Page 54 of Shadows Relived
“Yeah, legitimate files. Oh, he did some pushing through of bills and cleared the way for New Horizon to get what they wanted. But his name wasn’t on the payouts. So I did some more digging, widened my search, thinking perhaps he used his wife’s name. I’ve knownpoliticians who’ve done that. Callen, you’re not gonna believe whose name is listed as the majority shareholder on those properties under New Horizons.”
Meaghan’s stomach flipped, worried the man would say her father used her mother.
“It’s not Roger or his wife,” Tex said. “It’s your girl there. Meaghan.”
Gage and Elvis stepped in just as Tex said her name, and the room went silent.
Callen blinked. “That can’t be right.”
“I double-checked. Every land deed, every shell corp paper trail, they all lead back to your lady. The man may have been laundering his deals through his own daughter without her even knowing.”
“Of course, I didn’t know,” she almost shrieked, staring at the phone. Her throat tightened as she turned her attention to Callen. “I—I don’t understand. I never signed anything. I didn’t know?—”
“I believe you,” Tex said, cutting her off. “But it doesn’t change the legal optics. Your name’s on the files. That makes you the target, I’m afraid.”
“And the key,” Callen muttered. “To unraveling this whole damn thing.”
“You want my guess?” Tex asked, but it didn’t sound like he was truly asking. “Your father did something against New Horizons, and whenever whoever is in charge over there went looking, they found you and not the senator. That’s why they’re after you. They think you have their money. It has nothing to do with a threat to your father.”
“Thanks, Tex,” Callen said. “Iappreciate it.”
“No worries,” the man on the other side of the phone said. “I’ll do a little more digging. See if I can find where Roger Harrington first started using his daughter’s name.”
Callen ended the call without another word and looked across the table at her.
She squirmed under his gaze, feeling the heat drain from her face. “I don’t—I mean, how could he—? How could my father use me like this?”
“My guess?” Elvis asked. “He used your name so he could distance himself from any fallback, figuring he could use his connections to get you out of any trouble if anyone connected your name to the shady business dealings?”
Gage leaned against the wall behind him, arms folded. “Or maybe this was always the plan. Use you as a pawn or a shield. I hate to say it, but even a fall guy if it came down to it. Wouldn’t be the first time someone in power used their family in such a way.”
Callen eased himself out of his chair, a snarl twisting his features. “We need to get to these people and set them straight.”
Meaghan forced her chin up. “How?”
“We go back to New Horizons,” Gage said with a shrug. “Something went south, some deal that burned someone, that made them look to you for payback. We need to find that deal.”
“We also put pressure on your father,” Elvis added. “If he truly wants you safe, he’ll start telling us everything he’s hiding.”
“And if he doesn’t?” she asked, feeling like every direction led to a dead end.
Callen looked her in the eye. “Trust me, I’ll get him to talk.”
Later that night, Callen and she sat on the porch steps beneath the rising dusk. The forest whispered around them, frogs chirping in chorus, the cicadas starting their shift.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“No.” Her voice trembled. “But I will be.”
He didn’t push. Just sat beside her, hand brushing hers. She took it, fingers tangling.
“I trusted him,” she whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder. “Maybe that makes me stupid.”
“No. That makes you a daughter.”
They sat in silence for a while after that, allowing the night to sing its song to them. The rain started shortly thereafter, but Meaghan knew that wasn’t the storm she was bracing for. No, that storm would be a lot more violent.
CHAPTER 20
