Chapter Sixteen
A sharp knock at the back-porch door the next morning, followed by Jinx’s familiar loud bark, dragged KC from sleep.
He groaned, blinking against the light peeking around the edges of the window blinds as he loosened his hold on Maura.
They shifted apart, both still half-asleep, the warmth of her body lingering against his.
He pushed himself upright and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Sounds like Uncle Dan.”
Maura was already moving, slipping out of bed and looking around for her clothes. The sudden urgency in her movements caught his attention as he swung his legs over the side and reached for a pair of sweatpants from his duffel.
“Calm down,” he said, tugging them on. “He’ll wait out on the deck.”
She froze, then turned to stare at him, her face flushing deep red. “He knows we slept together?”
KC huffed a quiet breath, more amused than anything, though the interruption still grated. He’d had other plans for the morning—ones that didn’t involve his uncle pounding on the door.
“He’s probably hoping we did,” he said with a smile. “He’s a bit of a matchmaker. But don’t worry about it. Dan’s a gentleman. He won’t make you uncomfortable.”
She gave a small nod, but he could see the tension still there as she worried her lower lip between her teeth.
He pulled on a clean T-shirt, then stepped close and brushed a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “Go ahead and take a shower. I’ll handle him.”
After a quick stop in the hallway bathroom, KC headed outside, grabbing his sneakers by the back door. He found his uncle down on the patio, leaning back on one of the chairs with a grin that said he knew exactly what he’d interrupted.
Dan’s eyes lit with mischief. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything. Or did I?”
KC frowned as he descended the stairs. “Don’t start that when Maura comes out. I told her you were a complete gentleman.”
“That I am, laddie,” Dan replied, the Irish lilt he’d picked up from his mother slipping into his voice, as it sometimes did. “So, have you given any thought to what you’re going to do about Team Six yet?”
Sighing, he dropped onto the loveseat opposite his uncle and pulled on his sneakers. “I don’t know. As much as I hate to leave my men, I think it’s time. I spoke to Lieutenant Commander Cohen before I left and told him I’d have an answer when I report back.”
“You’ll make a fine instructor.”
KC nodded. “That’s what the L.C. said.”
“Then he’s a smart man.”
A glance around the patio had him frowning. “Where’s that mutt of yours? He’s usually all over me or passed out at my feet by now.”
“Somewhere close,” his uncle said, scanning the area. “You know he won’t go far.”
A faint scraping sound drew his attention. Leaning forward, he peered into the shadows beneath the house. “Damn dog is digging under there.” Rising to his feet, he strode over and crouched down at the edge of the patio. “Get outta there, Jinx!”
His uncle appeared next to him. “I wonder what he found.”
Beneath the house, the dog had already carved out a decent hole near the center of the structure and was working at it with single-minded focus, pulling at something buried in the sand. Irritation building, KC dropped down and crab-walked under the floor joists, making his way toward the commotion.
“What are you after?” he muttered.
The dog paused long enough to glance back at him, sand coating his muzzle, then went right back to digging.
Pushing Jinx aside, KC leaned in and brushed sand away from the opening. Something dark appeared—nylon. His pulse picked up as he cleared more of it, revealing the unmistakable shape of a duffel bag.
Grabbing the strap, he dragged it free. The weight of it felt wrong—too heavy, too solid.
He pulled the zipper open.
His eyes widened before he sat down hard, staring at the contents of the bag. “Are you kidding me?”
“What is it?” Dan called from the patio.
Still stunned, he ran his fingers over the banded stacks of cash—more than he’d ever seen in one place. Forcing himself to focus, he grabbed the bag and started backing out from under the house as soft footsteps sounded on the stairs.
“Hi, Dan. Where’s KC? I thought he was out here with you.”
He cleared the edge of the crawl space and stood, the duffel bag hanging from his hand. The moment she saw it, her expression changed—curiosity giving way to shock, then something closer to fear. The color drained from her face, and the realization hit him hard.
She knew.
His grip tightened on the strap as he stared at her. “Is there something you want to tell me, Maura? You recognize this bag. What’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
They all turned as Brian came around the side of the house and stepped onto the patio, arms crossing over his chest, his focus locked on her. “She’s wanted for questioning in a triple homicide case—her mother, sister, and five-year-old nephew.”
“No!”
Her cry of denial came at the same time he and Dan reacted. “What?”
The word left both men, sharp with disbelief, and for a moment, everyone started talking at once. Dan cut through the noise with a piercing whistle, then held up a hand.
“Hold it. Everyone, calm down.” His gaze moved between them before settling on her, his expression searching. “There’s more to this. Maura… did you kill your family?”
He raised a hand when Brian tried to interrupt, silencing him without looking away from her.
“No! Absolutely not! L-Leo did!” The words came out broken as she fought through tears.
None of it made sense. KC's thoughts scrambled as he tried to piece things together. “Leo? Your ex-boyfriend?”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend,” she said, shaking her head. “He was my sister’s.”
“Your sister’s? Wait a minute…” He blew out a breath and gestured toward the seating around the fire pit. “I’m missing something. Sit down and tell us what’s going on.”
Maura, Dan, and KC took seats while Brian stood behind his uncle, still glaring at Maura as if he was ready to haul her off to jail, no questions asked.
Jinx lay at her feet and, at the moment, was the only one who appeared to be entirely on her side, even though Dan seemed to be more than halfway there.
KC dropped the duffel at his feet and leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees. After a moment, he glanced up at his brother. “First things first—where did you get this information?”
“Yesterday morning, when you introduced us, I noticed she went pale when you mentioned I worked for the SBI. You didn’t catch it, but I did.
It set off alarms.” Brian shifted his stance slightly, still watching her.
“When I went inside for the coffee, I saw her purse. Checked her license and discovered her name isn’t Maura Jennings. She's Moriah Jensen from Chicago.”
KC’s jaw tightened.
“I went to the station after I left here to run her through the system,” Brian continued, “but got pulled into a road rage case that turned into an armed robbery. By the time I wrapped that up, it slipped my mind. I went back this morning and ran her name and date of birth.”
He paused, letting that hang for a few beats.
“Four months ago, her family was shot to death. She disappeared right after. She hasn’t been named a suspect yet, but she’s listed as the primary person of interest.”
KC turned back to her, forcing himself to look past her tears and distraught expression. The shock from a few seconds ago hardened into something sharper in his gut, something harder to control. He kept his voice level. “What happened?”
She swallowed twice, trying to steady herself.
Her hands twisted together in her lap as she stared at the empty fire pit.
“My name is Moriah Jensen. I lived in a three-bedroom apartment with my mom and younger sister. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, but it was all we could afford after my father left.
Susan… she ran with the wrong crowd, drinking, doing drugs, and always getting into trouble.
But when she got pregnant, something changed.
She stopped seeing those people and started taking care of herself. ”
Her voice softened, the memory pulling at her.
“When Nicholas was born, Mom and I helped as much as we could. Susan got a waitressing job and started working toward her G.E.D. Things were… good.” A fragile smile surfaced for a moment, then slipped away.
“He was a beautiful baby. Susan loved him. We all did.”
She paused, her fingers tightening together before continuing.
“A few months ago, I noticed the signs that Susan was using again. That’s when I found out she was seeing a local drug dealer—Leo Simmons.
” A flicker of anger broke through the grief.
“I lost it. I told her I’d call Child Protective Services and have Nicholas taken away.
I don’t think I could’ve gone through with it, but I needed her to believe I would. She promised she’d stop seeing him.”
Her voice faltered. “The day they were… killed…”
She drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly while the men remained silent.
“That morning, I went into her room looking for a pair of shoes she’d borrowed. Instead, I found that duffel.” She pointed toward the bag at KC’s feet. “With all that cash… and a gun.”
“I—I couldn’t believe she’d brought something like that into the apartment with a five-year-old there!
I mean, what if he found the gun and… and…
” She shook her head, swiping at the tears on her cheeks.
“I didn’t want to wake my mom—it was her day off, and she hadn’t been feeling well.
I thought I could handle it myself. Susan had already taken Nicholas to preschool, but he’d be back by eleven.
I didn’t want the bag there when he came home, so I took it with me to work.
” Her expression tightened. “I don’t even know why. It was a terrible decision.”