Living on the Edge Read Free Page B

is the principal stockholder, not me. I only own a few thousand shares. Christopher did get the house, which was fine with me.”
    So Hilliard had lost the eye-candy wife and access to the big bucks. That couldn’t have made him happy.
    â€œHe and your father are working on something together. It came up in my research,” Tanner told her.
    â€œI know. I’ve read the same thing. I don’t talk to my father about it. I’ve tried to convince him to stop doing business with Christopher, but he won’t listen. Hedoesn’t understand how I could have let such a good man get away.”
    She tilted her head, which caused her long blond hair to fall away from her face, exposing the side with the still-red scar. He narrowed his gaze. Why would such a beautiful woman keep such an ugly mark on her face? She would have had access to the best plastic surgeons in the world, along with the money to pay them. As much as he hated to admit it, a lot of things didn’t make sense.
    â€œHe set up the kidnapping to get the ransom money,” she said earnestly. “I doubt there was any other company looking for me. I’m sure he told my father there was to keep him from worrying.”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t your father have insisted on going to the police?”
    Her mouth twisted. “He trusts Christopher implicitly. As far as he was concerned, his son-in-law would handle everything perfectly.” She glanced down at the floor, then back at him. “My father is something of an absentminded professor. He likes it best when the real world doesn’t interfere with his time in the lab.”
    Which meant what? That her father hadn’t been all that worried about the kidnapping because good old Hilliard was taking care of it?
    Tanner recalled his meeting with the two men. Hilliard had done all the talking. Blaine Adams had seemed concerned, but not overly so.
    â€œIf nothing else, you should make sure you get paid,” Madison told him. “My ex has a bad habit of offering fees in halves. Half up front, half at the end of the deal. Only that second half doesn’t ever seem to get paid.”
    â€œHilliard wouldn’t try that with me.”
    â€œHow do you know?”
    â€œBecause I’d hunt him down and make him beg to give me the rest of my money.”
    â€œGood luck with that.”
    She spoke with the confidence of someone who had lived the truth. Tanner grimaced as he realized he’d carefully checked out Blaine Adams when he’d taken the job, but he’d only done a cursory check on Hilliard. After all, Daddy had been the one paying the ransom. But Hilliard had offered to take care of the bill.
    Sloppy work, he told himself. Sloppy gets you dead.
    He glared at Madison. He didn’t have time for this or her or her sob story. He wanted her gone. But he couldn’t—not with his gut whispering that she just might be telling the truth. Hilliard kidnapping his ex-wife to get his hands on the family money wasn’t his business, but he wouldn’t send her back if she was at risk. No matter how much he wanted to.
    He was going to have to check out her story.
    â€œI don’t believe you for a second,” he said flatly. “But I’ll look into what you’ve told me.”
    Her relief was a tangible creature in the room. Before she could get too relaxed, Tanner moved close and cupped her neck. He applied just enough pressure to make it difficult for her to breathe.
    â€œIf you’re playing me for a fool, I’ll make you sorry. Is that clear?”
    Her eyes widened. Color fled her face, but her gaze never wavered. She stared right back at him and slowly nodded.
    He acknowledged that she hadn’t flinched. At least she had some backbone. And she wasn’t a screamer. Two small points in her favor.
    When he released her, she stood her ground. She didn’t whimper or complain or even rub her neck.
    â€œYou don’t