Chapter 13 1123 p.m.
Chapter thirteen
Cal
The world disappears.
Rose tastes like every regret I’ve ever had and every moment I’ve ever wanted. She presses into me, fingers curling in my shirt, and I lose myself in her, in the warmth, in the hunger I’ve kept buried for far too long.
I want to be stuck in this elevator forever. Because I can’t believe after all this time, I have Rose Sheridan in my arms. Her lips on mine. Every kiss, every touch of her hand, is a promise. Of what, I don’t know.
But a promise.
Finally, it’s all out in the open. Our feelings, the past, what we want from each other … all of it.
We make out like teenagers. No idea for how long. Time has stopped with each pass of her lips. And as I grab her hips and tug her to me, my phone buzzes, loud in the quiet, shattering the moment.
With a growl, we break apart, both of us breathing hard. I curse under my breath, yanking the phone from the floor beside us.
It’s Denny.
“Of course,” I mutter, hanging my head in defeat.
The man has always had impeccable timing. Why am I surprised that he would call right at this very moment?
“Who is it?” Rose asks, her cheeks flushed, lips swollen, and out of breath.
“Denny.”
“Answer it. It could be a lead about my mom.” She skims her fingers under my collar. “Once this is all over, we will continue this.”
I trail my hand down her curls, running my thumb along her cheek before grazing her neck. My mouth follows the path, and I finally arrive at her exposed shoulder, peppering it with kisses as my phone continues to blare beside me. “Promise?” I whisper, praying she wants the same.
With a grin, she gently kisses my lips. “Promise.”
God, this woman is going to be the death of me. I love it.
I swipe to answer. “Cal.”
His voice is brisk, no small talk. “What in the heck took you so long to answer? Where are you?”
“Trapped in an elevator. The lights went out at the hotel.”
“You’re kidding? Where’s Rose?”
Straddling my lap. But I don’t say it. Her grin mirrors mine as the taste of her lingers. Her waist is in my grasp, and I squeeze as she rolls off of me. “She’s right here.”
There’s a pause. “Stuck in the elevator with you?”
“Yes.”
Another pause. “Are you smiling?”
“I am.”
He heaves out a breath. “Forget I asked.”
I look over at Rose, who is now leaning against the elevator wall. Oh my God, she mouths while she buries her face in her hands. I have to laugh. “What’s up, Denny?” I ask, hitting the speaker. “The reception won’t be great in here, so be quick. I might lose you.”
“Diane mentioning Maggie in the note is eating me alive. There has to be a reason. It’s our only lead.” He stops, almost as if he isn’t sure he should continue. “So, I did some digging into Maggie’s family.”
My attention doesn’t leave Rose as her eyes fly open in my direction. “Go on,” I implore. “Rose is right here.”
Denny’s voice fills the small elevator. “Turns out Maggie’s parents were hiding some pretty heavy stuff. They were running an identity theft scheme—credit cards, fake accounts, you name it. Pulling in serious money.”
Rose stiffens beside me, her hand flying to her mouth. “What?”
“Rose, you didn’t know?” Denny asks sharply.
“No, I didn’t,” she admits, my eyes on her. “How long had that been going on?”
Denny exhales. “From what I was able to dredge up, at least two years. Possibly more.”
Rose chimes in again as something akin to realization flashes on her face. “As shocked as I am, this makes sense.”
“How so?” Denny asks.
Rose and I glance at each other. “I think it’s time to tell Denny what you told me earlier.”
Denny hears this loud and clear. “You have to tell me anything that might help, Rose. Anything at all.”
Rose bends over closer to the phone. “I was telling Cal earlier that growing up, Uncle Pete and Aunt Jenny always had money trouble. They resented my mom since she was more financially stable. Uncle Pete was the type who always hated people who had money. But then, before the fire, things changed.”
“How did they change?” Denny’s question is sharp, and I know from experience that it signals note-taking time. I can almost hear the insistent scratching of the pen on the paper.
“Suddenly they got a new car and did a complete renovation of their house. Maggie’s birthday party that year was massive.
And Aunt Jenny started dressing better. Uncle Pete bought her a huge diamond ring.
Little things like that. As a kid, you don’t make much of it, but as an adult, when I thought back on it, it seemed odd.
Especially since they weren’t working. When it was happening, Mom would always comment that she thought maybe they had won the lottery.
” Rose snickers at the last part. “It honestly seemed to be the only real explanation. But after the fire, Mom never talked about it again.”
“Do you know if your mom ever asked them about it? Before the fire, I mean,” he inquires.
She shrugs as if Denny can see her. “We were so young at the time. Maggie was excited about the changes, and of course, I thought the new car was awesome. But I was twelve, Denny. My friends were my world. I was wearing preteen/kid goggles. I didn’t give the adults a second thought.”
“Hmmm…” Denny hums into the phone.
“What are you thinking, Denny?” I scoot against the elevator wall alongside Rose and rest the phone on my leg. Our shoulders brush, and her hand finds my thigh. A sign that what we just did wasn’t a onetime thing.
“I had some suspicions, so I sat down and really dug my heels into the case file, which I should have done months ago.”
“What did you find?” I ask.
“Rose, I read your mom’s statement about the fire. We know she was there that night, and according to her, she figured it out and went to confront them.”
“Why wouldn’t she have just gone to the police?” I ask.
“My guess is she wanted to protect Maggie.” He pauses. “Anyway, there’s a chance that fire wasn’t …” Static cuts in.
I glance at Rose. She’s chewing on her nails, processing everything.
“Denny, you’re breaking up.”
“Can …y … hear me?” he asks through the now unsteady call.
“Barely,” I reply, picking up my phone. As if that will help with the connection.
“I … think … mom …” Then the line goes dead.
The words hang unspoken and heavy. Rose’s face crumples, disbelief written in every line.
“You think my mom … confronted them?” Her question shakes as she turns to me.
I reach out, gripping her hand tight. “Hey. We don’t know yet.
But it’s a real possibility. First the note, and now we find out this?
It makes me wonder if maybe Maggie found out what was going on?
Maybe she discovered your mom knew?” I rest my head on the elevator rail and sigh as questions swirl and dance.
I turn and stare at Rose’s profile; her perfectly sloped nose and long eyelashes taunt me. “Why else would your mom write that?”
Rose offers a slight nod before her eyes meet mine. “I don’t know. But if Denny’s right …”
I swallow hard. “Then we need to call Maggie. Now.”