“Crash, it’s okay.”
“If you think I’m gonna just let you go-” He broke off, shaking his head at her, then he whirled on Cole. “Brother, we’ll get her back. Swear to God, we will. Swear to God. But don’t ask me to turn Shannon over to this guy. I can’t do it. I won’t.”
“Crash-”
“Please, Cole. You’ve got to trust me on this one, brother. I’m not gonna let you down.”
Cole’s eyes lifted and met his. “She’s my life, Crash. She’s everything to me.”
“I know it, brother. I swear to Christ I’ll get her back for you.”
Cole shook his head. “No, brother.”
“Cole, please. Give me a day. One day. That’s all I ask. I’ll get the info out of Shannon’s father. Just—you’ve gotta let me handle this one.”
“I can’t just stand around and do nothing.”
“You won’t be. As soon as I find out his plans, we’ll pull together a plan of our own.”
Cole hesitated.
“Please, brother.”
“All right. I’ll give you till the end of the day.”
They hugged—slapping each other’s backs. “Give me a minute with Shannon.”
“I’ll wait up on the roof.” Cole headed up there.
Crash pulled Shannon to him. “Baby, I need the truth, the whole truth. What’s this guy got on your father?”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, shaking her head. “I don’t know.”
“Baby, give me something, an ace in the hole, a card to play. What hold’s he got on you?”
“Don’t you see? Nicklaus will see my father sent to prison. I’m not sure what he’s got, but I think it’s some kind of insider trading. He threatened to call the authorities.”
“Then let him go to prison. Call his bluff, darlin’.”
She looked up at him. “He’s my father.”
Crash lifted his chin, looking down at her. “I can let the cat out of the bag, too, baby. The club’s got a lawyer, and our accountant can figure it out.”
Tears spilled down her cheek. “I think he may have traded Ralston Aluminum stock with information Nicklaus gave him.”
He kissed her forehead and headed to the rooftop.
Cole was chain-smoking, staring off at the horizon. He turned when Crash came up.
“You and Mack should meet with our attorney,” Crash suggested. “Find out everything you can on this fucking Brit.”
Cole nodded. “Yeah. I don’t give a shit if we have to fly to London and kidnap his goddamn mother. If I can’t get to him, I’ll get to his family.”
“I’ll go have a talk with Shannon’s father. He knows something, and I’ll beat it out of him if I have to.”
“Did you get anything more out of Shannon?”
“Like I said, I’m going to have a chat with her father. But, I’ve got some information I think we can use.”