Sienna looked at the man sitting in front of her. His legs were crossed as he leaned back comfortably and steepled his fingers. He was no older than fifty. His shoes were Italian leather. His black hair was cut to perfection. His smooth, tanned skin looked as if it were freshly shaven. His expensive cologne danced through the air and teased her senses. And his suit . . . well, his suit was the most impressive work of tailoring she’d ever seen.
Power reeked from every pore of this man’s body. It was evident this man cared nothing for her well-being. But she could tell this conversation was something he did care about. She may not be a physical badass like Nash, Ryan, or even Layne, but she could read people, and she knew how to twist people.
“Aren’t you curious as to what plans I have for you?” he asked after a bit.
Sienna didn’t say anything. Her mind was too busy running through interrogation techniques and the latest studies she had read. While fear and control worked on some, she wasn’t in a position to even try. She just had to keep him talking long enough for Ryan to find her.
She saw his fingers press hard against each other as he tried to remain calm. This man was not used to indifference. She needed to go in the other direction.
“I’m sorry,” Sienna stuttered shyly. “I’m just in so much pain with my hands tied down like this. I think my ribs are broken. It hurts to breathe.”
The man relaxed. “Of course.” At a flick of his hand, two guards came and sliced the rope holding her to the chair.
“Thank you. A man of power and mercy.” Sienna rubbed her wrists. He could be manipulated. If just one request were complied with, the second would be even easier to get from him. She just had to play this right. She would use respect and deception to gain his trust. Then she would plant the seeds of her survival.
The man bowed his head in acceptance of the compliment. “Dr. Ashton is in no condition to be a threat to my person. You may leave,” he commanded.
Sienna took time to notice the luxury she was in. Leather chairs, antique tables, and works of art she’d only seen pictures of filled the room around her. This was certainly not where she thought she’d be when she’d been tossed in the back of the car.
“Like what you see?” the man asked with pride in his voice.
“It’s beautiful,” Sienna answered honestly.
“What is your favorite?” he asked and gestured to the pictures hanging on the wall.
Sienna sighed longingly. “The Monet. The way the colors mix together in chaos to form a peaceful landscape . . . it’s masterful.”
The man smiled with pleasure. “I knew we would get along, Dr. Ashton. The Monet is yours . . . that is if we can find a way to work together.”
“I’d kill for that Monet. It has to be worth millions.” Sienna didn’t take her eyes from the painting.
“Excellent. You read my mind.”
* * *
Ryan slammed the door and started to pace the hallway filled with players. Seth was locked securely inside with officers and Detective Braxton while they waited for the U.S. attorney to get back to them with an immunity offer. No matter how much they threatened Seth, he wouldn’t talk. After a couple well-placed punches by some of the Thoroughbreds, he now had trouble talking.
That’s when Ryan knew he wasn’t helping anymore. He let Detective Braxton take a shot at breaking him and made a call to the nearest U.S. attorney with the authority to handle these kinds of matters.
“How do we know he wasn’t the one behind all of this?” one of the players asked the crowd.
Ryan tuned them out. Finding Sienna was the only thing on his mind.
“He was with Zack and then with me. Seth couldn’t have done it,” one of the players told the group.
Zack! Maybe he was having better luck with the man they captured whom he and Trey had taken away. Ryan reached for his phone but stopped when Wofford continued.
“They were meeting to hand Seth some investment money to deposit with Rook Capital Management.”
“Rook?” Ryan asked. “Do all of Seth’s clients use Rook?”
Wofford shrugged his thick shoulders. “I think so. Even if Seth’s not your agent, he lets us know about good investments. I’m sure he gets a kickback for sending players and coaches to Rook. Why?”
“Because that’s the only lead I have right now. Tell the detective to call me if she gets anything.”
Ryan rushed down the stairs and into his car as fast as he could. He got to Keeneston in half the usual time it should have taken. Trey’s SUV was still in Katelyn’s parking lot at the vet clinic when Ryan arrived. He headed straight for the front door, ignoring her secretary as he wound his way to the surgical room.
The sight that greeted him should have made him laugh, but he was too worried about Sienna to care about the six old people surrounding the man tied to the teeth-cleaning station. It was basically a sink the size of a surgical table with a metal grate on top. Miss Lily stood on a stepstool and smacked the man in the face with her broom. Miss Daisy and Miss Violet stood nearby with a wooden spoon and a spatula. Their husbands all stood behind them with tight faces.
“Zack, Trey, has he talked?” Ryan asked the two big men who were leaning against the wall.
“Charlie had to step in after Zack knocked the guy out,” Trey told him. “So we handed him over to the Rose sisters. They’ve irritated the hell out him.”
Zack had his arms crossed over his chest, keeping his eye on the man. “I failed. I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t fail. I did. But I’m going to fix it. I’ll find her.”
Ryan stepped forward as Miss Lily smacked the man in the face again with the broom. “Thank you for your help.”
“Get these old women away from me!” the man yelled as Anton stuffed a noxious-smelling rag into his mouth.
“What is that?” Ryan asked as he recoiled.
“Cheesecloth from Epoisses de Bourgogne. It’s a French cheese that is so smelly, it’s banned from being allowed on any public transportation in France,” Anton said with pride for his native country’s cheese.
“We’re going to have to burn our clothes, but it will be worth it,” John said.
Ryan tried not to breathe in through his nose as he stepped closer to the man. His brown eyes were wild and his complexion slightly green as he gagged on the cloth.
“I’m going to remove this rag and then I want you to tell me everything you know about Rook Capital Management.” The man’s eyes flashed in recognition of the name, and Ryan felt the first surge of anticipation hit him.
He reached forward and took the cheesecloth from the man’s mouth. “Talk.”
“I don’t know anything about Rook Capital.”
“Fine. I was trying to help you out.” Ryan shoved the cloth back into his mouth and stepped back. “Miss Violet, you’re up.”
The man started shouting behind the cloth. Ryan let Miss Violet get one good thwack in before removing the cloth. “Yes?”
“I need a doctor,” the man begged.
“You’ve had a doctor. I see Charlie fixed you up already.” Ryan gestured to the man’s knees wrapped in bandages. “I know. You need a visitor. Zack, bring the visitor in from the last run.”
Zack raised an eyebrow but went in search of the runs without saying anything.
“What’s your name? Mine’s Ryan.”
“I’m not telling you jack,” the man spat.
“Fine,” Ryan smiled. “I forgot a name of someone else we caught. Who was it? Oh, that’s right. Seth Hayes.”
The man’s eyes betrayed him yet again. He knew the name.
“What does Seth have to do with this?” Jaylen asked from behind Ryan. The man took one look at him and went from green to white.
“Jaylen, meet the man who tried and failed to kill you.”
“You son of a bitch!” Jaylen tried to charge forward, but Zack held him back.
“You see, this man was just about to tell me what role Seth has in their organization. He’s in police custody waiting for an immunity deal. So, I want to offer you a deal all of your own. Are you listening?” Ryan asked the man who nodded in return.
“Either way, you are going to die. You understand that, right? Either we kill you now or The Suit gets to you in prison. Now, Seth is a different story. If he gets an immunity deal, he gets put in witness protection and gets to mooch off the system for the rest of his life. However, if you tell me how Seth is involved, I’ll make sure he doesn’t get a deal and that you take your chance in prison. I’ll share that you didn’t cooperate with us, and even under torture, you never turned on your boss. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” the man said simply.
“Seth works for your boss, doesn’t he?” Ryan asked.
“Yes. He has for three years.”
“And your boss is known in the U.S. as The Suit and overseas as Rais.”
The man nodded and looked to Jaylen.
“And you were supposed to kill Jaylen because of Rook Capital,” Ryan stated.
The man let out a long breath and nodded. “Just like Seth had to kill Malik Coleman. They had to keep Malik quiet about Rook Capital. Malik was asking too many questions, and Jaylen was starting to as well.” Jaylen fought forward, but Zack and Trey pulled him back again.
“What does Seth do for your boss?” Ryan asked.
“He brings in the high rollers from professional sports. Young kids too stupid to know how to count their millions.”
“They help fund his terrorist operations. Operations that include a plan to blow up one of the stadiums during a game, isn’t that right?”
“You know more than we thought. It’s why a contract is on you. The person who kills you gets a Ferrari.” The man grinned at him, but Ryan ignored him.
“And Dr. Ashton?”
“Is alive and with the boss.”
“Where?” Ryan held his breath as the whole room waited for the answer.
“I don’t know. Boss has a small horse farm outside of Lexington, though.”
Ryan didn’t take a breath as he asked his last question. “What’s your boss's name?”
The man just smirked. “I gave you Seth. That’s all your getting.”
“Ladies,” Ryan said as he shoved the horrendously stinky cloth back in the man’s mouth.
“I can’t believe Seth is part of this,” Jaylen muttered. “I was so stupid. There were never any investments, were there? I gave millions to terrorists.” Jaylen seemed on the verge of crying.
“It’s a classic Ponzi scheme. It’s how the terrorist organization was funded.” Ryan shook his head in disbelief as Jaylen, Zack, Trey, and he walked out of the room. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Detective Braxton.
“But I know the name of the head of Rook Capital Management. I’m supposed to meet with him about my big investment check I promised Seth.” Zack smiled.
“Who is he?” Ryan grabbed Zack’s arm in surprise.
“Bahir Deron.”
Trey nodded. “That’s right. I’ve even met him. I know where his farm is.”
“How?” Ryan asked in surprise.
“Seth approached me with an investment opportunity. But with all my money from sports and Taylor’s Hollywood money, we are wary of investors we don’t know. So Seth set up a dinner at Bahir’s farm. We were there with a few other well-off people, including Dani and Mo. From what I gather, everyone invested but the four of us.”
“I can’t believe it. Rook Capital is among one of the biggest names out there.” Ryan shook his head. “But, that’s how Ponzi schemes work. They pay off the newest people, like they did for Zack, and get them to put even more money in and then they'll manufacture a loss. Before we all know it, the money is siphoned into foreign accounts and Bahir is out of the country where we can’t touch him. Now, where’s this farm?”
Five minutes later Ryan headed to his car. “I’m coming, Sienna; hold on.”
He picked up his phone and called Nash. “I found him. Meet at my parents’ house in ten minutes.”
Next he called his brother, Jackson. “Hey, bro.” Ryan smiled when his brother answered the phone. He and Jackson had been inseparable growing up.
“Where are you?”
Jackson must have heard the seriousness in Ryan’s voice because he didn’t bother asking why Ryan was calling. “Ashland. I’m on the interstate heading home for a couple days. What’s going on?”
“Sienna’s in trouble.”
“I’ll be there in an hour,” Jackson said, and Ryan heard the engine rev over the phone. To get to Keeneston in half the time, Jackson would be flying.
“Meet at Mom and Dad’s,” Ryan instructed before hanging up.