He got claustrophobic just looking at it. In fact, he’d even started to feel like he was bein’ followed. But it had to be his imagination. He didn’t know anyone who’d be lookin’ for him.
Not that it mattered. Because he wasn’t leavin’ here until he found Mrs. Amber Rose Corwin and his money.
CHAPTER TEN
MIKE TOSSED HIS KEYS on the counter and headed directly to his bedroom. After a long day at work, he wanted nothing more than to get some sleep, wake up, work tomorrow and then drive to Stewart. Dan had let Mike borrow his car since the newlyweds still had Natalie’s. Mike appreciated the loaner. He didn’t want Amber with his any longer than necessary.
He was worried about his family bonding with Amber. It was easy enough to do, Mike knew. And if that happened, the divorce and life after Amber would be twice as difficult. But Mike was probably worrying about nothing. Edward was a loner, through and through. Besides, he wouldn’t bond with any woman he thought his son might fall in love with. He’d push her away—and fast. Amber’s beauty itself gave Edward cause to worry about his son falling hard.
As for Mike, he knew what Edward didn’t: he couldn’t fall for her. Not with what she’d done, what she’d kept from him. But damn, he did miss her vibrant personality and her laughter.
And if, by slim chance, Edward got soft, then Amber still had to get by his cousin Derek, who wasn’t at all happy with Mike marrying a stranger in Vegas, let alone allowing her back into his life after she’d stolen from him.
No, he didn’t have to worry about any of his family members being taken in by Amber. There would be no new ties being created back home that would make a divorce any more difficult when this was over.
Only Amber herself.
She’d been in his apartment for a few days and yet he w
as forced to admit the place felt empty without her. And in the same way he’d avoided coming home to her the two nights she’d been here, he’d made the decision not to come home to the quiet apartment tonight. Not until it was late and all he’d have time to do was sleep, he thought, glancing at the empty, perfectly made bed.
He normally left it rumpled and ready to climb back into, but Amber had made the bed when she’d been here. The crisp bedding looked fresh and inviting.
And lonely.
Gone, too, were the items she’d placed on the nightstand, the feminine clutter, evidence of a shared life. Mike shook his head hard.
Was he really bemoaning the loss of a woman whom he’d classified as a liar by omission, a cheat by admission?
Yeah, he thought. He was.
Damn.
The phone rang and, grateful for the distraction, he answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“When are you getting your woman out of my hair?” his father blurted, not bothering to say hello first.
Mike realized he should be more worried about Edward driving Amber crazy than Edward softening toward her.
“I’m working on it,” he said.
And he was. He’d started by digging into King Bobby Boyd’s background. Earlier today he’d called the small downtown Texas police department where King Bobby Boyd’s Used-Car Dealership was located. Thanks to professional courtesy, he’d gotten some basic information, which hadn’t been the least bit helpful.
No police record, not even a driving infraction. The man was squeaky clean and, according to the chief, full of hot air. Mike would have been relieved, except that the chief also mentioned that King Bobby was as dirty as his used cars, only no one had been able to pin anything on him. And he didn’t only deal in stolen cars. It was common knowledge that the man had big-time criminal connections. But again, the man couldn’t be arrested for the company he kept, and nobody had ever managed to pin anything on King Bobby Boyd. Even the Texas chief had used the stupid moniker of King.
Without a rap sheet, Mike had turned to a P.I. the police chief had recommended. It wasn’t a direction Mike had wanted to go in, but he had no choice. If he couldn’t catch the King for being involved in illegal dealings, he’d just find another vice. In Mike’s experience, guys who liked the rush of high-stakes poker games always came with other failings.
Mike planned to uncover King Bobby’s skeletons and use them in exchange for the man’s agreement to leave Amber alone. Mike wouldn’t call it bribery, it was more of a quid pro quo. In any case, he now knew King Bobby was a legitimate threat.
“Hey, these minutes are costin’ me money. Are you listening?” Edward bellowed into the phone line.
Technically they were costing Mike money, but he didn’t correct his father. “Sorry, Dad, can you repeat that? I didn’t hear you.”
“I said I feel like I’m livin’ in a zoo. With your wife stayin’ here and your cousin Derek and his wife coming and going like they own the place, a man can’t get any privacy.”
“I’m sorry,” Mike said, trying to figure out what was so odd about his father’s complaints. “At least they’re keeping you company.”
“Have I ever asked for company? And did I mention Amber’s makin’ herself at home? She’s cleaning. I don’t need a woman keepin’ house for me. I can see my kitchen counters. I dang near forgot they were white. The shelves in the family room are dust free and I can’t find Stinky Pete’s favorite toy. He’s moping around here like he lost his manhood again.”