Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  I leaned back in my seat and rubbed at my eyes. I just wasn’t sure what Barty thought I would find that the police didn’t. Yes, I was very good at my job, but this wasn’t a cyber crime. I couldn’t follow any evidence if there was none to follow. I had looked extensively into Lorelei’s records and there was absolutely nothing there that was suspicious. She didn’t have any accounts with exorbitant amounts of money. In fact, until she married Arlen, she lived on a tight budget. There were no accounts to track to the Cayman Islands and no weird internet searches. She was essentially a poor girl that married up. So, even though I found all of this extremely suspicious and even worried whenever I was with her that she might kill me off, I couldn’t find anything to prove that she had anything to do with the deaths of these other people.

  I should really talk to her some more. Yeah, that would help me solve things. I needed to see her, look her in the eyes again. That would definitely give me more to go on. And it had nothing to do with the amazing sex I had with her, or the fact that my heart skipped a beat when I was around her. In fact, it was probably skipping a beat because she was slowly poisoning me.

  I rolled my eyes at myself and stood, shutting down my laptop and storing everything in my room away from prying eyes. I showered quickly, putting on some aftershave, though I rarely wore it, and whistled as I headed for the door. I was just about to leave when Sofia came walking through, grocery bags overflowing in her arms. I quickly snatched them from her, scowling at her idiocy.

  “Why the hell are you carrying all this stuff? And where’s Joe?”

  “Joe has better things to do than follow me around. You know, he’s working to support us. He won’t even let me work at the front desk because he said that Eric reprimanded him for letting me work such odd hours.”

  “Damn straight. It’s bad for the baby.”

  She flung her hands on her hips like the old days and scowled at me. “And apparently, Anna isn’t allowed to leave Eric’s office without an escort. She’s not even allowed to have her tasty treats from the bakery because they could give her gestational diabetes!”

  “Well…I don’t know about that, but I do know that you shouldn’t be walking up and down these stairs by yourself, and you shouldn’t be carrying these heavy groceries. And milk! Seriously? Do you know how much that weighs?”

  “Yes, a little over eight pounds. I’m carrying around more weight with this baby than the gallon of milk weighs.”

  “Now, that’s just not true and you know it. You just have a little basketball baby. It’s really cute.”

  I got down on my knees in front of her and pressed my ear to her belly, something I really liked to do, even if the kid wasn’t mine. It had just started moving around in her, and every once in a while, I could feel little bumps against my cheek.

  When I got a small kick, I rubbed her belly and smiled. “That’s right. You like your Uncle Andrew. You know, he saved your life. If it wasn’t for Uncle Andrew, you’d still be in that house of horror.”

  Sofia sighed, “Would you please stop referring to yourself in the third person?”

  “I want him to know who I am. He needs to know who Uncle Andrew is.”

  “Did you ever think that you’re confusing him because he doesn’t understand third person? So, he’s hearing your voice, but hearing you talk about Uncle Andrew, and as far as he knows, that’s another person.”

  I frowned and leaned back. “Do you think?”

  “Who knows? And since you insist on talking to the baby as much as you do, this baby will probably be born thinking that you’re his father.”

  I scoffed at that. “That’s not gonna happen…”

  She quirked an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure about that? Because he hears your voice and feels your cheek against my belly. And I even heard you arguing with Joe the other day about being in the room during the delivery. Now, I’m no genius, but I think any logical person would come to the conclusion that this baby will be very confused when he’s born.”

  I sagged slightly. I didn’t want to take anything away from Joe, but I loved this baby so much already. My family were all suckers for babies. Some may call us pussies for being so unmanly, but we loved babies. They were just so damn cute, and with only one baby currently born, it was hard to share that one child. And Alessa was a squirrelly little thing now. She was fast, moving around like her ass was on fire.

  I pressed my hand back on her belly and shook my head. “I don’t care. This baby is my nephew and I’m going to make sure he knows me as someone in his life. When he comes out, he’s gonna be reaching for—” I said as the door opened and Joe walked in.

  He stared at me for a moment and shook his head. “Do I want to know why you’re down on your knees and holding my woman’s belly?”

  “I’m just protecting her.”

  “On your knees?”

  I turned and glared at him. “She was carrying groceries.”

  Joe jerked his head to Sofia and narrowed his eyes at her. “You were doing what?”

  She rolled her eyes at him and started picking up the groceries out of the bag, which I quickly started taking out of her hands. “They’re just groceries! For Pete’s sake, I was just going to get some food—“

  “Which you could have asked any of us to do,” Joe seethed.

  “Or I could just do it myself since I have two hands and two legs.”

  “It’s not safe,” he growled.

  She turned and put her hand on her hip. “Where is this coming from?”

  “You know what happened to Kat.”

  “Yes, and I also did enough research to know that while it was terrible that it happened to her, it’s very unlikely it would happen again.”

  “A low possibility is still a possibility,” I pointed out.

  “I’m sorry, did you suddenly become the father,” she turned to me.

  “No, but I’m the brother of the father and I get a say almost half as much as he does.”

  “Really,” she laughed. “And why is that?”

  “Because if something happens to him, I’m taking over as father.”

  Her jaw dropped and she laughed, looking over at Joe. “And you’re on board with this?”

  “Well, we haven’t discussed it, but it makes sense.” He squinted slightly and nodded his head from side to side. “Though I might have chosen a different brother.”

  “Hey, what’s wrong with me?”

  “Besides your illegal activities?”

  “I don’t do illegal shit anymore. Besides, next to you, I’m the person that’s had the most contact with this kid.”

  “You mean besides me,” Sofia pointed to her belly. “You know, the person carrying the actual child!”

  “Well, I guess if you want to count yourself in this,” I muttered. “But after you have the baby, who do you think is going to be there to change diapers and get the midnight bottle?”

  She looked at me incredulously. “Most likely me!”

  “And me,” I argued. “Joe’s gonna be working during the night. He usually doesn’t get home until after two in the morning, which leaves me to pick up the slack.”

  “Pick up the slack,” she gasped. “Are you kidding me right now?”

  “Hey, that kid is just as much a part of me as it is him. We share DNA!”

  She shook her head, like one of those comical things where you think a woman’s head is about to explode. I shuffled back a step, sure she was about to totally lose her shit on me, only to bump into Joe. I spun around and the look on his face was something between annoyance and anger.

  I swallowed hard. Okay, I may have overstepped my bounds just a little here. I nodded and jerked my thumb toward the door. “I’m just gonna leave.”

  “Why don’t you do that,” he grumbled.

  I didn’t waste another second getting out of there and flying down the stairs.

  I drove up to Lorelei’s house and parked next to her car. It was fucking cold today. We hadn’t had a winter l
ike this since I was a kid. They were forecasting that there would be at least ten inches of snow tonight. Of course, that never happened. Usually, by the end of the day, the total dropped down to two to three inches, and by the time the snow was done falling, there was just a light dusting on the ground.

  But based on the flurries falling, we were definitely getting at least a few inches. I grabbed the multiple bags of shit I had brought and took the steps two at a time, rushing inside her house. I shut the door and brushed the snow off my shoulders, then wiped my feet on the industrial mat that Eric had set up in the front hall. With all the traffic coming through, it was necessary so the guys didn’t track mud through the whole house.

  The sound of the workers was always present in the house, and it was annoying, but at the same time a comfort, for my protection. On the other hand, it was hard to find out information when we were constantly interrupted. And having my brother there was a real cock-blocker, not that I should be sleeping with this woman. That was like asking for a death sentence when you could get five to ten years.

  Eric walked out of the kitchen hauling some tools and grinned. “You’re back. Again.”

  “Shut up, fucker.”

  “You really like this woman, huh?”

  I glanced up the stairs, following his gaze. She must be up there doing something, but still, I couldn’t trust that she wasn’t listening in. “Fine, I like her. What’s your point?”

  “Does Joe know yet?”

  I frowned. “What does Joe have to do with this?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, the fact that you live with him, but he’ll soon be paying the rent on his own,” he laughed.

  “Why would he be paying rent on his own?” I asked, despite knowing what he would say.

  He started humming the bridal march and I shushed him, grabbing his arm to drag him into the family room, off to the right. “Would you knock that shit off?”

  “Oh, come on. Like you haven’t done it to every one of us.”

  “This is different.”

  “Why? Because she’s your woman?”

  I couldn’t think of any reason without telling him that I was investigating her, and I definitely couldn’t tell him that.

  “Oh, shit. I forgot about her husband,” he winced. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

  I nodded, pretending that was the exact reason I had been thinking. “Yeah, you know, try and have some sympathy for the dead.”

  “I’m sorry, man. I just forget because she seems so happy all the time.” He frowned, glancing back up the stairs. “Do you think that’s weird?”

  Of course it was fucking weird. The woman was a murderer, supposedly, and she was happy as a clam that her husband was dead. And I liked her!…way more than was normal for a regular man and woman, but even more so because I suspected her of being a murderer. It was all insane. Hell, I was insane. I wanted to scream and slap him, tell him everything I knew about her, but I couldn’t do that, and it was killing me inside. I had to get this out.

  I grabbed him by the arms and shook him violently. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, man! She’s a psychopath. She kills people for fun! For the love of God, man, run for your life!”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, thoroughly confused.

  “I’m telling you that she’s a killer. Not like, sort of a killer, but a real killer, one that kills people until they’re dead. And they never come back,” I said hysterically.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked, glancing upstairs.

  “Completely! Well, not really at all, and that’s not even the worst part.”

  He swallowed hard. “What the worst part?”

  “I think I love her, or if not love, I’m halfway there. I slept with her, and then there was this like…chemical reaction or something in my brain. She’s always on my mind, invading my thoughts until I finally break down and see her again. And I do all this knowing every day might be my last!”

  “You love a killer,” he said, staring at me like I was crazy.

  “Do you think I don’t realize how insane this all is? Do you think I want to love someone that might murder me in my sleep? I’m well aware of the consequences.”

  “Then you have to stop seeing her,” he insisted. “You have to get out while you can.”

  I gripped his arms, my eyes going way too wide. “I can’t! She’s got me trapped in her web. It doesn’t matter what I say or do, I need to be around her. I can’t walk away. Don’t you see?” He shook his head. “It’s like she’s got her claws in me…or she’s poisoned my mind into needing her. I can’t break free. But you need to run. Get out of here before it’s too late!”

  I shook my head, clearing my throat. Yeah, if I said all that shit, I was pretty sure I would get locked up, or slapped upside the head for being an idiot. Realizing that I was still standing there, reflecting on my daydream, I answered his question.

  “Everyone grieves in their own way. We shouldn’t judge.”

  He nodded. “You’re right. Anyway, we’re all taking off.”

  He tried to step around me and I stepped in his path, chuckling slightly. “Whoa, why are you taking off so soon? I mean, what’s the rush?”

  “We finished work on the kitchen today. And with the snow storm coming, we decided to knock off early and start fresh in the morning.”

  I couldn’t let him leave. He was supposed to be here the whole fucking time with me. “Yeah, but…isn’t that bad work ethic or something?”

  “There are only three hours left into the work day. We’ve been busting our asses for weeks on this house. I think knocking off early one day is completely fine. Besides, I already talked it over with Lorelei and she agreed that we should all get home before the snow hit.”

  “So, you were going to leave a defenseless woman out here to fend for herself?”

  He gave me a funny look. “Defenseless? Have you seen her chop wood?” He slapped me on the shoulder with a laugh and stepped around me. “Trust me, that woman is not defenseless. Besides, you’re here now,” he said over his shoulder.

  He opened the front door and walked out, carrying supplies with him. I stood there, wondering what the hell I was going to do now. She hadn’t seen me yet. I could just leave. But then Eric would see me leave and that would look suspicious. Hell, if it was a choice between living or looking bad, I would take living any day. Well, at least today I would.

  I turned to leave just as I heard her voice from the top of the stairs. “Andrew, hey!”

  Cringing, I slowly spun and turned that frown upside down. “Hey!” I said, a little too excitedly. “You’re here. I was just looking for you, but I didn’t see you, so I was going to take off.”

  “Where did you look for me?” she chuckled, walking down the stairs.

  I shrugged, blowing out a breath. “You know…in the hall…”

  She laughed, walking up to me. “You’re so funny.”

  She looked down at the bags I was carrying and bent over to inspect them. “What did you bring me?”

  “Oh, this? Uh…” Shit, I hadn’t really thought about doing this shit when no one else was here. But I couldn’t walk away now. “Well, I brought a book about color ideas for your other rooms, my gloves, in case you wanted to chop more wood, some yarn, and a set of wrenches.”

  She looked at me funny. “You brought me yarn?”

  “Yeah, well, I mean, it was just leftover stuff that Ma left at the house. I figured someone should use it.”

  “That was very thoughtful of you.”

  I shrugged like it was no big deal.

  “And what are the wrenches for?”

  “Ah, well, I noticed that you were missing a few from your set, so I picked up a new set for you.”

  “Seriously?” she asked, yanking the box out of the hardware store bag. Opening it up, her eyes lit up like Christmas morning. She didn’t waste a second tearing into the box. “Wow, this is so amazing. Thank you.”

  “Well…”
>
  “I could have bought this for myself, but it means so much more that someone else bought it for me. I’ve never gotten a present like this.”

  “Really?” Perfect opening. “Not even from your husband?”

  “Well, he bought me diamonds and stuff, things that other girls want. He didn’t really understand my love of cars.”

  She didn’t even look up as she spoke, so I couldn’t really see the expression on her face. But that wasn’t going to stop me.

  “Can I ask what the attraction was? You seem to be totally different people.”

  She shrugged and smiled up at me. “Sometimes opposites attract best. It wasn’t perfect, but nothing ever is.”

  “Do you still miss him?” It was a stupid question, one that she could easily lie about, but I felt I needed to ask.

  She looked up at me and the smile melted from her face. “Every day.”

  I tried to read her eyes, tried to get some hint of whether or not she was lying, but it was so hard to tell. Either she really did love the guy or she was a really good liar. And if she really did love him, what did that make us? Did she just sleep with any random dude to get her rocks off, despite how she truly felt? Who moved on from their beloved husband like that? And if she didn’t love him, and this was all one big lie, I was in even deeper trouble than I thought, because she was so damn good at it.

  “So, what do you want to work on today?” she asked, catching me off guard.

  “Uh…”

  “Oh, unless you just came to drop this stuff off. Sorry, I feel so stupid just assuming you came over here to—“

  “No, I’d love to stay and help.” I wanted to slap myself. Why had I just offered to stay? I could have told her that I couldn’t, that I had other shit to do, but I just offered to stay with her and put myself at risk.