Read Online Playing For Keeps (Emerald Lake Billionaires 2) by Leeanna Morgan - Free Book Online

walked out of the room.
    Ryan knew that Dorothy could help Sophie, but Dorothy couldn’t help him. There was only one person who could do that and it was his neighbor, John Fletcher.
    If anyone could find information about a university research assistant called Sophie, it was the team at Fletcher Security. They were experts at finding needles in haystacks and Sophie was the smallest needle they’d ever have to find.
     
    ***
    The next evening, Ryan watched the sun set above Emerald Lake from John Fletcher’s backyard. John had bought the property beside Ryan’s nearly a year ago. Since Ryan had been back in Bozeman, they’d often sat on the grass, relaxing after work and enjoying the peace that their properties gave them.
    As well as being an ex-Navy SEAL, John owned Fletcher Security, one of the most successful security companies in North America. With bodyguards and security specialists working from most major cities, his influence on the lives of the rich and famous wasn’t something you could underestimate.
    John knew all about Ryan’s ex-wife and the problems they were having. He’d offered to look into Cindy’s less-than-pure life, but Ryan had told him not to bother. He wasn’t interested in digging up dirt on his ex-wife, even though she didn’t have the same problem about doing it to him.
    John took another sip of his soda. “I heard you had a convoy of visitors the other day?”
    “Dorothy arrived with her PR team. I suppose I should be grateful that they came out to Bozeman and didn’t drag me down to Nashville.”
    “Knowing Dorothy, there would have been a reason for her coming here.” John had met Dorothy a month ago. It hadn’t taken him too long to realize what a formidable force she was.
    Ryan leaned his head against the back of his chair. “She wants to add credibility to what’s left of my reputation. If Cindy has her way, all anyone will see is a drunk, out-of-control musician who doesn’t know how to keep his pants on.”
    John choked on his soda. “Sounds impressive.”
    “Maybe for someone else.” Ryan gazed at the mountains. “Does it ever end?”
    John didn’t have to ask what he meant. Neither of them had been born with silver spoons in their mouths. John had been raised on a cattle ranch in Bozeman. Ryan’s folks were your typical middle-class parents. They worked long hours, taught him right from wrong, and did everything they could to give him a good education.
    Ryan and John’s lives had taken two very different paths, but they’d ended up living beside each other, becoming more successful than either of them could have imagined.
    “Someone will always want what you’ve got,” John said carefully. “It’s the trade-off we’ve made. Earning lots of money puts you in the spotlight, whether you want to be there or not. Cindy has seen an opportunity. She’s the type of person who’ll take full advantage of what happened years ago to take what she thinks is hers.”
    Ryan took a deep swallow of his drink. “She’s out of luck.”
    John smiled. “Believe me, your ex-wife won’t be the only person who’s ever going to be after your money. It’s amazing what incentive a few zeroes makes to some people’s perspective on life. If you need help, you know where to find me.”
    Ryan nodded. “How are your wedding plans going?”
    John groaned. “You’d think having no budget would make most women’s hearts sing. But Rachel’s getting more stressed every day. She’s constantly worried about everything costing too much. Bella’s so excited she can hardly sleep.”
    Bella was John’s nine-year-old daughter. Nearly two years ago, she’d sent a letter to a group of women, called The Bridesmaids Club, asking them to find her dad a wife. The only problem was that Bella hadn’t told them her full name, and they couldn’t find her.
    A year after Bella had mailed the letter, Rachel, one of the women in The Bridesmaids Club, had worked out who’d sent the letter.