Steal My Heart by Lisa Eugene Page B

peruse his longtime friend. Harry was only a few years older than he, but time and bad habits had piled an extra decade onto his face and body. Gabe remembered a short stocky man who was packed with muscle and aggression. Now, not only did his body appear soft and lax, but his usually astute eyes were miry and ill-focused.
    “I’m trying to figure that out myself, Harry.”
    “What went wrong?”
    Gabe never took his eyes away from Harry’s face.
    “They knew I was coming. I was set up.”
    “ Shit!”
    “It was a trap. Now I’m being hunted.”
    Harry blew out a long breath, his brows knitting pensively.
    “Cryostar? But how?”
    Gabe shrugged noncommittally. He leaned back as Kim returned with his order and the other items he’d requested. He sent a surreptitious gaze over to Maggie. She was sitting quietly, hands neatly folded on the table. Good girl.
    “What information did you get?” he asked when Kim left. He nodded towards the manila envelope on the table that Harry had brought with him. He narrowed his eyes at the fine tremor in his friend’s fingers as he withdrew the contents.
    “Cane is going nuts! He’s been up my ass about this deal.”
    “You let me worry about Cane,” Gabe stated calmly. “Did you get anything additional on Cryostar?”
    Harry nodded, sliding the papers across the table.
    Gabe looked through the stack. Most of the information he knew. Dr. Paul Rollins and his wife Dr. Victoria Rollins were the owners and chief researchers at Cryostar. Victoria was an oncologic surgeon who’d left her position as Chief of Surgery at a major hospital to head this research starter company, Cryostar. Her husband had joined later. The company had been doing well, but didn’t get much attention until it produced its research data on the revolutionary surgical device, the Sonic Scalpel, a few years back, beating out competing companies like ARSA. Gabe had uncovered some interesting facts about Paul Rollins when he was considering this project. The man was a pig. The papers in his hands just did more to confirm that, but didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know.
    “I can’t imagine they were tipped off,” Harry intoned, disbelief still flaring his eyes.
    Gabe stared quietly. Something was amiss with his friend. His gaze was snapping all over the room and beads of sweat sprouted like dew drops on his top lip. Gabe felt his heart wrench and he expelled a soft breath. Harry was the closest thing he had to a friend, but he didn’t like the vibes he were getting from across the table.
    “Are the Rollins back yet?” he asked. Last he’d heard, they were out of the country.
    “No, but that wouldn’t stop Paul Rollins. The doc’s slime! Gambling debts, prostitutes, mob ties, and that just touches the surface. I’m sure he’d do anything to get back whatever is on that drive.”
    Gabe shifted in his seat, listening to Harry’s ramblings with half an ear. He was trying to catch the exchange between Maggie and Kim taking place at the next table. She was asking for plastic utensils and saying something about a stain on the silverware. He listened to her request a fresh glass of ice water and saw Kim try very hard not to get annoyed. What was she up to? Was she trying to cause a scene or was she just being her usual fastidious self?
    “Maybe…” he responded to Harry. Paul Rollins and his wife had spent almost a decade working on this research and no doubt would utilize every resource to retrieve it.
    “What’s on the drive?” Harry asked too casually.
    “Don’t know.” Why was Harry so interested?
    “When are you meeting with Cane?”
    Gabe shrugged smoothly and started sifting through the data Harry had brought him about Cane Howard. He scanned through financial records, hedge funds, disclosures from his holding company, The Edge Corp, personal history and charitable contributions. There were pictures of him smiling and accepting one award after another for his good deeds and