Corbin (The Theriot Family)

I liked the way Ambrose never wasted time. He wouldn’t ask many questions, though he had to be as curious as I was about Rob’s killer, and I had every intention of enlisting his help to figure out what the fuck was going on.

He was right about this being the perfect location. Only the smallest push started the car rolling, and the slope of the bank took it right into the water. We watched as it slowly disappeared below the surface, leaving nothing but a few bubbles.

“The alligators will take care of the body quickly,” Ambrose said.

“And the car? If it were to be found?”

“It won’t be, but if it were, is there a paper trail that leads to you?”

I shook my head.

“The authorities will look for the owner it’s registered to, assuming they’re able to get any information from it by the time it’s found. You did the right thing by calling me.”

I reached out my hand, and he shook it. “Thanks. You got any idea who did this, or why they want to set me up?”

“Where’d you get the car?”

“Marley, but I think he’s just a middleman.”

Ambrose nodded. “It’s not his line. I’ll poke around and see what I can find out. If you need help, contact my family, otherwise, act like nothing happened.”

I couldn’t just ignore this, and I didn’t want to be in debt to Remington again. “But I need to know—”

“I didn’t say don’t look for an answer. I just said don’t spend all your time doing it. If another body shows up, then maybe you move faster.”

I wanted answers, but I knew Ambrose was right. If somebody had set me up, the worst thing I could do was make them think they were getting to me. I had to continue business as usual. I might ultimately have to go to the Theriots. If I couldn’t find the killer, I had no doubt they could with their connections.

Ambrose laid a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve got to have some patience on this one.”

“That’s not something I’m good at.”

“I know. I’ve been on stakeouts with you, remember?”

I smiled thinking of things we’d pulled off when we were younger, many of them involving long waits before we could move in and take what we wanted. I was always restless and constantly checking the time. “True, but you know if you need me to watch someone with you, I’ll be there by your side, even if I hate it.”

“I know. Now go home.”

“I was hoping I could borrow one of your boats to get out of here or that you’d give me a ride.”

He nodded. “I guess you can’t leave the same way you came in.”

“Right,” I said, looking out at the murky water. “And I knew better than to have somebody follow me to your place.”

He huffed. “Damn right. I don’t like anybody out here. I’ve even had about enough of you.”

“Then help me get out of here.”

He rolled his eyes. “Come on. Get in the boat. I’ll take you as far as the general store. You can get someone to pick you up there.”

Five

Beau

Over the next week, nothing happened that was as serious as a body appearing, but I received another threatening note, learned Marley had skipped town and wasn’t responding to my calls or anyone else’s, and several of the cars in our lot were vandalized. This shit wasn’t going to go away, not that I’d thought it would.

Ambrose and I were no closer to finding out who was behind all of it, so I was going to have to pay my brother a visit.

I hadn’t spoken to him since the day I’d been arrested, and I’d vowed never to speak to him again, but if anyone knew what was going on, it would be him since he’d taken up with Rob and fallen right in with Rob’s plan to destroy me.

I called Sam into the office at the end of the day and told her I’d be gone for an unspecified amount of time.

She frowned at me. “Where are you headed?”

“It’s best if you don’t know too much.”

“I assume it has to do with the body in that Mustang?”

I nodded. “I’m leaving you in charge here. If there’s any trouble you and the guys can’t handle, call this number and say you got it from me.”

She stared at the card I handed her. “Who the fuck will I be speaking to?”

“Someone who will help.”

She tapped the card against her palm. “Beau, it’s me. You can trust me. I’ve got to know more than this.”

“I don’t want to endanger you.”

“I’ll be in more danger if I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”

I sighed. “Fine. That number will connect you to Remington Theriot.”

She glared at me.

“He’ll help you.”

“In exchange for what?”

I shrugged. “Whatever it is, I’ll deal with it.”