“Pissed?”
“I assume that’s why you two were fighting. She shut you down. ”
No, she didn’t. She hadn’t breathed a word of it. She could have shut his whole project down, but she’d obviously sacrifice everything and leave before hurting him.
What an ass he was.
“I gotta run. ” He wiped his mouth, tossed some bills down, and scooted away from the table.
“But your bacon hasn’t come out yet. ”
“I’m not hungry anymore. ” He had a project to shut down.
And a woman to find.
* * *
Hunter Fox returned his call almost immediately, and Eddie pulled to the side of the road to take it. He wanted to give it his total focus. He wasn’t generally a shark when it came to business, but he knew how to play ball, and how different could this be? Hell, this’d probably be easier than any ball game.
He didn’t waste any time, telling the Fairview exec right off, “You’re stopping construction. ”
Fox paused for a good ten seconds. “I am?”
He knew at once what the guy was up to. Fox would try to unsettle him, using long silences, threats, whatever it took. But Eddie didn’t scare easy.
He had only one thing to lose: Laura.
And the sooner he dealt with this bonehead, the sooner he could track her down. He’d apologize. He’d bring her home.
“You are. You’re stopping construction. See, Hunter, I know what you’re up to. ” He was officially done with Mister Fox.
“You do? You surprise me, Edward. What am I up to?”
Fox’s voice reeked of amused disdain, but it didn’t throw Eddie off his game one little bit. He had the ball and was going for the blitz.
“You wanted to bulldoze a protected habitat and cover it up. ” It was a leap to think Fairview knew about the nesting ground, but Rob had overheard something in that casino. If the guy was up to no good, hopefully he’d be quick to panic at anything. And sure, bulldoze was an exaggeration—they might’ve been on the same property, but those nests were nowhere near the ranch house itself—but he bet these monkey suits bluffed right and left. “You knew something like that would bring the government down on your ass, and yet you covered it up. There must be all kinds of laws protecting rare species. ”
Instead of answering, Fox was silent. Bingo.
He might not know business, but he knew all about sleazebags like this guy. He seized his advantage. “If you don’t shut down your little boutique hotel, I’m calling every newspaper from here to the goddamn New York Times if I have to, telling them you were going to slaughter a bunch of endangered birds. How do y
ou think your rich yuppie eco-tourists will like that?”
“Nicely done. ” Fox’s voice was dangerously subdued. “Just one problem. Who’ll believe you?”
“The whole town of Sierra Falls, for a start. ” He was freestyling now, but it felt right. Full-court press, for the win. “I’ve got witnesses. Your lackeys aren’t the only ones who’ve heard about your special projects. ”
“Okay, Edward,” Fox said genially, “Let’s say I’m finding this two-bit town to be more trouble than it’s worth. What would you say to that?”
“I’d say maybe it was time for you to get out of Dodge. Cut your losses. Except for one thing…”
Fox’s voice hardened. “What do you want, Mister Jessup?”
Mister Jessup—how the tables turned. “I’ll tell you my terms. ” He paused. “But first? The name’s Edwin. Edwin Jessup. ”
He told Fox exactly what he wanted. And then he sped off, going after who he wanted.
Laura. She’d become his everything. She was all he really needed.