“Not gonna owe him anything.”
“I do this for Penelope. It was a shame when Shane died so suddenly. He was an excellent accountant.”
“He only worked for you for one year. I’m surprised you even knew about his death,” Mom muttered.
“He was a lucky man to have you, Penelope.”
A vague memory hit me. Mom had picked me up from school, but Wynnie wasn’t with us for some reason. She had taken me to the grocery store, and as we were leaving, he showed up. There hadn’t been any air-kisses, rather, he gave her a loud kiss on her cheek.
Now, I turned to Mom and I could swear she was blushing.
“I was the lucky one. Shane was a good man, and a fantastic father.”
“Not to cut in on memory lane, but you’re getting up there in age, and word on the street is it’s time for you to move on. Is your protection gonna mean much, Debenedetti?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m not moving on anytime soon, Ramsey. My word still means something on the street.”
Clint sighed. “Why do I think there’s something you’re not telling us?”
His cheek ticked for a moment before he shook his head. “I’m giving you everything I know, which is more than you had twenty minutes ago.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t make sense. How could they make it look like she drown? And without Mom hearing anything funny?”
Debenedetti gave me a sympathetic look. “Hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but it’s not that hard to break into this house.”
Clint groaned at him calling me ‘sweetheart’.
“Still, how do you make it look like she drown?”
His head wobbled from side to side, but Clint spoke first.
“Logically, the ME’s looking for cause of death. Body found in a tub, they look for water in her lungs. I’ll see if I can find out if they got the results on her stomach contents, but I suspect Gaspar would’ve pushed for a quick report since the logical explanation is drowning. And he’s all about his close rate.”
“Gaspar is as dirty as they come,” a strange voice said, and I realized it was the huge man from the foyer.
“Jason,” Debenedetti muttered to the man.
Then Mom said, “He didn’t seem that way when he was here.”
Clint shook his head. “He wouldn’t, since you’re the victim’s mother.”
Debenedetti stood. “Penelope, it was good to see you. I wish I were here with happier news, but I must get going. Don’t you worry about a thing. You either, Rae-Rae.”
I looked at him from the corner of my eye. Nobody called me that, except Wynnie. He rounded the couch before I could respond.
Clint watched him, then followed him to the front door.
I glanced at Mom. “How do you know him?”
She grinned. “I’ll tell you later, dear. Such a large breakfast has me feeling like a nap.”
“You are kidding,” I said as she stood.
She smiled down at me. “We’ll talk later. Promise.”
Clint
I CLOSED THE DOOR BEHIND me as I stepped onto the porch with Tommy and his goon.
“If you’re going to have Raegan at your place again, let me know.”
Anger bubbled within me. “Why are you keepin’ tabs on me, Debenedetti?”
He leveled a stern look at me. “I’m keeping tabs on Penelope. She means something to me, and so do her daughters.”
My head cocked to the side. “Funny. Raegan looked like she didn’t know you from Adam.”
He nodded. “You’re right. It’s a sad thing. But I care about the Connelly family. And keeping Raegan safe and getting justice for Bronwyn is a key focus for me right now. Losing a child should never happen to any parent, but I’ve experienced that loss and the word ‘rough’ doesn’t cover it. Make no mistake, Ramsey, I’m your ally, not your enemy.”
I didn’t believe him. “What aren’t you telling us? You don’t do shit like this for no good reason.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “I’ve told you as much as I can. Raegan’s in danger, but as long as you stick with her or have someone on her, she should be safe.”
“Should be isn’t good enough.”
“On that, we’re agreed. So, don’t fuck up.”
I stared across the street for a moment. “This is a stretch, but does her ex-husband have something to do with this?”
His brows furrowed and he shook his head. “I don’t know about an ex-husband. Know the hit was ordered from out of town. No idea where yet.”
I glared at him. “Keep me posted. No need for breaking in here again.”
He nodded. “That’s fine. But, if you’re not gonna be here for them at night, tell me.”
I lifted my chin, even though I wasn’t cool with that at all.
Back in the living room, I found Raegan sprawled on the couch. “Where’s your mom?”
Her eyes opened. “Taking a nap! I mean of all the days and of all the times, now she wants a mid-day snooze!”
I joined her on the couch, pulling her into my arms. “Lower your voice, Rae.”
“Fine,” she said much lower. “But who was that guy? And how does he know Mom, let alone my dad?”
I shook my head. “Those are all questions I wanted to ask Penny.”
She pushed up on an elbow. “He made it sound like he really cared about Mom. But he’s so much younger than her. Do you think she was a cougar or something before meeting my Dad?”
I barely contained my laughter. “No, I don’t think that. My hunch is that your father worked for Debenedetti when things first started out. Your father figured out he wasn’t entirely legit and distanced himself from that.”
She folded her arms on my chest and put her chin on top of her hands. “But how does Mom play into this?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. But we’ll ask her after she wakes up. Now how about you kiss me?”
She smirked at me before she complied. I had intended for it to be a decent kiss, but it turned into a make-out session with hands under
