Dad continues to stay on his phone as I pace back and forth around his house, wishing I could do something. I should be at the hospital with Granddad instead of worrying about this. But I refuse to let his life's work fall into the hands of some random woman who can't be anything more than a gold digger.
The doorbell rings about two hours later, and Gerard, my dad's butler, walks by us briskly to answer it. I'm sifting through a mound of meaningless legal jargon when Brody Sparks walks in. His eyes meet mine briefly before turning to find my father.
"Agent Sparks," my dad says, sounding relieved. "I was surprised to get your call."
He called? Why?
Brody's eyes meet mine momentarily again, and then he gives his attention back to my father.
"Raya filled me in on the basics. I'm running a sting, but I need you to help me find a way in. You said you had some clients going there? Can you get them to change the meeting so we can take it?" he asks, making my stomach tighten.
"Who's we?" I ask, not hiding the anger lacing my tone.
He turns back to me and shrugs. "I have a team. Ray Drivel is one of them. He can bring down a con quicker than anyone, because he's that damn good. I'm here to help. He'll go it alone if I don't act fast, and that wouldn't be good. He'd end up back in prison."
He's hiding something, but I have no idea what it could possibly be.
"Why would her father help us?" I ask, but my dad frowns as though it's a stupid question. Even now he manages to look disappointed in me. What'd I say wrong?
Brody looks just as disappointed in me.
"Because his daughter asked him for help, and he'd do absolutely anything in this world for her. Including going back to prison to save her boyfriend's vineyard. Considering I worked my ass off to get him out of there so he could be a father again, I'd like to keep him out. So, I need details. Anything at all I can use that I can't find online."
"Marlone is a wine connoisseur," I say quickly, still trying to understand why Raya is getting her father to help. "You'll need to know a lot about the vineyard if you're planning to pass as him, though I can't imagine how you'll pull that off. You look nothing like him."
Brody's smirk agitates me. "I don't, but Ray Drivel is one hell of a master of disguise. He'll play the part. And the wine portion won't help. By the time I get home, Ray will know more about wines than you do. I told you, he's good. Which is why I need him outside the prison. If he goes back in, they won't let him work with me anymore."
Raya sent him to help us. After the shit I put her through without so much as an apology, she sent help.
"I need to call Raya," I murmur as I stand, but Brody shakes his head.
"You think a phone call is the best course of action?" Dad asks, looking at me with disappointed eyes again.
"I'd like to see her. I wasn't going to do all this on the phone, but I need her to let me come to her."
Brody shakes his head, waving me off. "She doesn't know I'm telling you this. I'm pretty sure she'd flip out on me if she did. Just wait until after you get your vineyard back, and then call. I'd rather her not know I told you anything. I should have kept this between Paul and me."
If I wouldn't go to jail for bitch slapping a federal agent, I might do it right now.
"Just wait," Dad says, sighing when he sees the defiance in my eyes. "For me? We need this to run smoothly."
"I'd rather have Raya than the vineyard," I say, surprising everyone in the room, including myself.
Dad smiles, and for the first time ever, I see a glimmer of pride.
"Then wait until you've thought things through. Wait until she doesn't think you're calling her because of the vineyard. It'll seem more sincere when you go after her with nothing at stake. Don't you think?" Brody asks, his eyes trained on me.
He's right. If I called right now, it'd look like I was sucking up. Considering how we left things, Raya would have the right to believe the worst in me. Just like I believed the worst in her.
"Fine," I say through clenched teeth. "But I want to know the second this is wrapped up."
Brody snorts as he follows my father to the bar. "You're welcome," he says under his breath.
It's hard to be appreciative when all I can think about is Raya. I'm sick of all the games.
Chapter Sixteen
"You can't call her right now!" Dad yells, chasing me around the room as I try to dial Raya, feeling my heart beating in panic.