Dex wasn’t surprised by how easily Ralston had folded, but he was curious what this help entailed. “I’ll do what I can.” He gestured for the man to continue.
Ralston’s gaze slid from side to side as if nervous they would be overheard even in his closed office. Dex wondered if he needed to mention the possibility that Ralston’s office was bugged to his team. It couldn’t hurt to make them aware.
“You remember the picture that was taken yesterday of Mark Stanton?”
Dex couldn’t help what he was sure looked like a smirk. “Yes. Why?”
Ralston straightened his cuffs again. “Mr. Stanton received a blackmail note this morning, along with several pictures. The note said there were many more, and that all of them would be released if he didn’t pay three million dollars.”
Dex frowned. “I’m assuming he didn’t call the authorities. What did he think you could do about it?”
Ralston scowled. “He wanted the club to pay for it, since we allowed him to be put in that situation.”
Dex bit back a laugh. Mark Stanton was a presumptuous ass. “What did he say when you turned him down?”
“That he would ruin the club, and ruin me personally.”
Pictures of Stanton getting dick-punched, even wearing a sleeveless leather vest and surrounded by women in various types of skimpy lingerie, would only enhance his reputation in Hollywood.
He wasn’t married, and had never had any type of serious relationship as far as the FBI could tell. The man was a self-professed playboy, and with the media, actively cultivated the persona of a skilled and adventurous lover. There might be some personal embarrassment and many jokes at his expense in the media, but that would be the worst of it. So Dex wasn’t sure why Stanton would care if the pictures were released. Unless they included something besides the incident yesterday. A distinct possibility, given Stanton’s past activities.
That information made Dex even more impatient to be done with this meeting and move on to other things.
“Don’t worry about a thing, Ed. We’ll look into it, and see what we can do.”
Ralston blew out a harsh breath as his expression relaxed. “Thank you. It’s hard enough to deal with all the high-profile personalities that mix here, but being threatened with blackmail is on an entirely different level.”
Dex nodded, letting the man babble on as relief set in that Dex would help him.
“I need to be going, Ed.” Dex stood and walked toward the door, not willing to spend more time listening to Ralston drone on about this issue. “We’ll talk again soon. Let me know if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.”
“Of course,” he said automatically as he stood and followed Dex to the door. “I didn’t know you knew Merrick Caldwell. Is he with the FBI too?” Ralston asked as he seemed to shake off the stress about the blackmail from a moment ago.
Dex shook his head, not wanting him to know he and Merrick were working together. “No, I just met him there in the hallway. I’ve never seen him before today.” Which was absolutely true.
Not that Dex had any issues with being a good liar when necessary. After all, that was part of being a field agent.
Ralston nodded once in acknowledgment and then opened the door for Dex, following him out into the hallway.
Dex didn’t stick around. He needed to check on Kate, and Merrick had his number when he was done with Ralston and ready to talk.
Chapter 12
Small pinpricks of pain rhythmically massaged Kate’s back, pulling her out of the deep, dark place she’d fallen into. It was a wonderful cocoon of warmth and peace, and she wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible.
She tried to lose herself in it again, but the insistent points of repetitive pain intensified and were joined by a loud meow and a firm nip on the back of her left shoulder.
She forced open one eye, relieved when the muted darkness of her room greeted her. She must have remembered to pull down her blackout shades before falling into bed last night.
The doorbell rang three times in quick succession, followed by loud, continuous knocking that pulled her farther into the waking world.
With a few of her favorite curses, she flailed out an arm to the headboard and slapped her palm over her phone. When she held it in front of her face so she could look at the screen, she saw that it was already noon. A groan rumbled inside her chest.
It had been a long time since she had slept this late. No wonder Rusty was impatient for her to get up. She scanned the notifications on her phone and found several missed calls from various numbers, including two from Master Dex. She also had numerous text messages and emails, from both Master Dex and clients.
After seeing the latest text from Dex from six minutes ago, indicating that he was at the front door, she quickly sent a return text of “brt,” hoping he was used to the “be right there” abbreviation.