Kyle grabbed a bottle from the mini-fridge at the wet bar and poured some into a glass. My hand shook as I sipped.
“Hey,” he said. “This is good news. No more public enemy number one.”
“Yeah, it’s just … really gruesome.”
And where was Dane? Had that been the call Amano insisted he’d want to take? Had the FBI closed in on Vale and wanted Dane to identify him or somehow be involved? Where was he now?
Kyle’s thoughts must have run in the direction of mine, because he asked, “Is this why Dane came back tonight? Had the FBI alerted him that they’d located Hilliard?”
“Not that I know of,” I said. “He came back because Amano figured out I was pregnant and told him.”
“Shit, that’s low.”
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s loyalty. Amano might have some toward me, but his priority will always be Dane.”
“He could have at least asked you why you hadn’t mentioned it to anyone.”
“Come on, Kyle. He knows why I’ve kept it a secret. He probably thinks he did us all a favor, and he just might be right. I mean … In the long run, I wouldn’t want Dane to die not knowing he left a legacy behind.”
Fat drops rolled down my cheeks.
“Ari.” Kyle put his arm around me. “Hey, he wasn’t in the crash. He’s probably just fine. Unfortunately.”
“Kyle.”
“Just sayin’. And you should know that if anything happens to him, I’ll be here for you. I’ll help you with the baby.”
“Over my dead body.”
My head snapped up at Dane’s voice.
“That was sort of what the discussion was all about,” Kyle said defiantly. Though his arm around me slipped away.
I got to my feet, a little shakily. “You’re okay?”
“Yes.” He crossed the room and took me possessively into his arms. Not before aiming a lethal look at Kyle. Amano did not appear pleased, either.
I said, “Won’t Vale being dead make it more difficult to pin the explosion on him?”
“He was just the mastermind,” Dane explained. “The one pulling the strings. Wayne Horton is the key to the bombing. And the fact that Vale is Byrn Hilliard’s son will help with that side of the case. It’ll be easy to prove he acted on behalf of the family—and that part of the society.”
“Asshole got what he had coming to him,” Kyle said.
“Yes,” Dane concurred. “And with him out of the picture, Horton will be running scared. Too scared to do more damage. There won’t be anyone to protect him—and no one to bankroll him.”
“He’s been hanging out in casinos,” Amano told us. “Burning through cash playing poker and blackjack. He’s at Cliff Castle in Camp Verde three times a week. Down in the Valley at Fort McDowell or Talking Stick on the weekends. Made a few trips to Vegas and Laughlin, but he lost big there and hasn’t gone back.”
Relief washed over me at the news regarding Vale and how it would release us from the threat of Wayne Horton as well. “No more looking over our shoulders.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Amano said. “Yes, we’re all pretty much in the clear. Dane just needs to wrap up these last two indictments.”
“I haven’t been able to get to my data,” he admitted. “My hard drive’s in a safe-deposit box in a Swiss bank. Hard to get to when you’re a well-known dead man.”
“What about Amano?” Kyle asked.
“He’s the one who delivered it there, when I was laid up. But I haven’t wanted him to return.” Glancing down at me, Dane added, “I want him here with you.”
“I can handle that,” Kyle insisted.