“I felt unclean, reopening Mr. Graham’s wounds. I’m happy to do anything you need to figure this out, but this is my last interview. Maybe.”
Grey’s head snapped around. “Who else?”
“The only person left on my list is your old partner, Seven. If I get up the courage to give him a call, I’ll tell you in advance. Probably another person who’d prefer I get lost.”
“I regret that I didn’t stay in touch with Seven. Nothing personal, but I doubt he’d speak to you about the case.”
Grey stopped at the gas station and filled the tank, and grabbed us cold waters. I changed seats with him and got behind the wheel. I programmed the GPS and took a back road to stay out of traffic and was about to merge onto a toll road when the Escalade took a hard hit. The SUV rocked from side to side, and my head hit the passenger window. Hard. The air bags exploded. I caught a glimpse of an oversized silver pickup in the side mirror. I groaned and took a deep breath as we rolled off the side of the road and into a ditch.
“You okay?” Grey demanded in a fierce tone, pushing the deflated bags out of our faces.
I fingered my temple gingerly. “I’m fine. I think.”
“Don’t move. I’m calling an ambulance.”
“Nooo.” I attempted to unbuckle my seatbelt and sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m fine.”
I heard a door close, and then mine opened. Grey unfastened my seatbelt and lowered the seat. “You’re not. A large bruise is already forming on the side of your head, and there’s a laceration across your neck from the seatbelt.”
Sirens wailed in the distance. A cop car pulled up, lights flashing.
“I’m worried about you,” I whined.
“We have nothing to worry about. They’ll take a report, the car will be towed, and we’ll be on our way. But first, the hospital.”
Another cop car pulled up.
“What happened?” one of the cops demanded.
“Rear-ended by a silver Ford F750, steel bars across the front,” Grey told the officer. “Deliberately side-swiped me, rammed me into the ditch, then took off.”
“You get any part of the license number?”
Grey shook his head. “Standard Florida tags, that’s it.”
The cop moved to my side. “You should never move an accident victim; you don’t know the extent of their injuries.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Hit my head, and trust me, it’s hard.”
The cop smiled.
The ambulance arrived, and the paramedics took over. I was about to argue when Grey cut me off. “Don’t listen to her. Much to her surprise, she’s not invincible and needs to be checked out.”
They agreed with Grey, listening more to him than me. They strapped me down on a stretcher and loaded me in the back of the ambulance.
“I won’t be far behind,” Grey said as they shut the doors.
Funny guy. This was ridiculous. I wanted to ask for an aspirin or a double shot of caffeine, but I imagined that both requests would be scoffed at.
It didn’t take long before we rolled up to the emergency room at the local hospital and I was rolled into a cubicle. A friendly nurse took my vitals and told me the doctor would be in soon. I don’t know how long it took, as I dozed off, and when I opened my eyes, a young doctor was checking me over, asking questions, all of which I answered. I was rolled off for a scan; the tech smiled encouragingly, which I took as a good sign. When I was rolled back to my cubicle, I smiled at Grey, who was waiting for me.
“Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. Even with everyone going out of their way to accommodate me, it took a while, and thankfully no one recognized me.” Grey pulled a chair up to the bedside and brushed a kiss on my cheek.
“You’re here now.” I clasped his hand. “I’m fine.”
The doctor strolled in, a smile on his face. Good news. The tests came back normal. My hard head was still intact. No dents or other damage. Once the paperwork was processed, I’d be released.
“I got us a hotel for the night,” Grey told me. “Its biggest attraction is it’s close by.”
“I want to go home,” I whined.
“It’s late and a long drive.”
“The accident was a hit-and-run?” I asked. Grey nodded, his face filled with anger. “I don’t know why people don’t stop. When they get caught, they’re only in more trouble.”
“Most people operate under the illusion that they’ll never get caught.”
Chapter Eighteen
We’d spent the night in a local hotel, but neither of us slept well and were eager to get back on the road. Grey rented a car and took the same route, slowing to check out where the accident had happened before speeding on.
I was happy to be home, even though surly Grey stood in the doorway, threatening severe retribution if I got out of bed. “That wasn’t doctor’s orders,” I told him. “He said to pass on running a marathon.”
Grey snorted.
“I’m at least moving out to the balcony. Sitting in the fresh air is what I need. A walk on the beach would also work wonders, you old stick in the mud.”
Grey scooped me up and carried me outside, then went back inside and came out with a bottle of my favorite iced tea and my laptop. He dropped into the seat next to me.
The front door banged closed, followed by laughter.
“Don’t your friends ever knock?” Grey asked in a grouchy tone.
“You’ll have to be patient and give them time to get used to me getting lucky.”
He smirked and leaned his head back. “What do you suppose they’re doing in the kitchen?”
“Not cooking, that’s for sure.” I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, “We’re out here.”
The slider opened at the other end of the balcony. Avery stuck her head out and waved. Rella squeezed past her and set a bakery box and a small shopping bag on the table. Avery disappeared and came out with plates and silverware.
As always, Rella was dressed flawlessly in a bright-yellow fitted sundress and heels, not a blond hair out of place. Avery was in a knee-length University of Miami football jersey and her favorite sneakers.
“Not sure you deserve a special treat, since you broke the girlfriend code and didn’t call.” Rella leveled a disappointed look at me. “Your… he did.” She pointed at Grey.
“The word you’re looking for is boyfriend.” Grey grunted and offered me his arm. I stood, and we joined the two women at the other end of the balcony.
I sniffed at the box.
Rella pushed me away. “Behave yourself.” She opened the box and lifted out a cheesecake, setting it in the center of the table. “All your faves. It’s key lime with a graham cracker crust.” She reached in the bag and pulled out a can of whipped cream and a container of fresh raspberries.
I licked my lips. “So very sweet of you.”
Avery decorated the plates and handed them to Rella, who put a generous slice of cheesecake on each and served it to us.
I took a bite. “Yum,” I gushed.
“Grey assured us when he called that you wouldn’t be needing major surgery and he’d have you back home late-morning, and here you are.” Rella smiled at me.
“Just a little head-banger. I’m fine,” I said and absently patted my forehead. I was happy that I’d had Grey arrange a conference call to tell both women about the accident at the same time. They’d had a hundred questions, which he answered patiently.
“Any arrests yet?” Avery asked around a mouthful of decadence.
Grey shook his head. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get the plate number off the truck, and with those bars, it may not have any damage, which will make it difficult, if not impossible, to find.”
“It’s more important that the two of you are okay.” Rella smiled at us. “What were you doing in Orlando? Grey said something vague about business.”
I told them about my meeting with Graham.
“You approved this scheme of Harper’s?” Avery asked Grey, a slight
edge to her tone.
“It took a while for me to warm up to the idea.” Grey shot me a sidelong glance.
“You’ll all be happy to know I’m giving up the book ruse.” I grimaced, remembering the uncomfortable moments with Graham. “I’m going to give one hundred percent of my attention to my business. Except for occasionally poking my nose into what Grey’s doing.”
Grey laughed. “It’s clear that I need to keep an eye on Harper at all times. As you both already know, she gets an idea and runs with it.”
“I don’t want you digging around and ending up hurt.” Avery covered my hand with hers.
“I second that.” Rella fist-bumped the two of us.
“Good news,” Avery said with a big smile. “I’ll be seeing my first client in my new offices on Monday. I snagged a couple of Hugo’s men, and they helped move furniture around.”
“Your foundation keeping you busy?” I asked Rella.
“You know me—if I don’t have a million projects on my desk, I feel like I’m slacking off. I’ve got a couple new charities that I’m getting ready to sign off on,” Rella bubbled with enthusiasm. “I’m planning a fundraiser with one of the charities that I work with. It’ll provide funding for children who have cancer and don’t have insurance or the means to pay for treatment.”
“You’re an amazing woman,” I said sincerely. “No doubt you’ll raise a ton of money.”
“How’s Mobster taken to you invading his territory?” Rella asked Grey with a grin.
“The other night, I woke up and he was asleep on my foot. I consider that a big step up from him taking a chunk out of my toe.” Grey laughed.
“How’s the stock market doing? Making your clients richer than they ever imagined?” I asked Avery. “I’m counting on you making me a trillionaire.”
Avery whistled. “That’s ambitious.” She clearly liked the idea. “You know I could talk your ear off about what to buy, sell, and hang onto right now.”
I gave serious thought to licking my plate and compromised by running my finger across it several times to make sure I got everything.
“You can have another piece,” Rella said in an admonishing tone.
“I wish I had the room.” I rubbed my stomach. “You guys are the best.”
“What better way to celebrate your good health than with an overload of sweets?” Rella stood and cleaned up the table, taking everything into the kitchen. Coming back, she said, “I have to get to the office.” She bent down and kissed my cheek. “Good luck getting her to behave,” she said to Grey.
Avery stood and stretched. “I’ve also got a busy day.” She hugged me from behind, and the two walked out together.
Chapter Nineteen
“You’ve got great friends.” Grey’s phone rang, and he flashed the screen at me: Mr. Kent. “Took him long enough,” he grumbled, then answered with a grunted, “Smith.”
Mr. Kent did all the talking, Grey occasionally nodding with a look of disgust on his face.
“You’ll need to send me an email officially terminating our relationship.” After a pause, Grey said, “If I’d known that, I could’ve cleared my schedule for today.” He hung up and turned to me. “It was all a misunderstanding.”
“What was?” I asked.
“Finding his son,” Grey said in disgust. “Kent didn’t elaborate, just said that my services were no longer needed and to subtract any expenses from the upfront payment and refund the rest.”
“You should’ve told the man you don’t do refunds, especially not since you put time into the case.”
“I’ll itemize the bill, and he can accept it or not.”
“No whiff of what’s going on?”
Grey shook his head. “Interestingly, during the conversation, there wasn’t a cough out of the man, so he’s completely better.” He made another call, and based on the number of grunts, I’d bet he was talking to Ender. That was confirmed when he said, “Kent just fired me. You happen to know anything about that?” After a long pause, he added, “Let me know if you hear anything.” He hung up, and his phone rang almost immediately. He glanced at the screen, and this time, he walked into the kitchen. I got up and grabbed my laptop, sinking into the closest cushioned chair and propping up my feet.
“Ender’s got a job for me,” Grey said as he walked back out the patio doors. “I’ve got to go meet with the fire inspector on a property he owns. You need me to bring you anything?”
“Don’t worry about me.” I gave him the sneakiest smile I could muster.
He stared at me like I was criminal and he hadn’t decided if he was arresting me or not.
I changed tactics and smiled sweetly.
He took my laptop, setting it on the table, scooped me into his arms, and carried me into the bedroom, where he dumped me on the bed before going into the closet.
Now I was worried that my shiftiness had pushed him over the edge and he was about to tie me to the bed. I was about to make a run for it and lock myself in the bathroom when he came out with a black sundress in his hand and tossed it at me.
“If you’re not dressed by the time I am, you’ll go naked.” Grey huffed. “It’s not that I don’t trust you to stay home and out of trouble, but I don’t.” He banged the bathroom door closed.
I grinned and hustled into a change of clothes. “Pick me out a pair of flat shoes,” I yelled.
He stuck a pair of navy shoes out the door.
I turned up my nose. “Those don’t go.”
“Then go barefoot.”
I spied a pair of black flats under a chair and retrieved them with time enough to sit back down on the edge of the bed and work on being the picture of innocence when Grey came out, dressed in his signature jeans and dress shirt.
He came to a halt, scrutinizing me. “What are you up to now?”
“I’m sitting here. Dressed, by the way.” I waved my hand up and down myself.
He handed me my purse and picked me up, carrying me to the elevator.
“I can walk,” I grumbled.
“You can also run off. If I have to chase you, I’ll be late.”
I didn’t want to laugh, but I did. He wasn’t amused.
When we got in the car, I told him, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
“Glad to hear it. I’ve got your role figured out. I’ll detail it for you when we get closer.”
That meant he didn’t have a plan. Be interesting to see if he came up with one or had to fess up that he was full of it. “What’s this job about?”
“Ender loaned an investor money to buy and flip a house. The man got behind on his payments.”
I winced, knowing the interest would skyrocket from its already exorbitant rate.
“Ender called the loan,” Grey continued. “Two nights later, the house burned down. Ender needs to know if there’s a whiff of arson. If so, the insurance won’t pay and he’ll have to rebuild himself or sell for land value. If the latter, he loses money.”
“Why isn’t he pestering the fire inspector himself?” How often had he bragged that he knew everyone?
“He’s got a lot going on right now, making time for a client that wants to borrow a bundle of money at his screw-you interest rates. He claims that if it works out, it will be the start of a money-making partnership. I could hear him salivating over the phone.”
“Happy I missed that.” I scrunched up my nose. “Ender does get overly excited when talking about money.”
“Did you know that he’s taking the bar exam?”
“What I know is that he’s been going to night school forever. He never talks about his legal ambitions and doesn’t invite questions, so it’s hard to know anything that goes on with the man.” A couple of times, I’d almost laughed when he’d walked away after I hit him with questions about what he was up to. I interpreted that as mind your own business. “Any clue what he plans to specialize in?”
“I asked and didn’t get a straight answer, but before he changed the subject
, he said, ‘You need a lawyer, give me a call.’”
“I’ve never heard of a ‘jack of all trades’ lawyer. You can’t know everything, despite what some people think.” I stared out the window, trying to figure out where we were headed, already ready to turn around and head back.
“I hope you’re not pointing fingers at my sex.”
I pushed my cheeks together and made a face at the reflection in the window before turning back. “Even though I’ve known Ender for what seems like forever, I had Avery run a background check on him. There are lots of thuggish stories about him, and I wanted to know if they were true.”
Grey looked at me: And.
“No criminal record. And he filed all the necessary documents to make his corporation legit.”
Grey had driven across town and now turned into an older neighborhood, in which the burned-out shell of a house was an eyesore. Good thing it sat in the middle of a large lot, making it harder for the fire to jump to the houses on either side… which it hadn’t done. Not even close, based on the burn marks on the grass. The fire department got kudos for responding in record time and keeping it from getting out of control.
“You might as well tell me how you plan to utilize my talents before fire personnel roll up.” I did a good job of keeping the smirk out of my tone.
Grey took off his seat belt and turned to me. “You’re going to sit here and not do a damn thing. Keep your eyes peeled for any activity in the neighborhood, if you must.”
“Like that woman walking her dog.” I pointed at the duo headed our way.
“Adjust your seat back, roll down the window, let the heat roll in. That’ll be fun.”
“If that’s your attempt at humor, it sucks.” He gave me an even stare. “I could be more helpful if I weren’t just sitting here.”
“No, you couldn’t.” He brushed my lips with his.
Grey got out as a red truck pulled into the driveway. A man got out and stood, watching his approach. The two shook hands and walked toward the house, disappearing around the back.
The neighborhood was quiet, not a person in sight now that the dog-walker had moved on. I couldn’t spot any action. Bored, I closed my eyes and must have dozed off. When I opened them, Grey was getting back in and the red truck was disappearing down the street.
Hired Killer (Biscayne Bay Book 1) Page 12