Finn sat back against the bar stool. “I know. She was making a huge mistake, but I can’t see how running off with some stranger is going to help it.”
She should have told him. He would have carried her out, put her in his car, and been on the way to Dallas before anyone knew what was happening. She’d never have to come back to Willow Fork if she didn’t want to.
Christa patted his hand. “I know it’s a little crazy, but it’s for the best. Don’t worry. She’s in excellent hands. Abby will make sure she’s fine.”
His eyes suddenly focused. “What do you mean? Abby Barnes knows where Dani is?”
Christa nodded. “Oh, yes. Don’t worry a bit. I talked to Abby last night. Dani spent the night at the ranch. Jack will look after her. Abby said she was upset, but she’d calmed down by dinnertime and was going to spend a couple of days out there. It’ll do her good. She can play with the kids, and Jack will scare the shit out of Jimbo and any of his relatives if they go after her.”
Finn only heard part of what Christa said. “She’s at Jack Barnes’s ranch? How did she get out there?”
Christa put two hands on the counter. She leaned in and looked around. It was obvious to Finn that gossip was on her mind. He leaned forward, eager to find out everything she knew. “That guy whose car she jumped into was one of Jack’s oldest friends. He’s from Dallas, some real rich guy. Name’s Julian Lodge. He took her out to the ranch.”
Finn breathed a deep sigh of relief. She was out at the Barnes-Fleetwood Ranch. At least he knew she was alive. “That’s good news. She left me a voice mail that told me nothing.” The voice mail had asked him for forgiveness, and she’d promised to call him later.
Christa waved a hand. “Don’t worry. She’s fine. Abby says she’s well on her way to recovery, if you know what I mean.”
He didn’t, and he didn’t like the saucy wink Christa gave him. Just what kind of recovery were they talking about? “Who’s this Julian person?”
Christa turned and poured him a cup of coffee. She slid the mug in front of him. “Abby said he’s really intimidating. He has a ton of money and owns a club or something. I don’t know. There are certain things me and the BFF don’t get into, if you know what I mean. I love Abby and support her every decision, but she’s a little closemouthed when it comes to her sex life. Trust me when I say it’s frustrating. When you have two amazingly hot guys, you should share. Right?”
“She’s met this Julian?” Finn couldn’t care less how much Abby Barnes shared with her best friend. He wanted to know about the guy who had spirited his girl away.
“She said she’s known him for a couple of years, but Jack has known him for more than two decades. He used to work for him or something.” Christa’s eyebrows rose. “Apparently he and Dani are getting along really well.”
Finn’s spine straightened. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Someone from a booth near the window waved his hand. Christa nodded toward her customer. “I’ll have to get back to you, Finn, but don’t worry about Dani. She’s in good hands. There’s no way Jack or Abby or Sam lets anything bad happen to her.” She winked his way. “Be back in a bit. Think about breakfast, okay?”
She walked off to take the other customer’s order, and Finn pulled out his cell. If this Julian person was a friend of Jack Barnes’s, then maybe one of his coworkers knew who he was. Finn worked for one of the most prestigious law firms in Dallas. They knew all the power players. He dialed the person most likely to know this Julian guy. As luck would have it, Finn knew the lawyer who handled the Barnes-Fleetwood account. He was more than Jack Barnes’s lawyer. He was Jack’s brother.
“Hello?” Lucas Cameron sounded like he was half awake. Lucas Cameron was a couple of years younger than Finn, but they had bonded almost immediately. They had a lot in common. Lucas had spent some time in Willow Fork, and they were both bisexual. Lucas was a gorgeous man, but Finn had known from the minute he met Lucas that they were destined to be friends and nothing more. Besides, both he and Lucas had fucked-up love lives. Both of them seemed to want women they couldn’t have.
“Hey, Lucas, it’s Finn.”
“Good for you, Finn,” Lucas growled into the phone. Finn could hear a soft voice in the background. “Go back to sleep, Lexi. It’s nothing to worry about. What do you want, Finn? I thought you were on vacation. This better be an emergency.”
Finn got straight to the point. This was an emergency for him. “I need to know everything you can find out about a man named Julian Lodge.”
“Julian?” Lucas suddenly sounded wide awake. “What’s going on with Julian? That’s my account. He hasn’t called me. What’s happening?”
“Nothing in his business. I need to know for personal reasons. He’s seeing someone I know.”
There was a snort from the other end of the line. “Seeing? Julian doesn’t see people. Julian screws people six ways to Sunday, but only after a very careful vetting process. You should see some of the shit he has me dig up on his potential subs. Wait. I thought you were going back to Willow Fork. The only person you like in Willow Fork is Dani. Are you telling me that Julian is fucking Danielle Bay?”
“You put him on speakerphone now, Lucas.”
Damn it. Finn cursed inwardly. He should have remembered that Lexi had spent time here. Lexi Moore was Abby’s daughter and involved with Lucas in some weird way no one could quite figure out. Lucas was madly in love with her, and she often spent the night with him, but Lucas insisted they were just casual. Lexi had a friendly relationship with Dani. Damn, now he had to deal with Lexi. Lexi was sometimes a pain in the ass. She ran an art gallery and could be a bit bossy.
“Finn, what’s going on with Dani and Julian?” Lexi sounded fully awake and in charge now.
Finn sighed. “I don’t know. I just know that the wedding was a bust. Dani walked into the church in her wedding gown, turned, and ran away.”
“Yes.”
Finn could practically see the fist pump Lexi was undoubtedly giving. Lexi had declined to come to the wedding, giving some excuse about a big gallery show, but Finn knew the truth. After Lexi’s own wedding had been cancelled at the last minute, she couldn’t handle talking about anything vaguely marriage related.
Finn continued, not willing to listen to Lexi’s inevitable lecture on how futile love was. “She ran down the street and hopped into some guy’s convertible.”
“Audi?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah. The next thing I know, she’s gone, and I just heard Christa say that she’s at Lexi’s mom’s house recovering nicely. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I think it means that my mom is taking care of her. Dani is a sweetheart. She thought about it and rightly panicked. Stop worrying, Finn. Mom and Sam will get her laughing, and Jack will make sure that asshole she was going to marry doesn’t hurt her.” Lexi yawned. Finn could hear her covering her mouth. “And Julian will be perfectly polite. He always is.”
Lucas spoke up. “Sweetheart, did you think about the fact that Dani is incredibly submissive?”
Lexi got very quiet.
“Will someone just tell me what’s going on? And who the hell is Julian Lodge?” Finn was moving past frustrated.
“Julian Lodge is my biggest client.”
“I thought that was the Masters’ account.” Lucas was already a legend at the firm. He’d walked in the door with a billionaire as a client. The Masters’ account covered the Masters Fund, a superrich group of investors.