Page 67 of No Rules

Or not, but Ryan kept that thought to himself. “That’s so helpful, Clyde. Thank you so much.”

“You’re more than welcome. Anything I can legally do to help Marilyn.”

Ryan ended the call. Another piece of the puzzle had slotted into place. “All right, baby boy.” He turned to Alex. “What did we learn from this?”

“Multiple bets… Does that mean he asked others to place bets for him? Because otherwise, the cops would’ve seen it and combined his total winnings.”

“I had the exact same thought. Let’s see what we can dig up on this Victor Thornfield.”

“Already on it.” Alex tapped away on his laptop. Together, they delved deeper into Thornfield’s life, piecing together a picture of a desperate man with nothing left to lose. Clyde had been right. The man was a vet, and he specialized in racehorses. His credentials showed various articles in magazines, and he’d worked with some big-name owners. Even more interesting were his financials. He was dead broke with massive debts to his name. In fact, the bank was about to default on his home.

“Clyde mentioned Thornfield had had some losses in the past,” Alex said. “Looks like he was right. He’s been drowning in debt.”

Ryan rubbed his beard. “So not only is he connected to Jeffries, but he’s also got a motive. If Jeffries promised him money, that would’ve been a way for Thornfield to keep his house, get out of debt.”

Their case was finally coming together, but they needed a last bit of evidence they wouldn’t be able to get. But the cops would. If Detective Baxter believed them, he could obtain a search warrant for Thornfield’s house, hopefully finding evidence of the EPO, and he could dig into Jeffries’s financial transactions to see where the money he’d won that day had gone.

He looked over at Alex. “We need to take this to Baxter. Let’s gather everything we have on Thornfield and Jeffries, every scrap of evidence that ties them to Sam’s Promise’s death.”

“Should I give him a call? See if we can set up a meeting?” Alex asked, looking up at Ryan with his bright, hopeful eyes. He was so fucking cute, like a lighthouse that kept drawing Ryan in.

“Go ahead.” Ryan forced himself to step back from the warmth radiating off Alex. The case had to come first now. They were so close to solving it. He couldn’t delay now and risk Jeffries and Thornfield getting away with it.

“Okay.” Alex dialed the number on his cell phone. After a brief conversation, he hung up and turned to Ryan. “He’s agreed to meet with us tomorrow morning at the station.”

Tomorrow. Ryan blew out a breath. Maybe he could indulge himself in a little relaxing time with Alex tonight. “Good.”

“We’re getting close, right?”

“We are.”

“It feels exciting.”

“There’s nothing like the thrill of solving a case.”

Alex cocked his head, a devious grin on his face. “Nothing?”

“Almost nothing. Come here, baby boy. Let’s make sure you have my load inside you when you go to bed tonight.”

“You’d better let me come though. Josh and I won fair and square yesterday.”

Ryan chuckled. “Not sure about the fair, considering his former profession, but you sure did win. I was proud of you.”

“Yeah?”

Fuck, there was that softness again filling his insides. What the hell was going on? Alex was doing something to him, and Ryan wasn’t sure he liked it. The problem was that the thought of putting a stop to it made it hard to breathe for reasons he preferred not to think about, so he’d have to learn to deal with it. “Yeah, I was. I am. You’re…” He swallowed. “You’re making me proud.”

Hell hath frozen over.

21

They’d spent the day going over everything they had so they could present Detective Baxter with a comprehensive file. Hopefully, that would convince him of Marilyn’s innocence and get him to make a move against Jeffries and Thornfield. Alex had had a hard time relaxing with this constant nervous buzz running through his system, and apparently, he’d not only been driving himself crazy but also Ryan, who had snapped at him to get it together. But then he’d grown softer and had suggested they do a scene to help Alex let go. He’d immediately agreed.

Their second scene. What did Ryan have in store for Alex this time? He didn’t even care. All he wanted was to release the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions inside him and focus on nothing else but obeying Ryan. It came so easy, so natural.

Alex stepped into the dungeon, his heart racing with excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. The thrill of surrendering to Ryan was intoxicating.

Ryan stood near a table draped with a black tablecloth, the shapes underneath suggesting an array of mysterious items.