“I’ve never seen him before this. Who is he?” Kassius stared at the image.
“Anyone know him?” Rio glanced at the other men.
Everyone replied with a no or a shake of the head.
“This is a former investigator, Karl Tier. The list of people who knew your sister’s location included him and five other men, myself and my partner among them. We didn’t have to look hard to discover who leaked the information.” Rio’s lip curled while he looked down at the image. “They left a money trail this time.”
Teague felt a thrill go through him. Money could be followed back to who sent it, and that person could be brought in, at least for questioning. After a moment, the last words finally broke through the hope flowing through him.
“This time?” Teague narrowed his eyes on the officer. “Did you discover more transactions, or have you been watching this man because you knew he was selling information but couldn’t prove it?”
“I wouldn’t put anyone’s life at risk to catch Karl Tier. We discovered more transactions, but these are from off-planet accounts. They won’t be easy to trace like the one that caught our attention, but with the numbers and the link to a person committing a criminal activity, we’ll be able to force a revelation of the name on the account.” Rio flicked his finger, closing the photo.
“Who sent the transaction?” Cooper stepped up to the table.
“We have the person’s identity, and we’re bringing the suspect in for an interview. I can’t give you the identity. I don’t want any of you to do something you’ll regret. You’ll know more the moment we have proof. Let us do our job.” Rio gave them all a hard look.
“You’d better catch this person fast.” Berenger straightened. “Sephanie needs to be safe and able to come home. We can’t try to work through our problems if she’s not close.”
“Work through your problems. From what I heard, it will take more than getting her home to do that. I think you’ll have problems making her listen.” Rio grimaced. “Go home. I’ll contact you when I have information for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Berenger followed the police officer down the hallway two days after their last visit. The splint on his arm made everyday tasks awkward, but not as much as the rib brace he had to wear for a few more days. He wanted them both gone so he could get back to normal life.
He could hear Kassius’s and Teague’s footsteps behind him. He had no idea why they’d been called here today. No one had explained yet. The officer stopped outside a door and pushed the button to the side of it. A moment later, it slid open. Rio Larson stepped into the hallway.
“We’ve taken the person behind the last attack on Sephanie into custody.” Rio leaned a shoulder against the wall. “But she won’t talk to us. She hasn’t asked for a representative. She only demands we call you.”
Berenger stared at Larson. She? “Who is it? What do you want us to do?”
“If you can control yourselves, talk to her. She’s agitated. Can’t stay still.” Rio sighed.
“You think she’ll say something to us.” Teague shifted on his feet, his shoulders tensed.
“We’ve got her on what she did, but she didn’t plan everything that happened.” Rio straightened. “If she starts talking with you, perhaps we can get something on the other person.”
“Who is it? So we don’t go in there blind.” Kassius exhaled loudly.
“Lillie Malone,” Rio said. “Can you control yourselves?”
A steady itch crawled up his arm. Berenger resisted the urge to try to scratch it. The irritated skin was merely a side effect of the healing. No matter how much he scratched, it wouldn’t help.
Berenger took a moment to consider. He’d do anything to get Sephanie home quickly. “Yes.”
Teague and Kassius nodded. Rio looked at them both before turning to the door and opening it. Berenger took a deep breath before following. This probably wouldn’t be easy.
They walked into the room. Lillie spun, obviously midpace. Her eyes widened. She smiled and ran over, plastering herself to Kassius’s chest. Kassius visibly recoiled. His hands rose to her shoulders. He gently eased her back from him. Berenger was glad she hadn’t come at him. He didn’t know if he could be that restrained.
“Get me out of here!” Lillie tried to press closer to Kassius again.
“Why?” Berenger didn’t want her attention on him, but she had to say more.
Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t do anything wrong. They can’t keep me here. Make them let me go.”
“You sent men after Sephanie.” Teague’s voice was flat, emotionless.
“I warned her to stay away from what was mine. No one takes what’s mine.” Her gaze swept over all three of them.
Berenger realized she saw them in some way as her property. He stared. Was she even attracted to them? He pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter.
“Did your father put you up to that?” Kassius asked.
Berenger had no clue how Kassius asked that without any anger.
“Daddy just wanted her out of the city so you’d focus on me like you should. Do no more than necessary to get what we want. He’s wrong. She took you.” Lillie’s voice rose. “You won’t be going back to her. She will die.”
“Your father. He’s the one who sent those men to attack me?” Berenger tried to keep calm.
“He wouldn’t listen to me. I told him killing her would solve everything. He said no. We’d get her out of the city and keep her there until we got what we wanted. He wasn’t happy when he found out what I arranged for Sephanie.” Lillie’s voice suddenly calmed. “Get me out of here.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Rio Larson stepped forward. He took her arm and led her toward the table. “You’re under arrest, as I told you before. You three can go now. We’ll handle this.”
“No. They stay.” Lillie jerked away from Larson.
Berenger saw Larson grab her arm and escort her back to the table. He didn’t stay to watch more. He walked out and resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at the woman. Sephanie could have died because of that woman and their inability to see her as a threat.
* * * *
Kassius gritted his teeth while he sat in the restaurant on the space station above a tiny planet known as Dren. Light music intended to provide a soothing atmosphere played in the background, but it didn’t make a dent in the anger and tension pulsing through him. He hadn’t wanted to leave Cassid to come to this sector full of outlaws. It was the only way he could hope to get his life back to normal, at least according to the police and Planetary Defense advisers.
Once the money link had been discovered, everything had unraveled fast. Unfortunately, Derek Malone moved faster. He had left the planet. His assets on planet were frozen, but the government hadn’t been able to do the same with his off-planet assets. He was here in the Regatha star system somewhere.
“This isn’t going to work.” Kassius drummed his fingers on the metal tabletop and glanced at Teague.
Teague sat there, dressed in civilian clothing, and shrugged. “We have to try. They say he’s obsessed with that piece of land. He passed up several other suitable sites and continued in his quest to get yours.”
Technically, Teague had no power in this sector, which was why he was here only to provide backup and support for Kassius. If things went as planned, Teague wouldn’t touch the man. They had an entirely different method of getting Derek Malone to face justice if he showed up.
“I get that. I get why he wants it, but he can’t go back to Darmain. What use would it be to him?” Kassius swept his gaze over the area. A few groups of people sat at tables around the white rectangular room, but there was no sign of the blond older man Kassius wanted to see.
It was the minerals buried deep below the surface that attracted Malone. He must have someone who had fed him the results of the geological survey for that plot of land, because Kassius hadn’t told anyone what the analysis had found. He’
d always planned on using the plot near his orchard as farmland. It was more valuable to him in that function. Mining could destroy the fertile soil, and Kassius wasn’t going to take that chance.
“I don’t know and frankly don’t care. He wanted it enough to agree to talk after you put it for sale if the meeting was off world.” Teague shrugged.
Kassius still wasn’t sure this off-world buyer was Malone. It could be someone who wanted to immigrate to Darmain. Still, he was here because he, Kassius, and Berenger had to help catch Malone. It was the only way for Sephanie to return to Cassid where they could coax her back into their lives.
In some ways, he understood how she’d felt when they’d sent her away from them. They had no way to contact her, and the uncertainty ate at him. Was she all right? Had someone attacked her again? He’d give anything to hold her and know she was safe. Somehow they had to make her see she was the most important person to them. Ending this, if they could, was the first step in doing that.
“He’s here,” Teague said quietly.
Kassius turned his gaze to the restaurant’s main entrance. He hadn’t doubted Teague’s word, but somehow he was still surprised to see the blond man striding through the restaurant. How could Derek Malone not realize this was a trap?
Yes, they were out of Darmain’s jurisdiction, but that didn’t mean there weren’t ways to get him back on the planet. Technically, the only one with authority here was the Dren government. Malone wouldn’t be remaining free. After what he’d done, Kassius had no problem with doing what was necessary to ensure Sephanie was safe.
He felt guilty about everything that had happened to her. She’d been attacked at her home and business. Her Duce was destroyed. He, Berenger, and Teague had hurt her emotionally despite the fact that all they’d ever wanted to do was make her part of their lives. If they hadn’t let their fear urge them to get her to safety without thought to consequences, they could have sent her away knowing they cared for her and were only trying to protect her. They could have consulted with Cooper about where she’d gone instead of wondering and imagining the worst.
They had an “I told you so” coming from her. Lillie was part of the attacks on her.
When this was over, he’d find a way to earn Sephanie’s forgiveness. Even if he had to get down on his knees to do it.
Derek Malone strode straight to their table and sat down. A wide smile curved his lips while he stared at them.
“You’re not here to sell me my land. I know you think you’re going to take me back to Darmain, but I want to point out those two men over there are enforcers for the Dren government. You won’t be dragging me anywhere.” Malone gestured to a table to their right.
“I’m not worried. I wasn’t sure you were here. We didn’t come to drag anyone off the station.” Kassius smiled. Someone else would do that. “I wanted to make sure a few things were clear if you were the person who’d expressed interest. This stops here. The land is mine and will stay that way.”
“Not if you continue to have…problems.” Derek’s smile flattened, and his eyes hardened. “And you will. As will that bitch you chose over my Lillie. You should have sold me the land and appreciated my daughter’s interest.”
Kassius was tempted to grab the man by the throat. One way or another, the attacks would stop. In going after Sephanie, Derek Malone took his obsession one step too far. “No, we won’t have problems for much longer. I can guarantee you that.”
“You can’t stop me. I have enough money to ensure that someday that woman will have an accident she won’t walk away from.” Derek smiled.
Kassius clenched his fists and locked his knees to stop from getting up and hauling the man across the table so he could beat him senseless. Soon Malone would be on his way back to Darmain, and everything he said was fury flying in the wind. He wouldn’t be able to touch his money once he was in prison on Darmain.
“Sephanie will be fine. You, on the other hand, have a short life expectancy if you keep on your present course.” Kassius forced himself to stand. It took every bit of his self-control not to grab the man.
Dragging the man back to Darmain himself would be so satisfying, but he didn’t want there to be any loopholes. Everything was arranged, but by someone only loosely associated with the PD. There wouldn’t be a connection to them Derek could use to wriggle free from legal repercussions. Yes, there would be suspicions, but nothing that would be proven or harmful to Teague’s career. They’d been following the advice of the police to hopefully draw him somewhere the guards could get him. The actual abduction wouldn’t occur until they were well on their way back home on a commercial flight.
“How are you going to make me? I’ll be here, well out of your reach, and there is nothing that can be done to me.” Derek Malone leaned forward.
“You’ve lost everything, and you’re here, hiding on this little outpost because this is one of the few places that won’t extradite you, but life can always get worse.” Teague rose to his feet and slanted a glance over at Kassius. “Let’s go. He’s been warned.”
Kassius nodded and glared at Malone for a moment longer before leaving the table and walking away. He wanted to beat the man’s smug smile off his face. Or at least see the man’s expression later once he woke and realized he wasn’t on that damn space station any longer. That would be so sweet. However, that wasn’t possible.
On top of that, they had to get back to Darmain and wait. Once Malone was back on the planet, it wouldn’t be long before Sephanie was back in Cassid. When she returned, they’d try to rebuild the relationship.
* * * *
Sephanie walked around her brother as he stood near the empty display case. She’d only returned home late last week. It had been over two months since the attack on Berenger. It felt good to be back at work, but it had been a long day. Every surface gleamed, and the light scent of cleanser hung in the air. After she finished a few more things, she could leave the shop. She would like to lock the bakery and go. Unfortunately she couldn’t leave yet.
Cooper was there. She didn’t doubt he was supposed to delay her or perhaps persuade her to talk to Berenger, Kassius, or Teague. So far it hadn’t been all of them on the holo-comm at once, and that made her suspicious. Good thing too, because they’d tried to be sneaky.
The first time, Kassius had contacted her. He’d talked to her, but he’d avoided discussing why he and Teague hadn’t told her about Berenger’s injury. He’d kept her talking. That made her wary. She’d thought Kassius might be trying to distract her so that Teague or Berenger could get to her. She’d barely gotten out of the house before Berenger had arrived. Once she considered the delaying tactics he’d used, she knew Berenger was there for more than conversation.
He’d seduce her. She wanted all of them so much that she wouldn’t resist too long. In short order, she’d find herself at their home. The only problem with that was her questions would remain unanswered. She wouldn’t be certain of them.
“I’m not going away, Seph. We both know you won’t leave while I’m still in the store. Who knows what I might do in an empty bakery? I might decide to make a new concoction for your menu.” Cooper turned and pressed one of his palms on the case.
Her gaze locked on the prints he was leaving all over her freshly wiped display. She sighed. He was right. She couldn’t leave him in her shop. There was no one else there. If she left him alone, he would start messing things up because he knew it would annoy her. Brothers were such a pain in the ass.
“Hands off. What do you want?” She strode over to him and lifted his hand. With an annoyed huff, she grabbed a cloth and wiped away the print.
“You need to talk with them.” Cooper smiled and moved away from the case.
“Oh, I tried that, but how can I be comfortable when they make me feel hunted? I talk to one of them, but there’s one who pops up close to where I am.” She glared at her brother.
“They were keeping you safe.” Cooper pointed at her. “You know that.”
“If they wish to talk, they can talk, not try to get their way.” She tapped her foot. “It’s time for them to learn I have a mind. I will not be picked up and put somewhere.”
Did they all think she was stupid? She’d been suspicious the first time Kassius had contacted her alone. When she’d found out Berenger was trying to corner her, that made her determined not to let them succeed. It infuriated her when they tried to force the issue that way. She didn’t think they were going to do anything dramatic like kidnap her, but they did have a tendency to try to take over. She simply wanted to start on equal footing.
“I don’t think that’s what they were trying to do.” Cooper shook his head.
She clenched her teeth to stop herself from yelling at her brother and took a few breaths before she spoke to him. “You can go tell them I’ll talk to them if they’re all there. I’m sure they either sent you to delay me or convince me to give them a chance. I want to rebuild our relationship, but I will have a say in it. If they keep up what they’re doing, then that word will be ‘no.’”
Her brother grimaced. “Merely talk. They’re determined not to lose you.”
She rolled her eyes. “They don’t have me any longer. That’s all because of their actions. If there’s any hope for us, they have to acknowledge I do have a choice.”
“I know you think I don’t understand what you’re feeling. Don’t let stubbornness and principle get in the way of grabbing your happiness. They might get tired of chasing you.” He walked to the door but stopped to look back at her. “You might have to decide if certainty is important to you.”
She sighed. Cooper was right. There might be a cost, but she couldn’t let the fear influence her decision. She loved them. She intended to give them a chance, but it felt as if they wanted to pick up where they’d left off without any type of acknowledgment of what had happened.
It had been a long few weeks. Sephanie almost shouted I told you so the moment she learned the identity of the first suspect. When Lillie Malone was picked up after the police followed the money trail, Sephanie thought she’d be home in a matter of days. It hadn’t happened that way. Derek Malone fled the planet. Cooper refused to bring her home until the man was caught.
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