by TJ Nichols
Meeting in such a busy place had seemed like a good idea, but he was having second thoughts. There were so many people and anyone could be a threat.
After Olivier’s warning, Cody was extra paranoid. There’d been an edge in Olivier’s voice Cody hadn’t heard before. Not that he knew him very well. Maybe now that Olivier had gotten what he wanted, the knives had come out and he would stop pretending to give a damn. He probably wasn’t even looking into why Connor was killed. It had all been one big act and he’d fallen for it.
Worse. Cody had enjoyed it.
He’d booked his flight home before he locked the door and tried to go back to sleep. Over breakfast he second-guessed his every move. But if Olivier thought it would be dangerous for Cody to stay, he was probably right… or making sure they never ran into each other again.
What they had was intense and strange, and Cody’s sleep had been full of weird dreams in which he tormented Olivier until he snapped. It never ended well for Cody. He should’ve been relieved that Olivier slunk out before three in the morning.
In daylight all those fears seemed far-fetched. No one was out to kill him. His dreams just reflected the stress of the last couple of weeks. His brother had been murdered. It was natural for him to suffer some side effects, some guilt for not being able to work out what Connor wanted him to do. He’d failed his brother.
Lily walked toward him. She was bundled up so much that he almost didn’t recognize her. She didn’t smile, and she didn’t look at him as she stood next to him. “I’m being followed.”
“What makes you think that?” He glanced around the crowd for some darkly dressed evil henchman. Then he realized that the henchman was probably someone like Olivier. Someone who could blend in with the crowd. Was it Olivier? “Why would you be followed?”
“Your father was back at the house. He’s convinced that Connor had something incriminating on him. I don’t know what your brother was up to, but I’ve never seen your father like this. He’s scaring me. Asking me what I know. I don’t know anything.”
“Do you think it’s him following you?” He put his hands in his pockets. People passed them, walking and chatting and laughing. There was a part of Cody that wished he’d stayed in Vegas and left his family to their schemes. Now he was involved, like it or not.
“Not him personally. But the house is being watched. It’s been searched. The number of times your father’s people have gone through Connor’s study… they must have gone through his office too. Whatever it is they want, they’ll do anything to get it.”
“Have you found anything?”
She glanced at him. “You really should’ve seen the wardrobe Connor left you.”
He stared at her.
“What was there?” He could change his flight if he had to.
She hugged him and slipped something into his pocket. “You should come to the family dinner tonight.”
Cody laughed. “No. I haven’t been invited, and one doesn’t turn up for dinner without an invitation.” His father would be furious if he even set foot in the house. His mother would side with her husband. That’s what she did.
She drew back. “You’re their son.”
“And? That means nothing.” But Lily could use the family dinner to her advantage. “You could offer to help him look if he tells you what he’s looking for. That you can’t imagine Connor doing anything to harm the business.”
She was quiet for a moment. “That’s the problem. I think he was. He made a few comments about your father’s dealings. I know things can get murky, but was your father honest?”
Cody wanted to say yes, but he couldn’t. His father was mixed up with Benitez, and Connor’s notes about the family’s dodgy history suggested that not much had changed. “I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t he go to the police with what he found?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think he was thinking right at the end.” Maybe he knew he couldn’t because he was being watched, or blackmailed.
She pressed her lips together. “I’ll ship you the wardrobe.”
He wanted to tell her to sell it. “I’m in no rush.” He wanted to pull out whatever she’d put in his pocket, but he didn’t. If they were being watched, that wouldn’t be a smart move. If it was the key, he’d get whatever was in the box and leave. Maybe all Connor wanted was to make sure whatever he’d found was safe. He sighed. “I’m going home tomorrow.”
“What about finding out the truth?” She needed him, and he was leaving her. “What about the letter he wrote? The key I found?”
“I’ve received a warning about staying.” That was the truth. “I’ll deal with the key.”
Maybe she’d put the key in his pocket. Perhaps it had been in the wardrobe. No wonder Connor had included that page of his will in the letter. He wanted Cody to know where to look. Had Lily worked it out?
She glanced sharply at him. “When did you get warned? Is that what happened to your lip?”
He nodded. Yeah, Olivier had happened, all right. And while Olivier had given him several warnings, it was the last one that had chilled him. The cold hand of something nasty reached for him and ran its nails down his back. Death was coming if he stayed. The fear that had cloaked him in the dark hours of morning was back. He turned away from Lily to check out the crowd.
And his heart stopped. Leaning against a lamppost not ten yards away was Olivier. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and he shook his head as though disappointed.
Cody swallowed. Was Olivier following Lily or him? He had no idea. “My flight leaves in the morning. You should leave too.” If his father was that paranoid, perhaps he thought Lily was in on it.
“I’m going to see my sister at the end of the week. Then your father can search my house from roof to basement. Be safe, Cody. Thank you for believing me.” She hugged him again—one quick squeeze—and then she walked away.
Cody glanced at Olivier. He was still there, but his gaze was on Lily. Cody cut through the crowd and caught him just as he started after her. “Keep her safe.”
He intended to brush past, but Olivier grabbed his arm. “Why are you still here?”
“Glad to see you too.”
“What do you know? What did she tell you?”
There was no point in keeping secrets anymore. “That my father is searching for something that Connor had. He’s desperate.” He wanted to kiss Olivier goodbye, but they’d done that this morning. They were over… or they’d never begun. That shouldn’t hurt, but it did. “I’m leaving. See you in Vegas when you have the answer.”
Olivier looked at him for a heartbeat, but there was no smile on his lips. He looked scared, and that was more terrifying than any warning. Men like Olivier should never look scared.
“Or not. Maybe that’s better.” He pulled away because he didn’t want to think about it. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and his fingers closed around the cold metal key. He had one more stop before he left New York and never looked back.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IT HAPPENED so fast that Olivier didn’t have time to do anything. A yellow cab raced through the light and hit Lily. He was twenty paces behind, and he was too late, too slow. But he got the license plate. There was no taxi number on the vehicle. And it didn’t stop. In seconds it was lost in traffic—the perfect hit and run.
As Olivier rushed to Lily’s side, he realized two things. It was a yellow car, not a cab. Though most people would think it was a cab. And Lily was dead. He watched the spreading blood on the asphalt. Someone was calling 9-1-1. He didn’t want to be an onlooker or a witness and answer questions. He didn’t want to be there at all.
Lily was dead, and he was supposed to keep her safe. He stopped and edged back as others pushed forward. Someone checked her pulse and shook their head. Less than an hour before, she’d been talking to Cody.
Shit. He took a step back and pulled out his phone. He knew Cody’s number by heart—some numbers were best never stored—and calle
d him. He hoped Cody was already on a plane and far away.
Cody answered. “Hello?”
“It’s me.” Sirens tinged the air and grew steadily louder. What did he say?
“What happened?” Cody said, filling the void between them.
“It was a hit and run.”
“Bullshit. Don’t lie.” Cody’s voice was laced with pain.
“It was a hit and run.” Not the way Benitez worked. That was the mark of the Palmerston family. They liked to keep things messy and impersonal. He wanted to be wrong, but that car had been no cab, no matter what a first glance indicated. “It was deliberate.”
How long had the cab stalked Lily, waiting for a chance? If she hadn’t stopped to pull her phone out of her bag, she wouldn’t have been at the back of the pack when they crossed the road. Someone had phoned her at exactly the wrong—or right—time. It was all a setup.
If Cody’s father was working with Palmerston, that was not a good a sign… and while he had no proof that they were working together, Olivier would have to warn Benitez.
“What do you mean? Someone ran her down?”
“You learn fast who likes what method.” He walked away from the crowd, hoping to lose himself and pretend he was never there. “Your father has dangerous friends. Leave town.”
“My father?”
“Well it wasn’t me or my friends.”
“Lily is dead, and you don’t care. You’re talking about murder like it’s a business card.” Cody hung up.
Olivier bit back his frustration. He needed to call his boss. Cody was right, though. Murder was like a business card. Palmerston was involved with Anders. Why would Anders want the help of a thug like that? Did Benitez know something was going on? Was that why Connor had been killed? Olivier thought he was getting close to the answers Cody wanted.
He tried to call Cody, but Cody didn’t answer.
Shit. Unlike Benitez, Palmerston didn’t have any ethics at all. If Cody’s father was in deep with Palmerston, there’d be more violence until they got what they wanted.
CODY’S BLOOD pounded. He kept checking behind him, not sure if he was being followed or not. Every time someone bumped into him, he flinched. He kept his hand in his pocket, fisted around the key. After he’d walked a couple of blocks, he hailed a cab and asked the driver to take him to the bank. He hoped it was the correct bank.
The tension in his body and the anxiety in his mind didn’t ease. It spiraled tighter and made it hard to breathe. Whenever Olivier called, he ignored it. He didn’t care what the hit man had to say. Olivier had let Lily die.
Cody pulled his hand out of his pocket and stared at the key. Did his father know about the box at the bank?
He wished he’d gone to the will reading. What had his father said when he heard Connor’s strange bequest. Is that when Lily realized that something was up? She must have gotten to the house and searched the wardrobe before his father could.
If Olivier was watching Lily, had someone else been watching them all in the park? He forced himself to take several deep breaths. He would be safe in the bank. There would be some serious security there. No one would try anything in a bank. Unfortunately he’d seen too many movies about bank robberies to be truly convinced. What if they faked a robbery just to kill him? Did they know what he had?
He’d love to know who to run away from. While Olivier had called to tell him about Lily, he could’ve been lying. It could’ve been him who killed her. But there’d been worry in his voice. It would be dumb to trust Olivier, but Cody literally had no one else.
My father has dangerous friends.
More dangerous than Benitez? Benitez was supposed to be a business associate. Had Connor’s blackmailer killed Lily? He didn’t want to know.
The cab stopped, and Cody paid and went into the bank without stopping to admire the gargoyles perched on the roof the way he once had. Despite the guards in the bank, he didn’t feel safer. When he requested access to the box, he expected them to call him out as a fraud or to tell him that there was no box.
But there was. His palm sweated around the key, but it slid into the lock.
Inside was a novelty flash drive. It was shaped like a gingerbread man. Connor hated gingerbread, but Cody loved the stuff—raw and cooked. It was his favorite part of Christmas. There was no doubt that it had been left for Cody, even though there was no note.
His eyes prickled. He’d followed Connor’s breadcrumb trail, but now where did he go? Could he find his way out of the forest before he got eaten?
With Lily dead, there was no point in concealing whatever Connor had hidden, so he might as well hand it over. He closed his eyes. He should call his father and ask to meet. His fingertips brushed his phone. No. He’d wait until he knew what it was before he made any rash decisions.
But he did text Olivier.
I have it. We need to talk.
OLIVIER WASN’T surprised when he was ordered to come to the office. Lily had been killed under his nose. Benitez was standing and scowling and there were papers on his desk. Olivier glanced down and saw a business card with Palmerston on it. He had the sinking sensation in his gut that his day was about to get a whole lot worse.
“Lily Anders wasn’t supposed to die,” Benitez said with obvious menace. His eyes were cold and calculating, as though he were considering whether Olivier’s death would bring Lily back. It wouldn’t, but Benitez wasn’t above taking revenge or lashing out when provoked. Clearly something had bitten his ass. Probably Palmerston.
Olivier knew the feeling. Palmerston’s people had come out of nowhere. Yet the whole thing was starting to make a sick kind of sense.
“I couldn’t have stopped the fake cab. Or her.” If he’d been too close, she would have known he was following her. He’d bumped into her twice and tried to make conversation. The second time, she told him that she wasn’t interested. He took the hint and backed off. It was impossible to force a friendship when one party was grieving and wary.
“The plates were stolen.” Benitez had already followed up on the details Olivier had given him. Olivier expected the plates were stolen. The car was probably stolen too and given a quick spray job to look like a cab at a glance. “It’s your word that I have to take, and I’m not sure how much I trust you.” Benitez stood too close to his desk and the gun he kept in the drawer. “I’m not sure our friend is dead.”
“He’s dead. I’ve been to the grave, and I’ve spoken with family members.”
Benitez spun the screen of his computer. There was Cody, looking like his brother and talking to Olivier in the park. Those few seconds they’d spoken had been caught on camera. He bit back a groan. What had he done?
“You know who he is.” It wasn’t a question.
Olivier liked living, or at least he thought he did. Most of the time he did, so it wasn’t worth lying about. “Yes. He was the man from the church. One of Connor’s brothers.”
Benitez nodded as though pleased with the confession. “And?”
“And I warned him to back off.” Not thoroughly enough, clearly.
“Lily is killed, and I get a package within hours. It’s a little odd, don’t you think?”
Not half as odd as what had happened before Lily’s death. “A grieving brother from out of state is unlikely to be tied up in the business affairs of the father. Or with Palmerston.”
“Well he’s tied up in my affairs now. I want to know what he knows.”
Everything. Cody had found what everyone wanted, which put him on very, very thin ice. If anyone knew… but Cody had told him. Olivier doubted it was because Cody trusted him. More like he realized he needed protection from the thugs—Palmerston’s thugs. “And Palmerston?”
Benitez smiled. It was deeply unsettling, as though he were holding a razor to Olivier’s wrists to see how hard he could press before he drew blood. “Palmerston is none of your concern… though I’m interested in why you came up with that name.”
“It’s my job to
know who the major players are and their skill sets. This morning was a warning to us.” The words became cold in his mouth. It was a warning that they couldn’t keep their people safe. They would’ve known that Lily was being watched.
The question was, was Palmerston working with Anders or was Anders under pressure from Palmerston? The two were very different.
“Bring our friend’s brother in before Palmerston or his father gets to him.”
“Yes, sir.” He took a step back. If he brought Cody in, there was no guarantee that he’d be any safer. Everyone wanted to know what he knew, even if it was nothing. His father must be hiding some dinosaur-sized skeletons, and Benitez must know where they were buried.
Anders would know that too.
Benitez could bring down Anders, but if he did that, he’d take out himself in the process. Olivier doubted either man would be willing to ruin himself, even if there was a soured deal between them.
Or Palmerston could tear them both down and rebuild on the remains.
“Bring him in alive or you and your sister will never get out and your niece will owe for the trouble.”
Olivier couldn’t breathe as rage flooded him. Dani would never be caught in his mess. His fingers curled, and he was tempted to reach for his gun. Sanity came in the next breath. Benitez was waiting for him to fuck up—looking for a crack and a reason to remove him. If Olivier screwed up again, he wouldn’t walk out of there. He’d be a stain on the expensive carpet. He had to turn Cody over to the man who’d ordered his brother’s death. That would bring balance. He would kill Cody, and the nightmares would stop.
