responded asking how he can help.”
Her eyes scrunched. “Why did you hesitate when you said he specializes in finding people?”
I chuckled. “That barely scratches the surface of what this guy does.”
“Can you tell me his name?”
“Decker Ashford. Have you heard of him?”
“Yes, but I can’t remember where or when. Does he know the Butlers?”
“Rumor is he worked for Laird. Something like that anyway.”
“You said some people. Who besides Mr. Ashford?”
I made sure I didn’t stutter this time. “My brothers.”
“If they can help, that’s great. But, um, can you take me home first? I want to freshen up, change my clothes, then visit the bank before it gets much later.”
“Yes, but I want to check in with Vader again before we head over there.”
“Sure. Of course.”
When Eberly stood and went into the bathroom, I called him.
“Hey, Bit,” he answered. I guess it wasn’t only my family who’d taken to calling me by the nickname.
“Eberly wants to run by her house. Any issue with that?”
“Nah, my guys finished up over there a couple of hours ago.”
“Was there any sign of someone on the property?”
“No, which makes me wonder about this Burke guy. Why call from the gate at that hour instead of attempting to access the property another way? It isn’t like it would be tough to do.”
“Maybe he thinks it’s more secure than it is.
Oh, and before I forget, Malcolm Warwick’s date Saturday night was Nancy Burke.
Says she hasn’t talked to him or seen him since he dropped her off that night.
Also, according to Eberly, he didn’t come home after doing so.
He arrived after nine the following morning. ”
“Did you say her last name was Burke?”
“I did, and, Vader, I plan to ask Ashford to do some digging. I thought I should let you know.”
“Appreciate it. I’m interested to see what he comes up with.”
I was about to mention what Eberly had told me about not knowing how her father sold the winery when she was the majority owner, but decided I should ask her before divulging that her dad might’ve committed fraud.
The other thing I kept to myself was that I’d also recognized the man. First, I wanted to run it by both Decker and the caballeros.
“All set?” I stood and asked when Eberly returned from the bathroom after I ended the call.
While she smiled, it didn’t come through her eyes. Was there something bothering her that hadn’t been a few minutes ago? I wouldn’t ask now, but later, I’d get it out of her one way or another.
When we arrived at her house, the first thing we did was clean up the mess that was left in her father’s study when I carried Eberly out of there two nights ago. There was no sign her father had returned, so when she took a shower in the en suite bath, I stayed in her bedroom and called Decker.
“Hey, Trevino. What can I do for you?”
I explained that Malcolm Warwick had left his house late yesterday afternoon and hadn’t returned.
Then reiterated the part of the phone call Eberly had overheard.
Next, I told him about Malcolm Warwick’s financial trouble and how he’d somehow sold the winery out from under his daughter even though she was a majority owner.
“Interesting,” he said under his breath.
“It gets even more so. Vader was able to pull footage of the guy who showed up at the gate that night. Turns out it was Eberly’s ex-fiancé.”
“That doesn’t seem significant, Bit.”
“I’m convinced he’s got some connection to the people who attacked me in the caves.”
“Tell me why.”
“His eyes.”
There were a few seconds of silence, and I wondered if Decker was looking into something or simply processing what I’d told him.
“Cat eyes?” he asked, confirming my first thought.
“Like Grogan’s.”
“What’s the ex’s name?”
“Tiernan Burke, and coincidentally, it’s the same last name of the woman who Malcolm’s been dating.”
“There are no coincidences, young Avila. Haven’t I taught you that much?”
“Yes, sir,” I responded. While I’d never been in the military, Deck’s tone was enough like that of a commander that my response was automatic.
“Anything else you want me to look into?”
“The Wine Consortium’s financials as well as if Tiernan Burke is on their payroll.”
“You got it. I’ll be in touch when I know something. Oh, hang on. Are you getting the caballeros involved in this?” Ashford was one of the few outside of the organization who knew about the secret society.
“I plan to.”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Gotcha.”
I hung up and heard the water shut off. Seeing Eberly’s wet and naked body proved to be something I couldn’t resist.
I snatched the towel she had in her hand as soon as I walked in the bathroom door. “Let me look at you,” I said when she tried to cover herself. “Drop your arms.”
She was so damn hot I momentarily considered stripping out of my clothes, carrying her to the bed, and spending the rest of the day fucking her senseless.
Instead, I told her to turn around and took a good, long look at the curve of her spine and the dimples that drew my eye down to her delectable ass.
Before I gave into temptation, I stepped forward and wrapped her in the plush terry cloth.
When she grabbed my hand and tucked it inside to cover her breast, I knew it would be a long, long time before I got my fill of Eberly Warwick. In fact, it might take the rest of my life.
I used the towel to dry her off and, when I knelt to do the back of her legs and her feet, couldn’t resist leaning forward to nip her ass cheek.
Eberly giggled, and I stood and spun her around to face me.
“If you don’t get yourself dressed in the next two minutes, it’ll be hours before I’ll be willing to let you put on a stitch of clothes.”
When she scampered away, I called out to her. “What was that, Eberly? I couldn’t hear you.”
She looked over her shoulder. “Yes, sir.”