He gestured for her to walk ahead of him on the sandy path that led to the house. Offended, he answered, “Of course I have. I tripled it.”
Maxine gave him a shrewd look. “And it’s going into a private account only she has access to?”
He wanted to roll his eyes, but he knew why she asked. Many anchors didn’t bother keeping their money separate from their vampire, which left them vulnerable in the event that the law caught up with them or they died. Making sure that Francesca would be able to support herself if anything happened to him was one of his first priorities when they came to the beach house. He’d spent hours on the phone with the family lawyers and his various bank accounts, putting her on everything whether she wanted to be or not.
Even if something catastrophic happened to him and the rest of the Amauris, she would never want for anything again. She’dnever have to work two jobs or worry about what would happen to her parents. She could breathe, with or without him.
“It is,” he confirmed, disengaging the security perimeter with a tap on his phone. It was a necessary measure when her bio signature hadn’t been added to the database.
He waved her ahead of him.
“Good.” Maxine stuck her nose in the air as she passed him, her shoes slapping with every step.
As they wound their way up the beach path toward the fenced in garden, he asked in a low voice, “Have you heard anything from Easton?”
“No,” she muttered, her lips puckering. “He scampered off to whatever hole he hides in as soon as we left your apartment. If he was smart, he’d be off the continent by now, but…”
“He isn’t smart,” he finished for her.
“Nope.”
He rubbed his tired eyes. “And you haven’t heard from Malachi?”
She shook her head again. The ponytail she’d gathered her red hair into swung from side to side with the motion. “No. He was Easton’s contact, not mine.”
“Do you have any idea what your cousin owed him?”
“I never asked,” she admitted, shoulders slumping a little. “To be honest, I didn’t want to know. The reason he came to my house that night Frankie was visiting was because I’d actually stopped giving him money. I wanted him to learn his lesson, but all I ended up doing was letting her volunteer for something that put her in danger.”
Luis wasn’t charitable enough to let her off the hook. Hewasfurious that Maxine, who knew damn well how badly Blood Games could go, allowed her friend to enter them.
Stopping abruptly, he bit out, “Why didn’t you tell her to come to me? I would’ve helped her. I would’ve paid for a private investigator, no hesitation. I’m her man, Maxine.”
“Maybe for the same reason she didn’t think to come to you in the first place,” she answered. “She didn’t consider you to be her man, jackass. She never even told me she had a thing going on with a vampire! If she had, I absolutely would’ve forbidden her from entering the Games.”
Eyes narrowing, she took a slow step closer to him. In a chilly tone, she noted, “I think the better question is why she didn’t think you were worth mentioning to her only friend.”
Luis ground his molars together. Speaking through clenched teeth, he forced out, “It’s come to my attention that I was not clear in my communication with Frankie.”
Maxine snorted. “No shit. I had a feeling she was crushing onsomeone,but she never said a word.” In a slightly more forgiving tone, she allowed, “But she keeps a lot close to her vest. It took months for her to tell me why she was in UW to begin with, and I’m pretty sure she only did it because she needed help with some legal stuff. And for therecord,I did offer to help with a private investigator. She turned me down.”
“Of course she did.” They shared a thin-lipped look of exasperation.
“I assume you’ve already put things in motion on that end.” Maxine arched her brows expectantly.
Getting a little antsy from having his anchor out of sight for so long, he jerked his chin toward the house and answered, “I’m calling in another favor from Tomas Bowan.”
He opened the garden gate for her. Flip-flops smacking the pebbles with every step, she replied, “Oh, that’s a fantastic pull. The first couple investigators she hired were either totally incompetent or actual scammers. But I’ve heard that Tomas isgood at finding things — and you know how ruthless the Bowans are.”
“He better be, for the amount he’s charging,” Luis muttered.
Maxine snorted. “Doesn’t sound like a favor if he’s making you pay.”
“See,” he whined, opening the door for her, “that’s whatIsaid.”
They stepped inside the house. Cool air kissed his skin, providing sweet relief from the humidity and heat of the world outside. Setting her bag down on the stand in the entryway, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to reengage the security perimeter.
“Frankie, I’ve come to rescue you!” Maxine called out as she shucked her sandals.