Chapter 27
Chris
“Idon’t want to go back.” Lily pouts from my passenger seat.
Reaching over, I squeeze her knee. “I know, baby. I wish we could stay in the mountains, too.”
I’d give anything to make that our reality. I would spend the next few months there with her if it meant we could run away from our problems and they’d resolve themselves while we were gone.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Especially not after her admission. It’s even more important to monitor this situation as carefully as possible. There’s something else I need to address with her. We’re about an hour from Nashville, so might as well talk about it now.
“I know we talked about this a little before we left. But I want to stress to you how important it is that, until this is all figured out, I really don’t want you out of my sight unless you’re at work.
And when you’re at work, I’d prefer if you don’t leave.
Not for coffee. Not for lunch. Nothing. If you need something, you call me.
I don’t care if it’s for a small cup of coffee. ”
“Chris, I’m not going to call you for coffee. You also have a job to do.” She sounds slightly exasperated.
I take my eyes off the road briefly to look at her. Her tone said frustration, but the pinch of her eyes tells me she’s concerned more than anything.
Moving my hand higher up her thigh, I tell her, “I don’t mind. I’ll get you anything you need.”
Resting her hand on top of mine, where it lays on her thigh, she forces a smile. “I have my assistant, Anna. I can just send her out.”
“Okay, well, if she can’t go, you let me know.”
She agrees, and we ride in silence for a little while. When we’re on the outskirts of the city, I ask, “Do you need to stop by your house for anything?”
She shakes her head. “I can do laundry at your condo. I don’t need anything right now.”
By the time we get to my place, all the anxiety and fear from a few days ago hit me all at once.
Like food you left out that’s starting to go bad, it makes me slightly nauseous.
But I breathe through the feeling. I need to keep it together for Lily.
I need her to know that she can trust me to be strong, no matter what happens.
We get upstairs to my condo, and Lily leaves me in the living room with a kiss, saying she’s going to do some laundry.
I collapse on the couch and take a few minutes for myself.
Hank hops up and perches on my stomach. Even though I know he was perfectly fine on his own for a few days, with plenty of water and food and a visit from Mandi, I give him some extra love as an apology for leaving him. “Hey, buddy. Good to see you, too.”
Running my hand down his back, I stare out the windows.
Now that we’re back in Nashville and away from our little safe haven in the mountains, the uphill battle we’re up against feels insurmountable.
Not that I’ll tell Lily that. But her admission changes everything.
Not how I feel about her—that hasn’t changed.
But everything else has. The stakes are infinitely higher now.
I feel like I’m swimming against the current in pitch-black water.
Oh, and I can’t swim.
Especially now that I’m convinced I’m in love with Lily.
There’s only one thing I can do at the moment.
I relocate Hank to the couch next to me as I sit up and grab my bag.
Removing my notepad and Blake’s laptop, I set them on the coffee table, resting my elbows on my knees and reading over my notes for the countless time as the computer turns on.
Now that I know what really happened that night, I need to find anything that casts doubt on Lily’s guilt.
I need to find anything that gives me more information on what Blake was really into, especially since the person who tried to break into Lily’s house is still unknown.
I’ll never admit this to Lily, but it’s overwhelming, even as I feel more determined than ever.
With both the police and this person that Blake was in business with as a threat to Lily, I don’t even know where to start.
I sit back slightly so I can pull my cell phone out of my jean pockets.
Scrolling through my contacts, I connect the call with the one I need.
I probably should feel guilty for withholding the information about what happened from Carlos, but I just can’t bring myself to.
While we may approach the situation differently, I know Carlos would be doing everything he could to help the woman he loved.
It rings three times before I hear, “Chris, how were the mountains? Feeling refreshed?”
A female voice follows his through the speaker, and a smile tugs at my lips. “Tell Mandi I said hi.”
Carlos chuckles. “Mandi, Chris says hi.” Mandi says something else I can’t make out before Carlos says, “Yeah. Absolutely not. I’m not telling him that. What can I do for you, Chris?”
Tapping my pen on the notepad, I explain, “Lily has Blake’s laptop, and we’ve been going through it. I need to know if a name ever came up when you were investigating him before he was killed?”
There’s only silence for a few seconds before he asks, “You have Blake’s laptop?”
I shrug even though he can’t see me. “Yeah, the cops didn’t take it the day he died. And they’ve never asked Lily for it.”
Carlos laughs. “What fucking idiots.” I don’t argue with him before he says, “Yeah, I can tell you if the name sounds familiar. I might not be able to give you much info, but I’ll tell you everything I’m able to.”
“Does the last name Goodwin sound familiar?”
Once again, there’s silence.
“Uh, Carlos?”
He sighs. “Is there a first name?”
“Just an initial. J.”
“Goddamnit, I fucking knew it.”
I’m about to ask him if he’s going to elaborate when he continues.
“There were rumors that Blake was wrapped up in some deal with a drug dealer named Jason Goodwin. Goodwin got his hands on this designer drug that’s supposed to mimic the effects of ecstasy, but it lasts longer and has fewer side effects.
Except they messed up because, whoopsie, you might throw up less, but it actually might also kill you because it’s way easier to overdose on it than normal ecstasy. ”
I scan my notes, looking for anything that would provide us with more information on his connection to Goodwin. “I’m assuming you were never able to find a connection?”
“Nothing that would hold up in court. Not only is finding a connection between these two difficult, but finding Goodwin in general is damn near impossible.”
“So how the fuck did Blake find him?” I ask, more to myself, but Carlos answers me anyway.
“Good fucking question. I was trying to find that out before he was whacked.”
I collapse against the back of the couch and dig my fingers into my eyes. Dropping my hand to the couch, I tell my friend, “I’m going to keep looking through this. I’m trying to work my way through his emails now, but there are a lot. If I find anything, you’re my first call.”
“Good, thank you. I hope like hell you can find something. Because bringing down Goodwin would do wonders for my career.”
I huff a laugh. “I’m on it. Have a good night. Tell Mandi that I’ll see her in the morning.”
“I will,” he replies, but hesitates, and I can tell he has more to say.
“Spit it out, Carlos.”
“Uh, well, I didn’t know Mandi didn’t know about you and Lily being together. I might have spilled.”
I frown. “Technically, you don’t even really know about Lily since I’ve never confirmed anything to you.”
Carlos scoffs. “Okay, sure. Please tell me all the other clients you’ve moved into your condo and taken to the mountains for a little weekend getaway.”
I press my lips together to suppress my laugh. “I should’ve known I would get caught by one of you eventually.”
“Yeah, well, now you’re caught by both of us because I accidentally became a gossip.”
Mandi says something in the background.
“I’m going to let you go. I have a client to go see,” I joke as I stand.
I hang up on Carlos’s laughter and go to find Lily, deciding I need a break from digging into her late husband until tomorrow.
Even with dropping Lily off at work, I beat Mandi to the office, if the empty lot is any indication. I unlock the door and push it open, but then freeze when I see a large, dark-haired man sitting on the small couch in the waiting area.
“Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my office?” I bark out, my feet still cemented to the ground.
The man stands and steps around the small coffee table. He extends his hand, and I eye it as if it might bite.
“My name’s Tony Aiello. And you are Chris Rivers.” He thrusts his hand in my direction once again.
Against my better judgment, I step farther inside to take his hand and let the door close behind me. “I would say nice to meet you, but that’s still to be determined.”
After I shake his hand, he gestures behind him. “Can we talk in your office? I promise I’m not here to hurt you. I think we have a similar interest.”
Since my scale of what’s right and wrong is shaded grey, I do wonder if Tony may be onto something. I give him a curt nod and lead him into my office, flipping lights as we go. As I take a seat behind my desk, he takes the chair in front.
“So what’s so important that you had to break into my office on this fine Tuesday morning?” The slight tendril of fear I felt initially has morphed into annoyance. He could’ve just made an appointment.
Tony leans forward and says, “Blake Bennett.”
My entire body tenses, but I keep my face clear of any emotion. “What about him?’
He shrugs as if what we’re talking about is no big deal. “Word on the street is they’re about to arrest his old lady for his murder.”
My heart starts racing.
“Another word on the street is that you’re her attorney.” He leans forward even more and glances to either side of him, as if looking for someone who might overhear. “And then I heard something crazy. That you might not just be her attorney, but you also might be boinking her as well.”
My jaw muscles twitch with the pressure of trying to keep my mouth shut. I want to deny it, mostly for Lily’s sake. But I don’t know who the hell this is or what he wants. “How do you know that?”
Tony shrugs again with a smirk. “A little birdie. But she isn’t why I’m here. Well, not directly anyway.”
I’m not sure if I’m comforted by that or not. “Would you like to tell me why you are here?”
Something that resembles pain flashes in Tony’s eyes. His long inhale is deafening in the silent office. “Blake killed my baby cousin.”
Nothing could’ve surprised me more than that statement, and apparently, my face shows it.
“Well, not directly. But he introduced him to this drug dealer. And my cousin”—Tony swallows hard—“overdosed.”
He looks like he’s on the verge of crying, and I’m taken aback that I thought he might be here to kill me just a few minutes ago. He probably still could, if the gun concealed under his jacket is any indication.
Banking on what Carlos told me last night, I ask, “Goodwin?”
Tony’s eyes widen. “Do you know him?”
I shake my head and lean forward, resting my forearms on my desk. “No, but I recently became aware of his association with Blake.”
Tony sits back and studies me for a moment. “Do you know who I am?”
“I do not. Should I?”
“My aunt married into the Valentini crime family.”
I know exactly who his family is. Most people don’t think of mobsters when they think of Nashville, but I think that’s why the Valentini family has been as successful as they have over the years.
Every once in a while, their name will pop up in a news story, but for the most part, unless you’re associated with criminals in some way, you’ve probably never heard of them. And that’s how they like it.
“I defended a cousin of yours a few years ago.”
Tony nods. “You did. Successfully, might I add. Another cousin of mine was disappointed he got arrested after you quit being a defense attorney.”
I chuckle. “My apologies for letting your cousin down.”
He waves off my comment. “He’s an idiot and deserves to be behind bars. His parents never would’ve paid for you to defend him anyway.”
“So what do you want from me, Tony?”
Huffing out a breath, he says, “I need information on this Goodwin character. He’s the one selling this shit on our streets, and it’s killing people. Not just my cousin, but other kids as well. My family would like to deal with him.”
Yeah, you and the good side of law enforcement.
Out of morbid curiosity, I ask, “And what do I get out of it if I get you the information you need?”
Tony’s face brightens. “Someone to be charged with Blake’s murder who isn’t your woman, of course. But don’t worry, it’ll be someone who deserves to be in jail. I’d never send an innocent there if I could help it.”
Well, fuck me.