“But, of course, you were going to make sure you were the exception.”
“Yes. We didn’t exchange real names.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t know him and wasn’t sure I wanted him to know me. Anyway, I came up with a plan to put him in his place and did something that pissed him off.”
Ben nodded. “And you probably did so thinking you’d never see him again.”
“Right. But I ran into him again. Last night, in fact.”
“Where?” Ben asked, taking another sip of his coffee.
“At Shana’s.”
“Shana’s?” Ben asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Jules released a deep breath. “I found out last night that the man I had pissed off is Jace’s brother Dalton. And, needless to say, seeing each other last night didn’t go well.”
“I can imagine.”
Jules shook her head. “No, Dad, you can’t begin to imagine.”
“That bad?”
“Yes, and his brother is marrying my sister. He and Jace are as different as black and white.”
“So are you and Shana. The two of you are sisters and not clones—you are as different as chalk and cheese. But I think you and the young man should bury your animosity. If for no other reason than for Shana and Jace. We’re having a wedding in two weeks, and it should be a joyful occasion for everyone.”
“I know, but I don’t want to think about burying anything with Dalton Granger. Forgive me for saying this, Dad, but he’s such an ass.”
“Ass or not, he’s still Jace’s brother, and somehow the two of you need to try and get along.”
“Maybe,” she said, not convinced something like that could ever happen. “I’ve agreed to check out a few things regarding an investigation into what happened to Jace’s brother Caden two weekends ago. I’ll be too busy to get sidetracked by anything...especially by Dalton.”
“Putting it off might not be the best thing, Jules.”
She took a sip of her coffee. “We’ll see, Dad.”
* * *
The next morning, when Caden opened his office door, Dalton was standing there waiting on him. “You’re early, aren’t you?” Caden asked, hanging up his jacket.
“I want to talk to you about Shana’s sister.”
“What about Jules, Dalton?”
“I don’t like her.”
Caden smiled as he took a seat at his desk. “I think your dislike of her was pretty obvious last night. And your not liking her only means I don’t have to worry about you hitting on her every chance you get. No big deal.”
“Damn it, Caden, it is a big deal.”
Caden frowned. “What is the big deal, Dalton? Maybe she’s one of the few women who didn’t fall for all your bullshit. She’s one of the rare few who doesn’t think your piss is made of liquid gold.”
“That isn’t funny!”
“Trust me, you don’t see me laughing. To learn that a man I consider a friend is a suspect in trying to bump me off isn’t anything to laugh about, either. It’s a problem I’ll have to deal with—if it’s true, though I honestly believe that it’s not. Still, excuse me for saying it, but I have enough on my plate dealing with my own problems. I don’t need to take on any of yours.”
“I’m not asking you to take on my problems.”
“Good, because I won’t. This weekend, I married the woman I love. I’m happy and I wish everyone else could be just as happy as we are. But I want to give you something to think about.”
Dalton glared at him. “What?”
“Jace and Shana are getting married in two weeks, and the woman you claim you don’t like is Shana’s sister. And knowing Shana like we both do, she’s not going to take any of your bullshit when it comes to her sister, and I don’t blame her.”
Dalton’s glare deepened. “So you’re blaming me?”
“Let’s just say I know you, Dalton. You’re used to having your pick of women. You met Jules, and she didn’t make things easy for you. I say good for her.”
Dalton didn’t say anything. He stared at Caden for a few minutes, and then he stormed out of the office.
* * *
“You okay, Sheppard? Ambrose called and said you needed to talk to me.”
Shep nodded when Carson entered the conference room and closed the door behind her. Without saying anything, he crossed the room, pulled her into his arms and seized her mouth in a long, slow and lingering kiss.
When he broke it off moments later, he drew in a deep breath. “I needed that.”
Carson licked her lips, loving his taste. “What is it, Sheppard? What’s wrong?”
He led her over to the table where they could sit down. “Jace called Saturday morning and finally told me what had happened with Caden. Of course, I didn’t let him know I already knew about it.”
“And?”
“He hired Shana’s sister, who owns a P.I. firm, to look into it, and there’s a strong possibility that Caden’s former female band member might be involved. She and Caden were involved in an affair earlier this year, and when he discovered she had a jealous streak, he broke things off. She made threats.”
“So it had nothing to do with you?”
“That could be the case, but I still want my sons watched. Someone sent me that email, and until I find out who and why, I still don’t want to take any chances.”
“I understand and I will let Roland know to maintain the status quo until I let him know otherwise.”
“Just keep me posted of any new developments.”
She smiled. “I will, and there is something I need to report.”
“What?”
“To ensure that Caden didn’t get suspicious of anything, Striker switched places with Quasar at the last minute. And Quasar followed Caden to Vegas this weekend.”
“Vegas? Why?”
“It seems your middle son eloped and got married on Saturday.”
Shep’s eyes widened in surprise. “Caden?”
“Yes. So act surprised when he calls and tells you himself.”
“Who did he marry?”
“Shiloh Timmons.”
Shep chuckled. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
He couldn’t help but recall Caden’s attitude the time his sons had come to visit a few months back and Shiloh’s name had come up. “Those two were always close as kids. I figured when they got older something more would develop, but after I’d heard that Samuel Timmons forbade Shiloh to have anything to do with my family after I went to jail, I just assumed that the two of them had severed their connection.”
Carson lifted a brow. “Then how did Samuel Timmons end up becoming an investor in your company?”
“When Dad needed money to keep the company afloat, he approached Samuel. Evidently, Timmons was willing to put aside his dislike of us to invest in the company. For him, it was all about money.”
Carson nodded. “Why did Samuel Timmons dislike your family so much after you were sent off to jail? Before that, the two of you were close, right?”
“Not all that close. But our families did do things together from time to time, either as couples or with our children. Sylvia was a lot closer to them than I was. At one time, she and Sandra Timmons were thick as honey. I figured since they thought I had killed Sylvia, they wanted to end any relationship they had with my family.”
Carson shrugged. “For some reason, I think there’s more to it than that.”
“Who knows? Samuel would roll over in his grave if he knew Caden and Shiloh were married.”
“So you’re happy for Caden?”
Shep smiled. “Yes, I’m very happy for Caden.”
Forty-One
“So, what do you think, Marcel?” Jace asked.
The three Granger brothers were seated in the conference room with FBI agent Marcel Eaton. They had all just watched the surveillance video showing Brandy going through Dalton’s office.
“Well,” Marcel said, leaning back in his chair. “
She was definitely looking for something. Did any of you notice the expression on her face?” he asked.
Both Jace and Caden replied that no, they hadn’t noticed anything unusual. Dalton shrugged and said, “I’ll probably burn in hell for saying it, but the only thing I noticed was the way she bent over to pry open the drawers to my desk.”
Marcel, Jace and Caden just stared at Dalton as if they couldn’t believe what he’d just said. He stared back at them. “Just keeping it honest.”
“Spare us your honesty,” Jace said and then transferred his attention away from Dalton to Marcel. “Anyway, Marcel, what do you think?”
“She was definitely looking stressed,” Marcel said. “Her features were intense, almost to the extreme. It was as if she’d been given an order she had to comply with. By the way, what is the significance of that particular painting on the wall—the one with the fireworks? She definitely seemed interested in it or what she thought might be behind it.”
“I noticed that, as well,” Caden said.
“Who had that office before it became Dalton’s?” Marcel wanted to know.
“It had been empty for years, and I don’t know who had it last. But it will be easy to find out,” Jace replied.
“Find out whether any redecorating had been done or whether any of the furnishings have been changed out, or new pictures added and any old ones taken down or replaced. There’s something about that picture, or the spot where the picture hung, that held Brandy’s attention, and I want to know why.”
“Okay. I’ll check that out,” Jace said, jotting down notes on a writing pad.
“I’m going to officially talk—on the record—to the D.C. authorities and let them know there’s a chance we’ll be reopening Brandy’s case. They might have ruled it a suicide, but now I’m beginning to wonder.”
“You actually think she was murdered?” Dalton asked, sitting up in his chair.
“I’m not sure yet. It could have been a murder set up to look like a suicide. There’s also the possibility that Brandy got herself too deep into something, then guilt set in, and she saw suicide as the only way out.”
“What’s the story behind her being in D.C. that weekend?” Caden asked.
“According to the report I received from the D.C. police, the apartment where she was found is leased to Nellie Borland. She and Brandy had been friends since childhood. Borland got a job in D.C. after college. She works as a computer programmer and travels a lot. Nellie told the authorities she got a call from Brandy at the beginning of that week claiming she had a lot on her mind and needed to get away for a few days.
“Borland told Brandy she would be out of town on a ski trip but that she could come stay at her place while she was away. Borland left for her trip before Brandy arrived, but talked to her on the phone the day Brandy arrived to make sure Brandy knew where she had left the key to the apartment. That was the last she heard from her.”
“Brandy’s mother doesn’t believe her daughter committed suicide. I’m sure she would be glad to hear the case is being reopened,” Jace said, rubbing his hand down his face.
“Yes, but what she might get is information that her daughter was involved in something illegal,” Marcel said, standing. “I’ll let you know what I come up with. In the meantime, if I can get the background information on Dalton’s office, I’d appreciate it.”
Jace nodded. “We’ll take care of it.”
* * *
Shiloh looked up, hearing the knock on her door. She had a feeling whom her early-morning visitor might be and she wasn’t exactly looking forward to this meeting. “Come in.”
The door opened, and Sedrick walked in. “I tried calling this weekend and couldn’t reach you. Everything okay?”
She smiled. “Yes. I went away for the weekend.”
“By yourself?” he asked, sliding into the chair across from her desk.
“No, I went away with Caden.” She watched as Sedrick’s features tightened.
“I can’t believe you’re still messing around with him.”
For someone who’d always known how she felt about Caden, she found his comment odd. “Yes, I’m still messing around with him. In fact, we took our messing around to another level and eloped this weekend,” she said, placing her hands on her desk in full view so he could see her wedding ring.
Sedrick was out of his chair in a flash. “What the hell? What did you do?”
She frowned at his reaction to her news. She hadn’t expected him to be ecstatic, but she hadn’t expected him to act like their father, either. “What I did was marry the person I love. Maybe that’s something you should consider doing instead of stringing Cassie along.”
Sedrick’s face hardened. “We’re discussing you and Caden Granger, not Cassie and me.”
“There’s nothing to discuss regarding Caden and me. We’re married.”
Sedrick rubbed his hands down his face in frustration. “Do you care what marrying him will do to Mom?”
“Honestly, no. What she and Dad schemed to do, keeping Caden and me apart while I was in the hospital fighting for my life, is unforgivable. And if Mom couldn’t stand Caden so much, then why did she go to him and tell him the truth?”
“Damn it, she thought he already knew.”
“Well, he didn’t. So, in a way, I should thank her for doing something I couldn’t. It doesn’t matter anymore, because this weekend we did what we wanted to do four years ago, and that was to become man and wife, regardless of who may or may not like it.”
Sedrick stared at her for a long moment. “I think you’ve made a mistake.”
She got up out of her seat, fed up with his shitty attitude. She leaned over her desk. “When it comes to Caden, I don’t care what you think, Sedrick. I don’t even know what you’re thinking anymore. Earlier this month, all you cared about was my happiness, but now you’re singing a different tune. My happiness doesn’t mean a thing to you.”
“That’s not true!”
“Isn’t it? What do you have against the Grangers?”
“Do I need to remind you that Caden’s father killed their mother?”
“He did not!”
“Oh, and I suppose a jury found him guilty just for the hell of it,” Sedrick stormed.
“Caden and his brothers believe in their father’s innocence and plan to prove it.”
“I hope for your sake they don’t.”
Shiloh was taken aback by his words. “What do you mean?”
Sedrick shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Nothing. Forget what I said. You and Mom are the only family I have, and I was hoping that the two of you would reconcile your differences. Now your marriage to Granger will make that nearly impossible.”
Without saying anything else, he turned and walked out of her office.
* * *
“Just checking to see how you’ve been,” Shana said to her sister, adjusting the cell phone against her ear. This was the first chance they’d had to talk since Jules’s confrontation with Dalton on Sunday.
“I’m fine—just busy with my investigation on Grover Reddick,” Jules said, pushing away from her computer.
“How’s that going?”
“It’s going. I should have my report finished within the week. How are the wedding plans coming along?”
“So far so good. I can’t wait.”
“I guess not. Best to get it done before the baby bump appears.”
Shana chuckled. “I really don’t care.”
“You’ve changed. There was a time when you would have cared. What happened?”
“Jace Granger happened. He’s simply wonderful.”
“He’s definitely nothing like his younger brother,” Jules muttered.
Shana didn’t say anything for a moment. “I’m sorry you and Dalton didn’t meet under the best of circumstances.”
“So am I, but I promise to try to get along with him for your sake, Shana. I will be civil to him—at least I promise to do my best.�
�
“And that’s all I can ask for.”
Forty-Two
A week later, Jules asked to meet with Caden regarding her final report on Grover Reddick. He invited her to Shiloh’s place, where they both now lived. Jules entered the apartment and came up short when she saw that, besides Caden and Shiloh, Dalton, Jace and Shana were also present.
Dalton took one look at her and turned to the window to stare out, ignoring her. She was fine with that and figured the sooner she told Caden what she’d discovered, the sooner she could get out of there.
“So what did you find out?” Caden asked. He was seated on the sofa beside Shiloh. Jace and Shana were sitting diagonally across from them on a love seat. Dalton was still standing at the window, but Jules had a feeling he was listening attentively.
“First of all, I want to thank Shiloh for providing me with a list of the invitees to the party as well as the video taken inside the shop that night. I’ve gone over everything and found nothing suspicious.”
Dalton glanced at her and she tried not to come unglued from his heated stare. “Just so you know, my investigative firm works with a team of other firms that are all part of a security network. Their work is concise and on point. With that said, Rita’s alibi checked out. The hotel confirmed she arrived at the hotel by cab and that she didn’t leave until she caught a cab back to the airport that Sunday morning.” Jules paused a minute and then said, “I’m going to tell you something that will no doubt be shocking to you, but I believe Grover Reddick is the man who tried to run you over that night.”
Shiloh gasped, but Caden remained unmoved, his features unreadable. “And you base your assumptions on what?” he asked in a disbelieving tone, letting her and everyone else know he didn’t believe this allegation for one second.
“I was able to locate an airline ticket from L.A. to Charlottesville in Grover Reddick’s name. I also obtained records on the car he rented at the airport. Furthermore, I was able to get photos from our police department. The photos show all the cars that went through the intersection—less than a block from here—around the time of your accident. A definite match was made between the car we suspected was involved and the one Grover rented.”
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