“Well, if it isn’t St. Eli coming to visit his big brother in the slammer. Miss me, little brother?”
“Adam.” Eli gave him a stiff nod of acknowledgment.
“To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?”
Eli withdrew a copy of the email he’d received last night. It’d been burning a hole in his pocket and a deeper one in his gut.
“I received this yesterday. Care to explain?”
Adam glanced down at the vague but awful threats, then back at Eli. “What’s this got to do with me? I don’t know anything about it.”
“And I don’t believe you, Adam. If you didn’t send it, it’s a person you know. Someone you or Mathias did business with.” Eli leaned forward, glared hard. “Dammit, someone is threatening our family…my daughters…your nieces.”
“And I should care…why?”
It was all Eli could do not to take the bastard’s head off. “They’re your family, too, Adam. My children are just babies. You remember them, don’t you? The children of the woman you killed?”
What could only be called a smirk appeared on Adam’s face. “Now I thought we’d already gotten past that. No one has proof of any such thing.”
“I know what Mathias told me.”
“Oh yeah? And when was that, Eli? When did Daddy spill all? And why would he tell you in the first place?”
Eli ground his teeth till they ached. Hell, he was getting in deep when he started spouting things he had no business saying. Just because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Adam had killed Shelley, he could do nothing about it. Mathias had told him only moments before he was shot and killed. The fact that Eli or any of his other family members had been around when that happened was something he would take to his grave. Not even Adam knew the truth of what happened that night. God only knew what his brother would do with that kind of information.
Eli had already come to terms that Shelley would never get the justice she deserved. All he could do was console himself that Adam, her murderer, would be in prison for the rest of his life. That had to be enough.
He redirected the conversation back to the reason he was here. “Do you know who sent this email, Adam? Who would make these threats?”
Sprawled out in his chair, Adam looked as though he was relaxing in his luxurious home as opposed to wearing an orange jumpsuit and sitting in a vile-smelling prison visitors’ room. “What’s it worth to you?”
Eli lunged across the table, going for his brother’s throat. He squeezed hard, watching Adam’s ugly brown eyes bulge. Seconds later, three guards rushed in, pulling Eli back. One brutish-looking guard with a billystick in his giant hand growled, “We got a problem here?”
As much as he’d like to grab the stick and beat Adam within an inch of his life, Eli knew he could do no such thing.
“No…officer,” Eli said. “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
The man nodded at the two guards holding Eli’s arms. “Let him go.”
They released him, and Eli seated himself again. The instant the men walked out of the room, Adam smiled. “I see you’ve managed to influence someone here. Anyone else would’ve been thrown out the door.”
Yeah, he’d greased some palms for the guards to look the other way if he happened to get a little physical. They wouldn’t, however, let him get away with beating the hell out of an inmate. Too bad, because he’d never felt as much hatred as he did for the man in front of him. It sickened him to his bones that they shared the same blood…the same last name.
“Since you’ve seen that I do have some influence here, you might want to reevaluate your answer. Do you know who would threaten the family?”
The amusement dropped from Adam’s face. “You’ve pissed off a lot of people. Any one of them could be seeking revenge. And before you ask for names, keep in mind that Mathias was screwing people long before I came into this world. The things I did weren’t a drop in the bucket compared to what he got away with.
“From what I’ve heard, you’re the only Slater available for anyone to seek retribution against. Jonah’s on some kind of self-healing sabbatical. Mama and Lacey have disappeared, and no one can find them.”
The words sparked Eli’s interest. “And how do you know this, Adam? Have you been trying to find them?”
“Hell if I care where they are. Neither one of them has had the decency to even write me, see how I’m doing.”
“Answer the question. Why your sudden interest in a family you’ve had as little to do with as possible? We both know Mathias was the only one you wanted to be around.”
Adam shrugged. “We have televisions here, too, Eli. You ever watch the local news? Rarely a week goes by when someone doesn’t do some kind of story about one of us.” He smirked and added, “Apparently, you’ve lost a lot of the family’s money.”
“You mean I’ve lost a lot of dirty money. It’s taken me a year to clean up the shit you and Mathias created.”
“Don’t matter to me if you end up living in a double-wide outside Dallas.”
“If it was a choice between living on blood money or in a double-wide, I damn well know what choice I would make.”
“Whatever.”
“Who’s making these threats?”
“Like I said, I don’t have a clue. With nobody around but you and your brats, you’re the easiest target.”
“I’ve accepted that I will always be a target. But I’ll be damned if I’ll allow my children or the rest of the family to suffer any more than they already have for what you and Mathias did. Now tell me who hates you enough to want to come after us.”
With a harsh rush of air, Adam expelled a weary sigh. His eyes went even duller than their usual murky brown, and for the first time Eli saw sadness and maybe even a hint of regret. “I’m telling the truth. I don’t know. Whether you believe me or not, Daddy set me up to be the patsy for everything, but I knew almost nothing about that side of his business.”
“Your hands are far from clean, Adam.”
“Maybe so. But the things I did barely got me noticed in those circles. Daddy was the ringleader.”
Eli knew that was true. For whatever reason, known only to Mathias himself, their father had set up his oldest son to take the fall for a boatload of illegal activities. Not only did Adam not have the brains to do all those things, there was no way in hell Mathias would have allowed him that kind of power. Since Mathias hadn’t known he was going to die, no one knew for certain if he would have allowed the charges to stick.
Still, Eli had absolutely no sympathy for his brother. Plenty of crimes had been attributed to him, including conspiracy to commit murder. And the one crime Adam was responsible for that could never be proven was one Eli wanted to kill his brother over. If it wouldn’t leave his children without a parent, Eli knew full well he might have done just that.
Correctly identifying the hatred in Eli’s eyes, Adam shook his head. “Hate me all you want, brother, but you’re better off without her. Shelley loved only two things. Booze and pills.”
“And you made damn sure she had plenty of both that last day, didn’t you?”
His mouth twitched as though he was fighting a grin. “She went out with a smile on her face.”
Rolling his chair back, Eli shot to his feet. He had to get the hell out of here before he committed murder. “You might never pay for Shelley’s death, but your worthless ass will rot in this prison for the rest of your useless life.”
A small enigmatic look crossed Adam’s face but was gone in an instant. Shrugging, he said, “If you say so.”
Eli walked out without a backward glance. Coming here had been futile. How stupid to think that his brother would willingly give him any helpful information. Adam would only ever have one love and that was himself.
He maintained an expressionless demeanor until he reached his car. Once inside, he slammed his fist against the steering wheel and cursed virulently in every language he knew. He’d known going in that it was pointless, but
he’d had to at least try.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He glanced at the readout and then hit answer. “Justice, you got anything?”
“The email came from a computer inside the prison, just like the others. My tech who traced it said this one was almost insulting, it was so easy to track.”
“The first one a few months back wasn’t so easy to trace. Why’d he change? He knew I’d have it traced.”
“We both know your brother isn’t the brightest criminal in the world.”
Too true. Which was probably one of the reasons it had been so damn easy for Mathias to frame his son. Adam had been their father’s confidant and co-conspirator for years. And in the end, he’d been his scapegoat.
Eli shoved his fingers through his hair. No use going back and confronting his brother with the truth. He blew out a sigh, releasing the tension that had built over the last hour. “So we’re set for tomorrow night?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re sure she doesn’t know who I am?”
“Yes, but are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Eli knew he was taking a risk. Seeing him again would bring to mind one of the most painful and traumatic times in her life. Not that it would ever be far from her mind, he was sure. But it was time, in more ways than one.
“I’ve waited as long as I can. And with the most recent events, it’s imperative that it happen now.”
“Agreed, but…” Amusement entered Justice’s voice. “You do know that she’ll have a gun, don’t you? I’ve seen her use it. Damn impressive.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
His smile grim but determined, Eli ended the call.
Chapter Eight
Kathleen stood several yards away from the most impressive mansion she’d ever seen. Even while her expert eyes assessed the job, the surroundings, she couldn’t quite quell the shiver of excitement that she’d get to see inside. She’d always been a sucker for castles, and this one, in Dallas, Texas, for heaven’s sake, was incredible.
Standing at least four stories high, it was a humongous structure of rock and brick, with a classic fairy-tale design complete with turrets and towers. The only things missing were the handsome prince and princess. What kind of family lived in such an extravagant home?
She’d been getting ready for bed when Grey had called and given her this assignment. Said it had to be done tonight, immediately. Even though she’d done numerous jobs for Justice over the past three months, having a half hour’s notice was unusual, even for him. There hadn’t been time to do more than plug the address into a search engine to discover the homeowner’s name. Not that it mattered for her to be able to do the job, but a little more information would have been nice to have.
She sighed. “Expect the unexpected” should be Grey Justice’s company slogan.
When she had agreed to work for Grey, she had been an emotional wreck. No matter that he’d promised her access to unparalleled resources to help her exonerate Alice, making a decision of that magnitude without careful study and contemplation had been unheard of for Kathleen. How odd that it had turned out to be one of the best decisions she’d ever made.
Her official title was freelance security operative. Grey had given her carte blanche to reject any assignment she wasn’t comfortable taking. She appreciated the autonomy but so far hadn’t turned down any jobs. The assignments had been as eclectic as they were unusual. One day she was shadowing a known drug dealer to discover his supplier, the next day she might be leaving incriminating evidence on a prosecutor’s desk to help convict a pedophile. Yesterday, she had spent hours flirting with a Swedish businessman thought to be in cahoots with a Spanish crime boss. For three hours she’d giggled and batted her eyelashes just to discover whether or not he’d been in Memphis at the same time a union leader had been assassinated.
She didn’t always know the reason the information was needed. Her first day on the job, Grey had explained that a single thread could unravel the most tightly knitted of alibis. Her job would often require that she find that one single thread.
Grey’s need for secrecy was of utmost importance. The cases his people were involved in were news stories all over the country. In just the few months she had worked with him, she’d seen legal battles won, cases thrown out, innocent people released from jail, and vile, evil criminals arrested, most of them never knowing that a small group of dedicated people had had a hand in securing justice.
When she’d realized what his secret organization did, she’d been both fascinated and doubtful. Could a small group of justice seekers really make that much of a difference? The answer was an unqualified yes. Okay, some laws were skirted, and a few times she had crossed the line past legal, but when the guilty were locked up and the innocent set free, it was damn hard to quibble with the difference between what was legal and what was right.
At first, her disciplined, too-structured soul had rebelled at the unpredictability of the job. Accustomed to knowing what she would be doing from sunup to sundown had been her way of life for so long, Kathleen hadn’t realized how rigid she had become.
Now, if anything, she relished the challenge and variety. Staying busy kept her sane. She still grieved for Alice—would grieve till the day she died. But with each day, with its challenges and variety, she could feel herself healing.
Just because she was healing, didn’t mean she had stopped looking for Frank Braden’s killer. Exonerating Alice would be one last gift she could give to her sister.
True to his word, Grey had opened doors that had previously been closed. She had uncovered information about Braden she doubted few people knew. So far nothing she had uncovered led her to the person responsible for his death, but like Grey said, sometimes a single thread was all you needed. So she would keep digging until one of those threads led her to a killer.
In the meantime, she had an estate to break into. And what an estate it was. An iron gate, at least ten feet high, surrounded what had to be at least twenty acres. Lights glowed everywhere, illuminating every damn corner. If a spider crawled by, she had a feeling several different sensors would go off. Why did this guy think he had security problems?
With a mental shrug, she pushed the why aside and concentrated on the how. Staying in the shadows, Kathleen stealthily walked the perimeter, looking for the most vulnerable point. It was a tedious, time-consuming task, especially when there didn’t appear to be a weak spot anywhere.
Eyes narrowed, concentration keen, she trudged through the wooded area that surrounded what could only be described as an impenetrable fortress. How the hell was she going to—
She stopped so abruptly she almost slammed face first into a tree. A tree whose strong, sturdy branches reached past one of the large brick columns attached to the iron railing. If she climbed the tree and shimmied across the limb, she could step onto the brick column and then drop over to the other side.
Having lost weight that she really couldn’t afford to lose, Kathleen knew the limb would hold her. And climbing the tree would be child’s play. Her biggest problem would come when she dropped onto the other side and lights as bright as a lighthouse’s beacon shone down on her.
Now that she had a plan, she was feeling quite confident as she quickly headed back to the gatehouse. Having already checked out the security guard’s activities, she knew what she would find. Still, she peered into a window and confirmed. The man sat at a desk and, in apparent comfort and enjoyment, consumed a large pepperoni pizza as he watched a Cowboys football game. One more security area she’d point out that needed to change.
Opening the small pouch hanging from her belt loop, she withdrew the necessary tools and then eased open the security panel on the side of the gatehouse. Using a small flashlight, she highlighted what looked to be a maze of switches. It was a good system and happily one she was familiar with. Within seconds, she located the security switches that lighted the sector she planned to breach. She flipped two of the switches an
d froze. No movement from the gatehouse, which told her the guard wasn’t looking at the control panel behind him. If he were, he would most definitely notice the warning signal. The guard’s lack of attention gave her the opportunity she needed.
She carefully closed the security panel door and took off. In between the noshing of pizza, he might just look behind him and notice the blip. She had no extra time to spare. Reaching the tree again, she jumped for the lowest branch and swung herself up. Within seconds, she was scooting across the branch that hung over the railing. A moment later, she was at the brick column. Bracing herself for impact, she dropped to the ground. Pleased her weak ankle gave no indication it had even felt jarred, she took off into the night.
Evening shadows lengthened into midnight dark, quiet blanketed the house, and night settled in. Eli sat alone in his bedroom and stared at nothing. He thought about and rejected the idea of turning on lights. The darkness fit his mood. Besides, night shadows offered more comfort these days. In daylight, flaws were revealed, armor pierced, blood spilled. In darkness, he could escape the cold light of reality.
His daughters, Violet and Sophia, were tucked in for the night. He hoped they dreamed of magical wizards and beautiful, kindhearted fairies. He hoped they always believed in goodness and light. That they could escape the darkness that permeated their surroundings.
Someone wanted to hurt him by hurting his daughters. He would die before he let that happen. And he would do whatever it took to make sure they stayed safe.
The first threat had been subtle, almost negligible. So much so that if it had been made against him, he would have dismissed it as an amusing incident. But it hadn’t been made against him…it had been made against his children. No way in hell would he stand for that.
The next ones had been much less subtle but still vague. Today’s had been different. It had come with attachments—photos of his children taken at various times of the day. The bastard wanted him to know they were being watched…stalked.
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