“Fine, I can do that, though I might be helpful if I could ask him stuff.” I had to give it to her. She didn’t back the hell down. I helped her to her feet.
“Deal. Ladies, stay alert. We’ll be back.” I led her to church. The guys all greeted her as I took her and sat her down beside me. I would have put her on my lap, but I needed to be able to move around.
I got her settled as Tate brought Nathan to the door. He shoved him inside and then shut it. Nathan looked around at us, looking awfully pale, then he noticed Zara. He took a step toward her. I rose to my feet, and he stopped.
“Why am I here? I just want to talk to Zara. It doesn’t concern you guys. It’s private,” he said hesitantly.
“Well, you lost the right to talk to her period, let alone just the two of you when you cheated on her, you slimy bastard. You want to talk. You’ll talk to us. We have some things we want to talk to you about too.”
“My relationship with Zara is none of your business.”
“Oh, yes, it is. She’s my old lady and soon-to-be wife. That makes it my business.”
“Zara, you can’t seriously expect me to believe you’d marry someone like him. Look at him. He’s a thug. You’re a doctor. You’re meant to do great things. I know I hurt you all those years ago. I’m sorry. I want to make amends. At least maybe we can be friends,” he cajoled.
Zara burst out laughing in a non-humorous way. “Friends? You have to be delusional. Nathan, I’d never be your friend. What do you want?”
“Wait. First, let’s ask our questions, then we’ll get to why you’re here,” I interrupted. “Tell us, Nathan. How long have you been committing Medicare fraud out of your clinic?”
He jerked and looked more nervous. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really? What about this monthly figure I see for your billing just last month? You’re making a killing, and almost all your patients are elderly, on Medicare. It’s easy for you to bill for things they don’t need or never got.”
I watched as his eyes got a little bigger and he seemed to pale. Ahh, we were on to something. Good. I continued, “Such a naughty boy, Nathan, to scam those old people and the government. My brother, Outlaw, is running down where all the money is going. You know, those secret accounts. He’ll have his proof soon. When he does, we have friends in the government who’ll make sure you go to prison for a very long time. I know you’re going to be a hit there. Hope you take lots of lube.”
My brothers broke out in guffaws. Nathan was now shaking. “Y-you can’t. I mean, there’s nothing to find.”
“Bullshit. And that’s not all, is it? Let’s talk about the Nunez cartel and your connection to them. All those drugs coming out of your office that don’t require a prescription.” This was when the last bit of protest and bluff went out of him. He dropped into a chair next to him. His whole body shook, and the sweat beaded on his forehead.
“What do you want?”
“Well, you already gave us part of it. The confirmation that our guess was right.” He looked startled.
“We haven’t found anything yet to confirm the Medicare fraud or the Nunez connection. Oh, I know we will, but you saved us time in not second-guessing ourselves. Thank you. We’re going to want the details. But first, we want to know what you wanted to talk to Zara about so desperately.”
He looked at her. I could see a tiny glimmer of regret and what I thought was longing. “I’m sorry, Zara. I didn’t have a choice. I was desperate. You were the only thing I could think of.”
“Sorry for what?” she asked him.
“For telling them about you and your uncle.” All of us stiffened. Was he saying he was the one the cartel had been trying to teach the lesson? Was he the reason she’d been taken in Mexico?
“How did you know about my uncle? I never mentioned him to you.”
“I overheard you one day on the phone with him. You didn’t know I was there. When you were asleep later, I looked in your phone. I knew there had to be a reason you’d never mentioned him. I had a friend who had internet skills. I asked him to find out what he could. He traced it to a government account and then it went cold. He said that would only happen if it was someone really important.”
Before I could grab her, she jumped up out of her chair, rounded the table, and punched him in the mouth. He rocked back in his chair and tipped over from the force of her punch. She leaned down to glare at him.
“You piece of shit! How dare you sneak around behind my back. And then you sold me out to save your ass. What happened, Nathan, did you get cold feet and not want to be a drug dealer anymore?” she screamed.
By then I’d gotten to them. I pulled her back. Not because I was afraid he’d hurt her. I wanted to prevent her from killing someone else. “Baby, don’t waste your energy on this slime.”
“Oh, it’s not a waste. Tell us how you did it? How did you get me to Mexico? There’s no way you knew I’d go, or that I’d even be asked,” she hissed at him. He shook his head. She leaned down and this time she didn’t hit him. She grabbed his fucking nipple through his shirt and twisted like hell!
All the guys were watching the show. We all burst out laughing. He was begging and screaming like a little kid. “Stop. Please, stop.” She let go and waited. He fought to regain his voice. When he didn’t immediately start talking, she acted like she was going to do it again. He started to confess.
“Alright! I knew Ted was going on another trip and it was to Mexico. I knew you’d gone on one with him a year or so ago. I figured if a doctor was to back out, he’d ask you. And knowing you, you’d feel compelled to go. So, we had one of the doctor’s fake a family emergency.”
“How? Did you blackmail him? Threaten him or his family?” I asked.