Chapter Four
KNOX
“My dad's dead,” a little voice piped up.
I dropped my eyes to see Lily's son standing at the base of the ladder.
I was installing new cameras under the eaves on the side of the house. Adam Spencer looked up at me through eyes the crystal blue of the Caribbean Sea, his tousled white-blonde hair tangled over his tanned forehead. His voice was matter-of-fact as he shared the news of his father's death.
I nodded gravely and said, “I know. I'm sorry.”
Adam jerked his shoulder in a gesture identical to the one his mother had used only an hour before.
“It's okay,” he said, “my mom and I are hanging in there.”
I nodded again. Adam stood, hands hanging loosely at his sides, watching with curious eyes as I tightened the screws holding the dark gray camera to the underside of the eave where it blended in almost perfectly.
“Is that supposed to look for the bad guys? Will it stop them from getting into the house?”
“What do you know about bad guys?” I asked, keeping my voice light. My instincts sharpened at the mention of bad guys, but the kid was five. Odds were he didn't know anything useful. Still, it didn't hurt to ask.
Adam narrowed his blue eyes on me consideringly before he said, “I know a few times the alarm's gone off. Deputy Dave came.”
“That's all?” I probed.
“Mom's been worried.” He shot a quick glance over his shoulder before he went on, “She tries to pretend like everything's okay, but since Dad's been gone—” He swallowed hard.
I had to push while I had the chance. Feeling like an asshole, I said, “Since your dad's been gone, she's been worried? Or was she worried before, too?”
Adam's eyes dropped to the ground. He kicked the toe of his sneaker into the dirt, rubbing a line through cinnamon-brown pine needles, exposing the darker loam beneath.
Seeming to come to a decision, he straightened, feet beside one another in an almost military stance before he lifted his chin and said, “Before, too. My dad wasn't home a lot. Sometimes they used to yell. Then she'd be sad and worry more. Are you going to fix it?”
“I'm going to try,” I said, not sure if I was telling the truth.
“How do I know you're not one of the bad guys?” Adam asked.
Smart kid. “I'm not. Promise.”
I knew with absolute certainty that I was not the bad guy.
I was sure about myself, and I was sure about Adam Spencer. Everyone else was up in the air.
I couldn't promise things would go well for Lily until I knew how involved she was in her husband's business. In my father's business.
Since the day my brothers and I had uncovered the first of my father's secrets, I'd learned how deep betrayal could go. For five years we'd mourned my father's death. Right up until we found out he was still alive and on the run from the Russian mob.
He'd abandoned us once by faking his death. Now he'd made us a target for the mob's revenge. With my father out of reach, they wanted us to make good on what he stole. The problem was, we had no clue what my father took or how to get it back.
What we did know could barely fill a postcard. My father and a few compatriots had been into all sorts of dirty shit, from sketchy adoptions to trafficking for the Russian mob.
Following the money moving into and out of my father's hidden accounts led us straight to Trey Spencer. Spencer, and possibly Lily, were tangled up in all of it.
The child in front of me had nothing to do with his parents' crimes. He didn't deserve me prodding him for information, but Andrei Tsepov had threatened my mother, and the clock was ticking. If he didn't get what he wanted, he was going after my family.
I didn't have the luxury of leaving Adam in peace. I needed answers, and I needed them now.
A screen door behind the house slammed. Lily's voice drifted on the wind.
“Adam. Adam!”
Panic threaded through her words. She was trying to hide it, but she was scared. In the distance, tires crunched gravel through the trees. A car was headed down the long driveway.
Adam called out, all innocence, “I'm over here, Mom.”
Lily came around the side of the house, her strides eating up the ground, lips tightly pressed together.
“What are you doing outside? You know you're not allowed to leave the house without telling me,” she admonished, reaching his side and wrapping an arm around his shoulders with a squeeze of relief.
“I was just helping Mr…I was just helping—” He looked up at me and I realized we hadn't been formally introduced. I climbed down the ladder, holding out a hand to Adam, who took it and shook with a firm grip despite his small fingers.
“Knox Sinclair,” I said, “from Sinclair Security.”
Adam gave me a serious nod in return. “I'm Adam Spencer.”
“He's not allowed outside without an adult.” Lily's eyes went to the lake, glittering in the sun less than a hundred feet away. “I know you're not a babysitter, and he's a good swimmer, but that's the rule. I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye out. Sometimes he forgets.”
At that Lily gave her son another squeeze, reaching down to tickle under his arm. He squealed and turned into her side.
“Mom, I was only out here for a minute—”
The hum of an engine interrupted Adam. The three of us turned to see a police cruiser rolling down the last of the gravel drive. Lily went stiff beside me, her mouth pinched, eyes tight.
Adam broke free from his mother and bolted for the vehicle yelling, “Deputy Dave.”
I shot out a hand to grab his wrist. “Not until it comes to a stop, Adam. You have to be careful around cars.”
Adam relaxed into my grip. “He wasn't going to hit me.”
“You don't know that,” Lily said with a sigh. “We've talked about cars. You have to be careful. He might not have seen you.”
Oblivious to the scolding taking place, a uniformed police officer unfolded himself from the car and strode over with a friendly smile for Lily and Adam and a flat glare for me.
“Dave,” Lily said in a voice I assume she thought was friendly. Was I the only one who heard the nerves hiding under her smile? “Is everything okay?”
“Fine. Everything's fine. I headed out to get a cup of coffee and realized I hadn't talked to you in over a week. Thought I'd stop by and see how you are.”
“Mr. Sinclair is here to fix the alarm,” Adam said, eager to share adult news.
“Lily?” The officer asked, his eyes suspicious as they took me in. I returned his stare, not giving an inch.
He was taller than Lily, about average height, a few inches shorter than me.
Dark hair, dark eyes in a face that you could see ten times and still forget.
He wasn't ugly, and he wasn't good looking.
Maybe to his friends, his features stood out, but on first meeting, his annoyance was the only thing about him that wasn't bland.
Adam seemed at ease with his presence. Lily wasn't but pretended to be.
Dave held out his hand to me saying, “Deputy David Morris. I was a good friend of Lily's husband, and I'm a friend of Lily and Adam's.”
He tried to crush my knuckles with his handshake. I smiled easily and squeezed back long enough to be polite before pulling my hand from his grip with a quick flick of my wrist.
I'd long outgrown those kinds of childish competitions. I could take Deputy Morris to the ground in a heartbeat. Squeezing my knuckles in a handshake didn't prove anything except that Deputy Dave thought he was top dog around here and wanted to make sure I thought it, too.
Dismissing me, he turned to Lily. “If you needed help with the alarm, I could have recommended someone.”
“I appreciate that, Dave. It's fine. Knox's company put in the system in the first place. He happened to be free, so it all worked out.”
“I know you've been worried about the alarm, but if you'd remember to turn it on…”
Dave trailed off, shooting me a sympathetic glance as if to say we needed to humor the little woman who couldn't remember to press all those complicated buttons.
I wasn't sure if I imagined the sound of Lily's molars grinding together before she forced herself to relax and said, “Dave, I've told you, I never forget to set the alarm.”
“I know, honey, I know.” He patted her shoulder. This time I wasn't imagining her clenched jaw.
I barely knew the guy and I wanted to smack him. I had to admire Lily for holding on to her composure. Deputy Dave gave her a condescending smile and said with zero subtlety, “I never did get that coffee.”
Knowing her line, Lily responded, “I was about to brew a pot. Would you like to come in? Do you have time to take a break? I've got a fresh coffee cake to go with it.”
“I always have time for a break with you, Lily, and I'd love some coffee cake.”
Adam choked on a laugh, sneaking a glance at me. Either Dave had never tried Lily's coffee cake or he was lacking tastebuds. I hoped her cooking was better than her baking. Otherwise, I’d have to hit the grocery store in town and find an excuse not to join them for dinner.
Lily’s coffee cake had been dry as dust, salty and bland at the same time. I was almost willing to suffer through another piece if I could watch Deputy Dave do the same.
“I’m about due for a break, too,” I said. “Do you have enough coffee for me?”
The scowl on Deputy Dave’s face was worth every bite I’d take of Lily’s coffee cake. The deputy was an old friend of the dead husband, and he was kissing up to the widow. Because he wanted her? Because they were working together?
I wouldn’t blame him if he was interested in Lily Spencer. I couldn’t decide if she reminded me of a woodland fairy or a skittish fawn. That delicate chin, full lower lip, curvy ass —
Yeah, I had no problem believing Dave Morris was moving in on his buddy’s widow, but Lily’s unease with him didn’t sit right.
Dave fell in beside Lily as they walked back to the house. Adam and I trailed behind. In a low voice, I asked, “Does Deputy Dave stop by often?”
Adam jerked his shoulder in a shrug. “Sometimes. Sometimes he comes over for dinner. He used to do that when my dad was alive.”