“Oh, I am. That’s not Paulie’s thing.”
“What’s Paulie’s full name? Is he registered with the House?”
“Paulie Peterson.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“He’s Mundane, so you wouldn’t have come across his name in your database.” I disengaged from his hold. “Honestly, Levi. You said you’d fund my Jezebel activities. This is a very promising lead.”
“A lead which you never checked out before now.”
I turned on the tap and squirted dish soap on the tray. “You’re really stuck on that point.”
“He lives in Antigua?”
“Nearby.” I scrubbed at some hardened pastry before giving the tray a good rinse. “On a tiny island called Cariva Cay.”
Levi pulled out his phone and began scrolling.
I lunged for his phone with a wet hand, but he held it out of reach. “What are you doing?”
“Checking for airstrips.” Levi frowned at the phone. “The island’s nickname is Inferno? Why have I heard that before?”
I scooted past him to the drawer with the clean tea towels that was also helpfully near the door for a quick escape if necessary. “Beats me.”
He clamped his hand down on my shoulder. I could have easily shaken him off, but taunting the beast was unwise. Levi’s eyebrows shot up, having found his answer online.
Here we go.
“Those months-long, drug-fueled parties going on about five years ago,” he said. “Where people died. Your uncle was behind them?”
Grabbing a tea towel, I vigorously dried off the tray. “Paulie owns Cariva Cay, but those deaths were ruled an accident. He wasn’t even charged.”
“At best, he’s a slippery fuck with good lawyers. At worst, he’s—” Levi threw up his hands. “Is this guy some cult leader? A criminal overlord?”
“Petty criminal. He came from old money in the States, steeped in a stringent evangelical Christianity. Only kid, black sheep of his family, but he inherited everything when his parents died.” I tried to push Levi out of the way to reach the high cupboard that the tray belonged in, but he didn’t budge.
He gripped the counter behind me, trapping me in place. “Well, his moral upbringing really led him astray. How did he end up doing that shit?”
Heat poured off his body and his eyes bore into mine like blue crystals. Pressing the tray to my chest, I bit my lip against the urge to commit an HR violation and kiss the hell out of him.
His gaze dropped to my mouth and he snatched the tray away, shoving it in the cupboard.
“I don’t know because it happened long after Dad was gone,” I said to his back, “but I remember my parents talking about how Paulie was prone to a dark, self-destructive streak.”
His hand tightened on the cupboard handle, but he closed the door gently. “You can’t be serious about going there.”
“Look, he came to see me when I was in the hospital after the car crash and told me that if I ever needed him, that his door was always open. I never took him up on it because at first I was too angry and he was too close to Dad and then after that, well, he moved far away, and there was the Inferno business and it didn’t feel appropriate.”
“Appropriate,” Levi said in a strangled voice. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re banking on him being the same person as when you were a kid. People change.”
I was about to protest that Paulie would never hurt me, but I didn’t, because the truth was I wasn’t sure. If I was being honest with myself, that was part of the reason I’d never gone to see him before, but finding Dad’s book had set a clock ticking and my options were limited. Paulie was a viable lead; I felt it in my gut.
It didn’t mean I was going to be stupid about this.
“What if I took Arkady?” I said.
Levi relaxed a fraction of an inch. “Keep talking.”
“He has military training and stone fists to keep me safe. Nothing has ever produced even the weakest lead about Adam’s whereabouts. Not cops, credit card statements, phone records, social media, or all the databases I have access to.” I ticked off the items on my fingers. “I think Paulie is worth a second try.”
“Why?”
“Time. Seeing me, his little Ash, might make him more amenable to spilling any secrets that Dad entrusted him with. Adam and him were tight. Check in with Miles. If the two of you don’t believe that Arkady and I will be safe, then I’ll respect that,” I said.
My heart hammered in my chest. I’d relied on myself for so long, been the final arbiter of my actions. To open myself up and consider other people’s instincts and experiences was wise now that I had a team, but that didn’t make it easy.
Levi turned the phone over a couple of times, then put it away. “I’m not giving you the jet.”
I threw my arms around him. “Commercial airlines, here I come.”
He returned the hug with a sigh. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Only if it’s from a heart attack or stroke. But if it makes you feel better, you could get hit by a car tomorrow.”
“Only marginally,” he said wryly. “I’ll have my travel agent call you when the ticket is ready.”
He headed back to my office and I followed close on his heels.
“Thank you, Leviticus. Meantime, I’ll be safely engaged interviewing the support staff at the Lung Cancer Foundation. Receptionists and assistants are a fount of information.” Especially when a tiny bit of sleuthing had turned up some useful dirt on one that could be used to apply pressure to an otherwise closed-mouthed friend.
Rafael was placing the last of the empty coffee cups on a tray. Ooh. Maybe I’d get him doing laundry yet.
Levi retrieved his suit jacket from the chair. “Hey, Arkady? Grab your sunscreen. You’re going with Ash to see her uncle in the Caribbean.”
“Sweet.” He punched the air.
“The Midnight Madman?” Priya shot up out of her chair so fast it flew backward and bounced off the wall.
I made a
