Lawless by Helenkay Dimon

give me some intel on your officers.”
    The man had guts. Tony had to give him that, but the request, if that’s what it was, would never happen. “Intel?”
    “Who, what, backgrounds. Personality types.” Other than blinking, Connor still didn’t move. “Likelihood for trouble.”
    Tony tapped his fingers against the end of the armrest. He aimed for mild disinterest. Inside his mind was spinning with ways to end the conversation. “This is starting to sound a bit like an interrogation.”
    “If it helps you to think of it that way, I’m good with that.” The flat tone only added to the feeling of menace.
    “It’s also a clear case of overreaching.”
    “Your executive is missing.”
    And what a mess that had turned out to be. “I let you get me upset last time, but this is nothing. Mark wandered away from camp. That’s hardly a reason to dig around in people’s personal lives.”
    Connor’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Why do you say that?”
    “Because it’s not your business where they—”
    “I meant the part about Mark. Why do you think he walked off?”
    “It’s the most logical explanation.” That was the story. That was the plan. Simple and straightforward. Except for the part where it all blew apart and now Tony had to deal with bad weather, Rafe screaming on the phone from thousands of miles away about his baby girl’s safety and the man across the desk who wanted to rush in and save everyone.
    “I told you there were gunshots.”
    “I doubt it,” Tony said. “If that were true, if there were really trouble, the police, park rangers and everyone else would be out there. I’d be getting calls and this would be on the news. You see, Mr. Bowen—”
    “Connor is fine.”
    “Conner then.” Though Tony would prefer not to get so personal. “I turned this company around by being patient. I don’t run off or act in panic mode.”
    “You think I do?”
    “Technically, isn’t other people’s panic your business?” Tony continued to drum his fingers. With each tap he inhaled, trying to slow down his pounding heart and keep his breathing under control. There was no need to show weakness. “Look, Mark likes to show off. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a young woman running the retreat.”
    “How evolved of him.”
    Little did Connor know the woman, Hope, had been a vital part of the plan. Talk about a miscalculation. “My guess is his male ego got wounded and now he’s stuck trying to find a reasonable way to save face and come back to camp.”
    “Is that it?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Are you done?” This time Connor moved. He leaned forward with his fists on the far edge of Tony’s desk and kept the eye contact locked on him. “If so, let me tell you about my men. They don’t panic. They also know what gunfire sounds like because they’re experts at rescuing. When they issue a warning it’s because something is seriously wrong.”
    “So you’re impressed with your men.” By the time he finished, the words rang out in the room. It took all of Tony’s control to keep his expression blank and not shift in his chair. “Your point is?”
    Connor pushed up and stood straight again. “I take off as soon as the weather clears.”
    “This is a waste of time and money.”
    “Possibly, but it’s my time and my money to waste.”
    “Not really since it’s my men out there on the retreat.” Tony needed to bring them in clean and without them being subjected to questioning. Not unless he could control it, and he knew Connor wouldn’t let that happen “My suggestion would be to let this play out. I paid for a certain number of days and want those men out there, including Mark, who will show up soon, in the woods, building rapport as promised.”
    “While getting shot at.”
    “I think we’ve discussed that issue enough.” Until Tony knew more about the who and why of the gunshots, he pivoted around the topic.
    “I agree.”
    Forget relief. Anxiety smacked into him.