I ended the call and turned down the drive and stewed over what Jock had shared. He never slept with North. What had she said in her office earlier? That maybe I’d gotten together with her father as payback for what she did to Jock. That made no sense. Based on what my brother had just told me, she hadn’t done anything to him. She assumed I’d connected with her father before he died and had… offered her up as part of a deal? That I was at his wake to collect?

Did that mean he’d offered her up to Jock when they were kids to sweeten the deal with his parents?

I pulled into the circular drive, parked, ran a hand over my face.

What the fuck was wrong with me? Getting with North Wainright wasn’t a simple thing. Hell, she had to be the most complex woman I’d ever met. She had issues. A fuck ton of them, even though she had enough money to solve every single one of them. I looked up at the huge house that proved that.

I was a glutton for punishment because my dick wanted her. My head wanted her too. There was something about her. Something… complex and intriguing.

I was surprised, at my age, that I could spend all my time thinking about a woman, but I did. How she was the last fucking woman on the planet who I should get a hard on for.

She might be seriously guilty of federal crimes.

She was now the number one focus of my case.

And I wanted her to be… what? Mine?

I sighed, grabbed my hat off the seat. Yeah, I did.

Except when she found out I was undercover, it wasn’t going to end well. I even knew how well she could shoot, and I still wanted her.

It still didn’t matter. It was rare to find a woman that made life interesting. She was also damaged and from what I could tell, had no one on her side. Oh, she had a shit ton of people working for her, to do whatever she wanted. Even Brad.

But they weren’t watching out for her. They helped because she was paying them.

I walked up the broad stone steps to the front door. Rang the bell as I took in the grand entry.

She was a princess alone in her big fucking castle. Was I her prince? Far from it, but I was going to be there for her. To figure out what made her tick. What made her smile. And give that to her for the rest of her life. As I thought that, I should have panicked. Hopped back in my truck and drove off, dirt flying. But no, it sounded about perfect.

When I heard the gunshot, I wondered if I might be too late.

6

NORTH