Dan Mikkelson and Pete Germaine sat in the luxury hotel suite and watched Van Chapman pour himself a scotch. They'd just relayed Anthony Bear's message leaving out no detail.

"Marry her, huh?" Van scoffed.

"So he says," Dan answered. He looked around the expensive suite that couldn't have been mistaken for a rehabilitation facility. He knew Van had been able to stay under the radar by using false identities that he'd purchased. He moved from lavish location to lavish location, whipping out a new I.D. and phony credit cards with each stay. He knew not to reside too long in one place, but he wasn't concerned. He'd paid good money for over twenty fake dossiers.

"What did the other sharks say?" he asked after he took a healthy swig and set his glass back down for a refill.

"They're willing to extend your credit, but it comes with a higher interest rate," Pete told him.

Van nodded. "And I'm assuming you didn't ask them to help find Christy?"

"After what Anthony Bear threatened us with? I think you know the answer to that," Dan chided.

"We need to figure out another way to find her."

"But if Anthony Bear is forgiving your debt do you even need to find her?" Pete asked.

"Millions. She's worth millions. So yeah, I still need to go to these extremes," Van answered, his tone devoid of emotion.

Both men stood. Dan stared hard at Van. "We'll handle the legalities when it's done, but until then, we're out. It was different when you asked us to check out a few places to try and find her. And we risked our own lives visiting sharks that you owe money to. A drive down to Naples isn't in our job descriptions. We made two trips for you."

"And you did so knowing the risks and that you'd be well compensated," Van interrupted.

"We shouldn't have stepped outside our comfort zones. This is who you need to call." Dan walked toward Van and handed him a piece of paper.

"We're all out of our league here. You may have the financial and legal resources, but let's face it, none of us are street smart. We're in over our heads," Pete said. "You still get a dividend from your dealership every month, so you're not stone cold broke. Yet. Racking up debt with these sharks and not paying..." He paused. "Let's just say I don't need to tell you that you need to plug this leak and do it soon."

"My monthly draws from the dealership aren't even close to what I owe them all," Van snapped.

"It's not helping that you won't stop spending," Dan scolded.

Van looked at the paper he was holding. "Who is this?"

"A guy who can find your daughter, and..." Pete started to say.

"And he's shrewd. Knows how to get things done without getting noticed," Dan finished for him. "He's expensive, so you'll have to dig into your cash pile, or what's left of it."

"You're sure she's with him? Living in his home?" Van asked incredulously. The man that had come recommended sat in front of him. Van wasn't sure what he’d expected, but it wasn't the guy that showed up at his hotel room. This one looked like the guy next door. A man that went to his nine-to-five job and took his kids to football practice. Van had a hard time reconciling all-American average Joe with someone who could handle the kind of job Van required.

"Yes, I'm sure. His home is too remote so I couldn't follow them to his door without being seen, but I have followed them to the grocery store, the gas station and a few other places. They're together. No doubt."

Van shook his head in disbelief.

"Just because they're together doesn't mean I don't have a plan. I can't get to her because it's obvious that he's protecting her. It's been a week, and she doesn't leave the house alone. I've seen him leave without her, but there's no way I'm going near his house to get her. He's too smart. I can guarantee he has measures built in to protect her when he's not around." He gave Van a confident look. "But we can approach this another way."

"Approach it how?" Van asked. His patience was waning. The sooner he got Christy declared unstable, the sooner he could get on with his life.

"I've talked to the right people. I've discovered some vulnerabilities in Anthony Bear's life. Your daughter is an obvious one, but he's too careful with her. You're worried about his threat to marry her, right?" he asked Van.

"I wasn't, but I am now," Van told him. "They could already be married."

"I highly doubt it. They're not wearing rings, and I have a contact in the county office. No marriage license with either name has come across her desk in the past couple of weeks."

Van nodded. "Okay, so what do you suggest?"

Van listened as the man explained his plan.

"Wouldn't it be easier to put a bullet in his head?" Van asked sarcastically.

"Yes, for a regular target. Not Anthony Bear. He's too well known, and retaliation from his club would be massive." He looked thoughtful then and asked, "Wouldn't it be just as easy to put a bullet in your daughter's head?"

"Yes, for a regular target," Van answered, his tone mocking as he threw the man's words back at him. "My attorneys already checked into that. Too many stipulations on her trust in the event of her death. It would be tied up in probate for years." He let out a sigh.

"This can work, and right now, short of storming the castle and nabbing your daughter, it's the only option we have."

"It's a long shot," Van remarked.

"Your whole plan is a long shot," the man replied sarcastically.

Van looked skeptical.

"From what I could find out, I can almost guarantee this will be a sure thing." The man scrubbed his hand down his face. "Look, give me another week. We give it a try. It doesn't work, we try something else."

"And when she's not with him you can grab her and do what we talked about?" Van's voice sounded hopeful.

"I know people that specialize in that very thing. Consider her a drug addicted whore who won't remember her own name, and even if she did, she wouldn't care. Her entire existence will revolve around her next fix. And Anthony Bear will never find her or be able to trace anything back to you or me." Of course, he couldn't guarantee that Anthony wouldn't go after Van, but what did he care? He'd have done his part and would be gone by then.

"What if he actually marries her before you pull this off?" Van asked.

"If I pull this off and it goes down the way it needs to..." He gave Van an expectant look. "I can promise you she'll be filing for divorce. From what I've gathered, this has the possibility of ruining any potential happily ever after."

Van stood and walked to the large window in his vast hotel suite, his back to the man. He gazed out over Tampa Bay.

When Van didn’t answer right away, the man added, “It’s worth a try at least.”

"Do it," Van ordered without turning around.