The Maxwell Series Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Alexander, S. B.

  When I’d seen him on the stairs, I’d had to reel in the urge to pepper kisses all over him. The more he’d talked, though, the more I kept wondering how many more times he would lie or keep me in the dark. I didn’t want my heart to hurt any more than it did, and with all the challenges I was facing, I was having a hard time concentrating.

  I screamed and started grabbing at everything around me. I snagged the nursery rhyme book and tore a page out of it. Then another. Then another. At the third page, something shiny fell out.

  Footsteps battered the floor. My father came running in. “What’s wrong? What are you doing? What is that?” He pointed to what had fallen out of the book. It looked like a key.

  I picked it up. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry I ruined your book. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into to me.”

  “Give me the book and the key.” He said it calmly, as if I had a gun in my hand.

  I sat on my heels, wiping my eyes.

  “Since when do you throw things?” Dad asked. “Kade couldn’t have made you that mad.”

  No. I was the one who had the problem. I was the one who was so confused. I was the one whose brain was filled with mob families, ledgers, killers, school, and everything else. A knot formed in my stomach. I was the lunatic who’d just ruined a precious gift given to Dad by his mother.

  I sniffled. “The key, Dad. What is it?”

  The bed groaned when he sat down. I watched as he examined the book and the pages. A piece of paper had been stuck behind the large raised illustration of a tree on the page with the poem “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.” “This looks like a safe deposit box key,” he said. The name Erica Lukin was written on the paper, along with a phone number with a Boston area code.

  We shared a light bulb moment.

  “Who is that?” I asked as I hiccupped.

  “I don’t know. I flipped through this book a million times. Could this be?” His voice was heavy with disappointment.

  “Where the ledger is?” I dared to ask.

  “Yeah. Nah. Can’t be.”

  “Why not? We’ve been searching for a red ledger. This book is yellow, and the pages with the raised pictures don’t have any data about victims and burial grounds or whatever Jeremy said would be in a ledger.” My pulse was singing a tune like we’d just found a million dollars. Maybe we had. Jeremy had said Harrison’s great-grandfather had something to do with bank robberies. “Call the number.” Roots of hope sprouted inside me.

  Dad stared at the key and the name as though he was deciding whether to put the key back into the book and close it. “What if it’s a trap?” Dad asked. “Why would she hide a key in a children’s book? A large part of me thought the ledger would never be found. I didn’t think my mother wanted it to be found.”

  “If she didn’t, wouldn’t she have destroyed it? We’re getting ahead of ourselves. We don’t know if that name and key lead to the ledger. And how would it be a trap? She gave you the nursery rhyme book. Maybe she knew you would do the right thing. Maybe she was afraid to take the ledger to the police. Only one way to find out.”

  He removed his phone from his back pocket and dialed the number. I scooted closer to him and braced my hands on my knees.

  Dad tapped the speaker picture. The line rang three times.

  “Hello,” a soft female voice said.

  “Hi, Erica?” Dad asked.

  “Who’s calling?”

  “My name is James Robinson. This may sound odd. I have a safe deposit box key and a piece of paper with your name on it.”

  “Where did you find it?” she asked evenly.

  “Again, this is going to sound crazy. My sister gave me a nursery rhyme book that belonged to my now-deceased mother, Lorraine Newbury.”

  A thick silence ensued. Dad and I kept our eyes on the phone, willing her to speak.

  “What picture was it behind?” she asked.

  “The mulberry bush.” The tips of Dad’s fingers bloomed red as he gripped his phone.

  “She did love to read that particular one while she was pregnant with you,” Erica said.

  Dad and I shared a holy-crap-on-a-cracker expression. His mom had mentioned that in her letter.

  “Who is your sister?” she asked.

  “Gloria Pitt,” Dad responded.

  “What were your adoptive parents’ names?”

  “Celia and Todd.”

  “Does the key belong to a safe deposit box?” I asked. I bit on a nail.

  “Who is that?” Erica asked.

  “This is my daughter, Lacey.” Dad said. “Well, does it?”

  “One final question. If you are Lorraine’s son, then you can tell me the shape and place of your birthmark.”

  I scrunched up my face.

  Dad regarded me with wide eyes. “I have a triangular birthmark on my inner thigh near my groin.”

  She sighed. “Very well. Is there anyone else in the room with you besides your daughter?”

  “No. What’s with all the questions?” Dad asked.

  “I’m doing what Lorraine instructed me to do. She was a very, very dear friend. She was also an extremely secretive person. She wanted to ensure that if anyone came forward that they’d have to prove their identity. Since we are speaking via phone, I’ll still need to verify that birthmark in person.”

  I snorted at the image of Dad pulling down his pants and showing a stranger his privates.

  “Um,” Dad said. “When can we meet? And does the key belong to a safe deposit box? And if so, what’s in it?”

  “Where do you live?” A small child called for her granny in the background.

  “The Boston area,” I said. “Can you come by today?” I clasped my hands together on my lap.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t. I don’t live in Boston.”

  “But your area code is Boston.” I slumped.

  “A phone number can be forwarded. James, the phone you’ve called from—is that a good number to reach you?”

  “Yes,” Dad said. “We’d like to get this taken care of as soon as possible.”

  “I realize that. The key does belong to a safe deposit box. I’m not privy to its contents. I’m authorized to access it. Lorraine thought the less I knew the better. I will contact you within two weeks with a date, place, and time.”

  “Two weeks?” My voice hitched. That was too long. I didn’t think Lorenzino was going to be patient for much longer.

  “I’m sorry. I have responsibilities of my own. I will do my best to shave off some time. We’ll be in touch.” The line went dead.

  Dad and I shared another puzzled moment.

  I collapsed on the bed, disappointed that we couldn’t get into the box now. “What do you think?”

  He flipped the key over and over in his hand then removed his wallet from his pocket and tucked it into a compartment along with the piece of paper. “The best place for this is on me. If anyone gets wind of this, they’ll have to go through me to get it.”

  Great! Dad had become even more of a target. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do with the ledger?”

  He dragged his fingers across his chin. “If I hand the ledger over to Lorenzino, it will only get him out of our lives, not answer any of our questions. If I hand the ledger over to the police, it could make our lives worse. There was a reason my mother kept it all these years. Either way, it doesn’t solve who killed your mom and sister.”

  Dread set in as a chill tiptoed up my spine. We were in a catch twenty-two situation.

  “I’ll check in with Jeremy and bring him up to speed. We’ll see if we can find out anything on Erica, too,” Dad said.

  I propped my head in my hand. “You’re going to show a complete stranger your birthmark?”

/>   “Sweet Pea, whatever it takes to find the ledger. So, tell me why you went into a rage. What did Kade do?”

  “I broke up with him.”

  “Why?” he asked, angling his head.

  I sat up. “I don’t want to get hurt any more than I am now, and I’m not sure he’ll change.”

  “Do you want him to change? Is that your goal? And turn the table. Don’t you think he would like to see you change in some way? A relationship is about growth, working through each other’s differences, and moving forward together.” He kissed me on the forehead. “I have some calls to make.” He padded to the door. “Don’t let your head get in the way of your heart.”

  “You mean like Kelton does?” Oh, my God. Did I just say that? Great, because Kelton’s such a good role model.

  Chapter 30

  Lacey

  Becca and I were sitting in the courtyard, soaking up the warm April sun during our free period. I had my head back and my feet up on an empty chair, trying to clear the cobwebs from my brain so I could think about my pitches and ASU and nothing else. Baseball was in full swing, and the ASU scout was attending my game tomorrow. Any nerves I had had to be directed at baseball and not at Dad, the ledger, or anyone or anything else. But it was difficult.

  Well over a week had gone by since Dad and I had spoken to Erica, and two nights ago she’d called to set up a time to meet with Dad at a bank in Boston tomorrow. Dad and I had been on pins and needles, and now excitement and fear and apprehension swirled inside me as the clock ticked away. Since I had a baseball game, I couldn’t go with Dad. Our school policy stated that I had to attend school the day of the game. Otherwise, I couldn’t play. And Dad said the safest place for me was in school. He and Jeremy had a plan. Two of Jeremy’s men would shadow Dad just in case Lorenzino was watching or got wind of what was going down. Wes had done a background check on Erica and hadn’t found anything suspicious.

  “The school is still buzzing about the Maxwells’ party,” Becca said, tossing her low ponytail behind her. “I know I was proud of you and glad that you worked out your differences with Aaron.”

  “Me too.” Aaron had been a new person at practices and games. He was all about baseball. He didn’t dish out snide remarks. We talked about strategy and pitches and teams and which batters to watch for since he knew most of them.

  “So, Kross told me Kelton is dating Chloe Pitt. I’m shocked that Kelton is dating anyone.” She played with her earring.

  “We’ll see how long it lasts.”

  “Have you talked to Kade since your breakup?”

  So much for clearing my head. “No.” I was surprised the triplets hadn’t cornered me to play matchmaker like they had last fall. This time when I saw them, we talked about everything other than their brother. “We’re cordial to one another. I do miss him.” Every time I saw him in the cafeteria or in psychology I wanted to take away the sadness in his eyes. I’d thought about all the advice Dad and Gloria had given me. The one thing that stuck in my head was something Gloria had said about her relationship with Jeremy. He isn’t perfect, and neither am I.

  My goal wasn’t to tame him or to make him out to be someone he wasn’t. Neither of us was perfect, and I didn’t want someone who was. I just wanted Kade to let me deal with my own emotions and let me decide what was best for me.

  “Maybe a change would help.” Becca looked past me. “He’s kind of cute with the curly hair.”

  I peeked over my shoulder. She’d been looking at Shaun. He was sauntering over. “Last thing on my mind, girl.”

  “He seems like a loner, doesn’t he? It’s kind of sad. It’s also odd that I haven’t seen him hang with any guys. He seems to be attached to us.”

  A lot of kids in school were loners. I didn’t see that as a big deal. I lowered my voice since several kids were hanging out, soaking up the sun like Becca and me. “Maybe his thing is to hang with girls.”

  She leaned in. “You think he’s gay?”

  “You’re asking the wrong person.” My ex was gay, and I hadn’t picked up on it.

  “Hey,” Shaun said as he folded himself into an empty chair and opened his laptop. His unruly blond hair was a little oily today.

  Becca and I said hi at the same time. Then we both dissolved into laughter. It felt good to release some tension.

  “Laughing at me?” Shaun gave Becca and me a cursory look.

  My phone rang. “Hey, Dad. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. After I get done at the club tonight, I’m going to crash here since I have to be back in Boston in the morning. I’ve already spoken to Hunt. I’ll check in with you when everything is done and I’m in Pitt’s office like we talked about. Okay? Maybe you should stay at Kade’s tonight.”

  I moved to an empty table. “That’s not necessary. I stay at the house with Hunt for most of the night anyway. A few more hours alone won’t matter.” Dad usually got home from the club just past two in the morning. “Call as soon as you have the box. I’m dying to know if the ledger is in it,” I whispered, scanning the tables. Everyone seemed to be absorbed in conversations or books.

  “Love you,” Dad said.

  I stared at the pavement for a minute then went back to our table.

  “Everything okay?” Becca asked.

  “Yeah.” I smiled, but my insides didn’t.

  “Do you want to grab a bite after practice today, Lacey?” Shaun asked. “We can talk pitches and make sure you’re ready for the scout.”

  That wasn’t a bad idea. I didn’t have anything to do. It would keep my mind focused on baseball. “Sure.”

  Becca gaped at me.

  A minute or so ago she had been suggesting Shaun and I get together. “What? We’re teammates. It’s food.”

  Shaun half grinned. “And we’re friends. Nothing more.”

  School and practice came and went, albeit slowly. Shaun and I decided to meet at Wiley’s Bar and Grill. I drove with the window down, letting in the warm night air. The music was turned up high as I sang “Thinking out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. There was nothing like a beautiful night, good music, and a dark country road for singing at the top of my lungs. Oncoming headlights shone in the distance. I switched off my high beams and flicked my gaze to my rearview. Two cars trailed me. I knew one was Hunt and his partner. I wasn’t sure about the other. I thought it was Shaun since he’d pulled out of the practice lot behind me. I kept singing, but then the words died in my throat as my eyes widened. The oncoming vehicle was in my lane. I squinted just to be sure. Panicked, I blew the horn and flashed my lights. If I swerved right, I might go off the embankment. If I went left, the other car might too, and then we would still crash head on. So I swerved right and started to careen down the embankment. Just as I did, the oncoming car veered back into his lane. With my heart pounding in my chest and my hands gripping the steering wheel, I cut the wheel hard to my left and maneuvered my Mustang back onto the road before pulling off to a small clearing.

  The car behind me screeched to halt. Hunt ran up to my car. Then Shaun came running too.

  “Lacey! Are you all right?” Hunt asked. Shaun echoed his concern.

  Hunt reached in and pried my hands from the steering wheel then turned down the radio. “I’ll be right back.” He trotted to his black Escalade and said something to his partner as the car that had swerved into my lane faded into the distance.

  “That was close,” I said in a trembling voice.

  “Um. Yeah, it was. Probably someone texting or playing with the radio.” Shaun opened my door, squatted down, and rubbed my arm. “By the way, who’s the guy?” He jerked a thumb at Hunt.

  “A friend of Kade’s.” I inhaled and exhaled to regulate my heart and the buzzing in my head.

  “Does he always follow you?” Shaun asked.

  No one knew about my
bodyguards. They were supposed to blend in. I glanced in the rearview. The Escalade was headed in the opposite direction while Hunt strode back.

  “I’ll drive,” Hunt said. “Kade’s house isn’t far. Let’s wait there for my guy.” His tone was decisive.

  “Hi, I’m Shaun,” Shaun said to Hunt as he rose.

  Hunt towered over Shaun. “Thanks for stopping. I can handle it from here.”

  “Hunt, I’m fine,” I said. “Shaun and I are grabbing a bite at Wiley’s.” There was no reason to go to Kade’s, and I didn’t want to draw too much attention to Hunt and why he was guarding me.

  “It’ll only take five minutes. I need to speak with Kade anyway. Lacey will meet you at Wiley’s,” Hunt said with finality.

  “Go ahead,” I said to Shaun. “If anything changes, I can text you.”

  “You sure? You can ride with me.” Shaun considered Hunt before he slanted his gaze to me.

  Hunt’s booted foot was halfway into the car.

  Shaun and I swapped numbers. Then Hunt slid in. I had no choice other than to climb into the passenger seat.

  “I don’t need to see Kade,” I said when the car began moving.

  “I do.”

  “Why? Can’t it wait?” My good mood was turning bitter. I didn’t want a confrontation with Kade. I didn’t want to drum up a conversation about our breakup or our relationship in general. Not tonight.