Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Coincidence, his ass. The fact that she’d run into Edward at her place of work, along with his strange behavior recently, threw up all kinds of red flags.
He’d managed to gently coax out of Audrey the details of the argument she’d overheard.
They’d supposedly mentioned a patient—who could it be?
No one in his immediate family had passed away that he was aware of, but he knew better than to dismiss anything.
The details were vague, but he trusted Audrey, he trusted her instincts, and if she felt that something was wrong, it was.
He filled out the paperwork, then carried it back to the reception desk, where Vivi flashed him a grin. “I’ll let him know you’re here. Make yourself comfortable. It should only be a couple minutes.”
He inclined his head at her. “Thanks.”
He took a seat on the sofa along the wall, then crossed one foot over his knee and settled in to wait.
The lobby was purely functional, not a single decoration on the walls except for the handful of knickknacks Vivi had scattered over her desk.
Everything looked completely new though.
From what Jaxon had said, they’d been in the building for a very short time and were just getting the business off the ground.
He heard the soft approach of footsteps along the carpeted hallway, then a dark-haired, dark-eyed man stepped into the lobby. He tipped his head at Carter. “Mr. Cross?”
As soon as Carter saw his face, it clicked. He’d first met Knox Castillo on an extraction they’d worked in Kabul. He rose and crossed the room to take Knox’s extended hand. “Carter Cross.”
He was sure Knox had already run a background check on him before conceding to this meeting, so he didn’t bother with more of an introduction.
Knox released his hand and gestured down the hall.
“Let’s head into the conference room, and you can tell me what you know.
” Carter preceded him into the room, then took a seat at the small round table and waited until Knox sank into a chair across from him.
“How have you been?” Knox asked, acknowledging their prior acquaintance, brief though it was.
“Good.” Carter gave a tight nod. “I put in my time, then came home to go to school.”
“Lawyer, right?” The faint twist of Knox’s lips hinted at a smile, and Carter took the friendly jab good-naturedly.
“Dad’s footsteps.” He shrugged. “What can you do?”
Knox tipped his head like he understood perfectly. “Keller said he was a client of yours.”
“That’s actually how I found out about you. How long have you been in business?”
“Last tour ended about a year ago, so it was kind of a process getting everything all together, finding a place for a home base, all that good stuff.”
Carter’s curiosity was piqued. “What do you do? Besides the obvious,” he added.
“Long-term, I’d like to land a government contract. To be honest, though, right now we’ll take anything pretty much just to get our name out there. We’ll be offering some self-defense classes soon, as well as firearms instruction, and we’ve assisted the locals on a couple cases.”
Carter knew Knox was referring to both Hannah and Adalyn. “Well, those are both commendable endeavors, so I’m sure you have clients lining up.”
Knox lifted one shoulder humbly. “We’re doing okay so far.”
Carter took the hint and didn’t pry, but something Knox said sparked a memory. “Actually, Audrey said at one point that she’d like to take some self-defense classes.”
Knox nodded knowingly. “Any training is better than nothing, especially these days. What happened recently?”
“Someone shot at her a couple days ago outside a coffee shop.”
Knox’s brows lifted toward his hairline. “You’re sure it was meant for her?”
“I was only a few feet from her, but it looked pretty deliberate to me. The PD seems to think it may have been gang-related. There was no license plate, and even though they have the model, there’s a good chance that car’s sitting in a chop shop somewhere right now.
It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack.
” Knox raised a brow, and Carter shrugged.
“The coffee shop released the camera footage, but without evidence...”
“Says the lawyer,” Knox shot back.
“You know how it is,” Carter grumbled. “They don’t have the time or resources to look too deeply into it.” It was a fact of life, and one he hated. Audrey could’ve been killed, yet he seriously doubted they’d ever find the person responsible.
“So we’ll just have to find some evidence,” Knox supplied, as if it were just that easy. “Anyone suspicious, anyone who might want to hurt Audrey? I remember there being an ex-husband.”
“They just divorced,” Carter confirmed, “but they ruled him out since he was out in public with his new wife.”
Knox’s eyes widened. “He’s already remarried?”
Carter couldn’t help the scowl that took up residence on his face. “He’s an idiot. But that’s neither here nor there. He’s out of her life, and that’s all that matters.”
“Okay,” Knox said slowly. “Anyone else who stands out?”
This was the tricky part. “This is kind of convoluted,” Carter warned, then told him about the conversation Audrey had overheard at the VA between Dr. Kellerman and Edward Raines. He wasn’t sure what to think, but coupled with Edward’s strange behavior recently, he couldn’t discount anything.
“Raines. Any idea who this guy is?”
Carter blew out a breath. “Yeah. My boss.”
Knox absorbed that for a long moment, then— “Damn.”
“Yeah.” It always sucked when lawyers were implicated, because most of them, himself excluded, were slimy. They would have to be careful to cross every t and dot every i if Edward were responsible in any way.
“Motive?”
Carter lifted a shoulder. “No clue.”
Elbows braced on the arms of the chair, Knox steepled his fingers and peered at Carter. “What about the other guy—Kellerman?”
“I don’t know anything about him. But he works with her every day,” Carter pointed out. “If he thought Audrey had overheard something, it makes sense that he’d want to silence her. But if that was the case, wouldn’t he have tried something before now?”
“Hard to tell. Did either of you get a look at the shooter?”
Carter nodded. “Hoodie, ball cap, glasses—but it definitely wasn’t Kellerman.” He’d looked him up on the website, and the doctor was older and more heavyset, while the gunman had been leaner, younger-looking.
Knox looked up at the ceiling in thought. “Interesting.”
“Something’s up with Raines, I just can’t figure out exactly what it is. His daughter works at our firm now, too. He said he wanted to ‘keep it in the family,’ and it’s been… implied that my partnership is dependent on being with her.”
One nearly black eyebrow ratcheted toward Knox’s hairline. “He wants you to marry the girl to get a promotion?” Carter pressed his lips together into a firm line, and Knox snorted. “What is this, 1950?”
“Things have felt… different over the past few weeks. He’s had a hair-trigger temper, been more of an idiot than usual.
” Kaylee had actually avoided Carter like the plague since their run-in the day Audrey had stopped by the office.
He was relieved, and he prayed that she’d given up any dream of them being together.
He couldn’t tell if Edward’s actions were driven out of a desire to do what he thought best for his little girl, or if he was trying to deflect attention from something else.
Whatever was going on, it wasn’t good. Edward was an idiot on the best of days, but he’d never been as preoccupied and eccentric as he had been recently.
He obviously had something on his mind, or he was caught up in something he shouldn’t be.
He didn’t believe it was a coincidence at all that Edward’s change in attitude had happened about the same time Audrey overheard him arguing with Dr. Kellerman.
Knox’s expression turned contemplative. “Could be embroiled in something.”
“Anything’s possible. That’s why I need you guys to check him out, see if you notice anything suspicious.”
“Didn’t you do some recon in your day too?” Knox asked with some mirth.
“I’ve been out of the game so long…” It did sound good though.
Knox studied Carter from across the table. “I’m always looking for a good addition if you’re looking for a real job. Get you out of that courtroom.”
“Yeah, I hear ya,” Carter answered with a shrug. “It pays the bills.”
“If you change your mind, I’ll make you a good offer.”
“I appreciate that.” Carter stood, and Knox followed suit, stretching one hand across the table to shake.
“Let me introduce you to the guys before you head out. Most of the guys are here today, with the exception of Roman Incardona. He’s working security detail for Rina Sterling.”
Carter lifted a brow. “The singer?”
“That’s her.”
That was pretty impressive. Carter followed Knox down the hall where he punched a code into a steel door, which opened with a beep. He gazed around the large room as they stepped inside, and his attention snagged on a couple of familiar faces. Jaxon. Luke. Miles Kane, and his brother, Mason.
Carter’s entire body went rigid, but he lifted his hand in greeting. Mason smirked at him from his spot, relaxed back in a chair, feet propped up on the desk.
Jaxon greeted Carter with a handshake, as did Luke and Miles. Knox introduced Carter to two more guys, Aiden Taylor and Zane Callahan. Mason smiled lazily as he climbed to his feet. “How’s it goin’, pretty boy?”
Carter couldn’t help the contempt he felt for the man, but he schooled his expression. He didn’t know if Mason and Audrey had ever actually been together, but it didn’t really matter at this point. He was rewarded by the fact that she was with him now and not Mason. “Fine.”
Mason’s gaze swept over Carter from head to toe, taking in his suit with no small amount of disdain, judging from the sneer on his face. He met Carter’s eyes, and his mouth twisted into a smirk. “How’s Audrey?”
Carter hated the sound of her name passing Mason’s lips, but he’d never let him see how much it got to him. He dredged up every ounce of control he possessed. “Got clipped by a bullet a couple days ago, if you want to know the truth.”
The snide look immediately fell away, replaced by a mixture of anger and concern. “What happened?”
Carter tipped his chin up. “Guess you’re not close enough for her to tell you herself.”
“Don’t mess with me.” Mason took a step toward Carter, and he lifted a brow as his shoulders tensed and his hands clenched into fists at his side. “Who shot at her?”
Luke and Jaxon both straightened in the background, now standing at attention and watching with wary expressions.
“Don’t know.” Carter didn’t relax his stance as he tipped his head toward Knox. “That’s what I hired him for.”
From Carter's right, Knox cleared his throat and shifted his focus to Mason. “I was going to assign this one to you, but not if you’re going to kill each other.”
Awesome. Just what Carter needed, to deal with this idiot on top of everything else. Mason held Carter’s gaze for a long moment before Carter finally shook his head. “He’s fine.”
Mason’s eyes narrowed, filled with undisguised scorn and mistrust. Carter didn’t care if Mason hated him. All that mattered was keeping Audrey safe. “Do your job, and we won’t have a problem.”
Those hard amber-colored eyes held Carter’s. “Take care of her.”
“Always.” Carter’s reply was curt, and they stared at each other for a long moment. Whatever Mason saw in Carter’s eyes must have reassured him, because he finally nodded.
Carter turned to Knox. “Do you need anything else from me?”
“Nope.” Knox shook his head. “We’ll run some of the info you gave us, then we’ll be in touch.”
Even though Carter knew she was safe, he was eager to get home to Audrey. God only knew how long she’d be staying with him, and he didn’t want to waste a second of the time they had together. One way or the other, he was going to win her over again, no matter how long it took.