Page 46 of SEAL's Resolve
She nodded. “A legacy from my grandmother. I used part of the money to start Kristi’s Bridal, but I repaid what I took out. I’m holding the fund for any children I might have.”
“Would you have given Ward money from the fund once you were married?”
“If he needed it, yes.”
“How much is in the fund?”
“Enough to bail Hugh out of trouble.”
“How much?”
“About $10 million.”
Holy cow. He stared. “Are you serious?”
“That would solve Ward’s problem,” Jackson muttered.
“Not in the long run,” Josh said. “Ward’s hooked.”
“Hugh wouldn’t arrange for my kidnapping,” Kristi said. “He’s not like that.”
“No offense, sugar, but you didn’t know Ward was addicted to gambling,” Eli said.
“How do you know it’s an addiction? Maybe he had a run of bad luck one night in a casino.”
“When a man tries to gamble his way out of a gambling debt, he has a problem,” Jon said.
“You know for a fact that’s what he’s doing?”
“I’m sorry, Kristi. There’s no mistake. The amount of money he owes takes a while to accumulate. This wasn’t an overnight binge.”
“Keep digging,” Rafe said.
“Look at the hedge fund,” Josh said. “If Ward was over his head in debt and desperate for money, he might have looked for short-term cash flow until he could make other arrangements.” He looked at Kristi.
Rafe frowned. Was Kristi part of Ward’s solution to his problems? Talk about cold-blooded calculation. He hated the distress and hurt on Kristi’s face. He threaded his fingers through hers. “We’ll find out what’s going on. If he’s behind the kidnapping, he’ll pay.” In more ways than one. No matter what happened between him and Kristi, Rafe would see to that personally.
“Have you connected the kidnappers to Ward?” Cal asked.
“Not yet. I’m juggling several searches,” Jon said.
“Can Zane help?”
“He’s buried with other priorities at the moment. I’ll get it done.”
“We’ll help when we’re not on watch.”
“If you have more information, talk fast,” Josh said. “I’m due in a training class soon.” He sent a wicked grin Rafe’s direction. “Close quarters combat.”
Rafe groaned, remembering multiple deep bruises he’d suffered sparring with Durango’s leader in after-class sessions with the Delta soldier. “Better them than me.”
“Your time for a refresher course is coming soon, Torres. I have several new techniques to teach to you.”
He scowled. “Where are you finding these techniques? I’m as well trained as you are.”
Josh chuckled. “I’ll tell you when you come in for class.”
“Can’t wait,” he lied. Even though he learned a lot from Cahill and his partner, Alex Morgan, Rafe hated the sessions that reminded him of the worst days in BUDS.