“I’m just a woman who needs to replace her car.”

“That hunk of junk ain’t worth six grand. Try again.”

“Five.”

Rolling his eyes, he moved closer and leaned his shoulder against one of the posts on the porch, crossing his arms. “It’s obvious you didn’t do any homework on what your car’s worth, so why are you really here?”

Shit. I wasn’t about to play my Lula hand yet, so I pulled out the only other card I had, as much as it killed me to tell this man anything about my personal life. “Because I’m no longer with Wyatt Drummond. I’m using Hank’s car, which doesn’t feel entirely right, so I want to get a new one, which means I need money from the old one. Considering it’s not exactly easy to do internet research in this town, and I’m not speakin’ to the one person who might have that information, I decided to come to the source and muddle my way through.”

His eyes brightened with interest, but not because he looked like he wanted to ask for a place on my dance card, more in a this is information I need kind of way. “Well now, if that’s the case, I think I might be able to help you out.”

“Which case is that?” I asked, partially afraid of the answer.

“Wyatt Drummond is no friend of mine, and if you left him, I’ll be more than happy to help you.”

So many questions sprang to life…which one did I pick? Curiosity got the best of me.

“What makes you think I broke up with him?” I asked in a sassy tone.

He chuckled, his laugh this time sounding slightly genuine. “Hell, anyone can see he’s crazy about you. There’s no way he broke up with you.”

“I never struck you as a romantic, Mr. Bingham.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Not a romantic. An observer. I didn’t get to where I am by bein’ passive like my lazy-ass father. I paid attention to my surroundings. I took advantage of opportunities others missed because they weren’t payin’ attention.”

“And you built this empire,” I said, gesturing toward the junkyard.

Tilting his head to the side, he regarded me with cold eyes. “You lookin’ down your pretty little nose at me and what I built, Ms. Moore?”

“Not at all,” I said. “Despite your humble abode, I suspect you’re quite a wealthy man. You just know the value of a dollar. I heard you inherited this from your father and built it into what it is now.”

“You’ve been askin’ around about me? I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted.” The tone in his voice insinuated he’d already chosen the latter.

“You’re a powerful man, Mr. Bingham. You proved that after Seth died. The sheriff’s department didn’t seek justice for that boy’s murder. You and I did.” Sadly, it was a true statement, although Bingham hadn’t been in it for altruistic reasons. “You and I both know that while everyone thinks Bart Drummond is runnin’ the town, including the man himself, you’ve been yankin’ it out from under him.”

His eyes narrowed as though he was trying to figure out my endgame. I had a point, but I’d taken a meandering path to get there.

“And what’s your point?”

“You said you study people…well, the same is true of me. I see you buildin’ this empire, and I have to wonder what your motivation is. People do things for a reason.”

His body stiffened, and I knew I was now treading on dangerous ground.

“And what do you think motivates me?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know enough about you, but I wouldn’t say it’s to pass your empire down to your son or daughter since you don’t seem to have one.”

“So you have been askin’ about me?”

It was a lucky guess that had thankfully struck home. “I think it’s good to learn everything I can about the important people around me.” I shifted my weight. “So does that factor into your plans for the future?”

“Kids?” He couldn’t have observed me any closer if he’d had a microscope.

“Why are you askin’ if I want kids?” Then his eyes lit up. “You just broke up with Wyatt Drummond, the son of a powerful man, and now you’re sniffin’ around here askin’ if I want kids?” His arms dropped to his sides. “Got a thing for bad boys, Ms. Moore?”

“What?” I asked in shock. “No, you fool.”

“You came in here talking about the two of us workin’ together as a team and me being such a powerful man. Everything you’ve said suggests you’re interested in me, and you decided to make the first move.”

Oh. God. “No,” I said as calmly as possible in case he took my horrified reaction the wrong way. “That is not it.” Dammit. I needed to cut to the chase. “Why were you watching Lula like a hawk last night?”

The confusion on his face was almost laughable. “What?”

“You were watching her, and she was nervous as all get-out. Why?”

His confusion quickly faded to anger. “That’s none of your damn business.”

“It is given she’s missing, and she was scared to death of you.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes. “Lula took off again.” As was usually the case with Bingham, anger quickly took center stage. “Damn that bitch.”

“You didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance?”

“What?” he practically shouted. “Hell, no. That girl takes off at the drop of a dime, only she left town quicker than usual this time.” He shook his head and released a string of curses.

“Sounds like she has something you want,” I said.

He had turned away from me a little, as if he didn’t want me to see his face, but he swiveled his head to look at me. “Why the interest in Lula? From what I heard, you just met her yesterday.”

“Let’s just say we hit it off, and I feel the need to protect her.”

“From me,” he said dryly.

“From anyone who aims to hurt her.”

“Sounds like she took care of that on her own by takin’ off again,” Bingham said.

“No,” I said. “I’m sure she was taken. I don’t believe she went willingly.”

“And where’s your proof?” he asked.

That was it. I didn’t really have any. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that someone had dropped by, asked her if she wanted a ride somewhere, and taken her of her own free will. But that didn’t seem to fit with the talk we’d had last night. “That’s not for you to worry about.”

He smirked, and it was obvious he didn’t think I had any. “Why don’t you get the sheriff involved?” He gestured to Marco’s SUV. “And I’m not talkin’ about your off-duty escort there.”

Marco had his gaze pinned on the both of us.

“Because you and I both know they won’t do a damn thing about it.”

“That’s because there’s nothin’ to be done,” he said. “She ran off. End of story.”

“Why is she scared of you?”

“Hell if I know,” he said with a shrug. “I treated her damn fine when we were together, but then her mother found out and told her to end it. So she did.”