CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Kane and I spend many hours locked away in Purgatory. Him on his MacBook in his favorite chair. Me on the floor with my trusty notecards, while exchanging a few text messages with Tic Tac.
It’s three in the morning when Kane pulls me off the floor in Purgatory and insists that I come to bed.
“Four hours of sleep,” he says. “You know if you don’t get that, everyone is screwed tomorrow, including me.”
He’s not wrong.
And once we’re in the bed, I don’t even remember falling asleep.
The alarm goes off and I wake with exactly the right number of hours of sleep, and after a shower, I’m almost human. Kane and I use our bathroom time to make quick plans to leave for the Hamptons in the early afternoon, which will allow me to meet Danica and of course, Pocher. I also arrange to have Enrique, who took over for Jay last night, drive Marilyn to the police station by way of a back door. We’re going to feed her need for discretion, make her feel we are on her side.
With all of that handled, I dress in a pink silk blouse and black slacks, leave my long brown hair around my shoulders, and finish it all off with high-heeled boots. A useful weapon or two on the bottom of my feet seems smart right about now, while me looking like a perfectly primped female in pink and high heels confuses people.
Perfect.
Kane beats me to the kitchen, already there when I arrive, and dressed in a three-piece gray suit, with a matching satin, high-shine gray tie. He’s flashy like that. It works for him. And me. He’s standing but eyeing his open laptop, a steaming cup of hot coffee next to him. His gaze catches on me, and he instantly moves to the coffee pot and pours me a cup of java. I grab the creamer from the fridge and top it off.
“I woke up certain of all the things I thought were possibilities last night.”
“You usually do.”
“Those ‘lists’ Marilyn gave us were bullshit that amount to a smoking gun. I believe she created them herself to throw us off target.” I sip my heavenly cup of perfectly brewed coffee. “We found no company or person on those lists that fit with a military weapon, which is what our murder weapons appear to be.”
“So she’s trying to keep you from looking where she doesn’t want you to look,” he assumes.
“Exactly. She’s a Black Widow, considered a rare, hard-to-pinpoint, female serial killer who kills people she’s in a close, intimate relationship with. She was apparently sleeping with all the victims after all. In this case, she’s also a revenge killer, but those are usually crimes of passion, that are much more brutal. She fits the Black Widow. That’s my working theory.” I glance at the time on my cellphone. “I’m going to get her on that lie detector machine this morning, and officially clear the lockbox with her. If that all goes as planned, I should be ready to head to the island by two.”
“No need,” he says. “I just found out that Pocher is here in the city. Apparently, he’s spending the week here to prepare for your father’s fundraiser.”
“Well, isn’t that convenient?” I ask. “Then I’ll call him and ask to meet him about two.” My phone buzzes with a text. I glance at the message from Kit, and say, “Kit’s downstairs to pick me up. And about that.”
Kane does his arched brow thing. “About what?”
“Why exactly is Kit with me and not you?”
“Because you gave away Jay,” he points out.
“Then give me someone else. You need your man with you. Someone is gunning for you. Miguel, it seems. You didn’t tell me why.”
“I have men on the inside of the cartel. Those eyes and ears knew of no plot against me. But one of my key men is close to Miguel. So close he couldn’t get word to me. Last night, Miguel gave him a chance to talk to Kit. And there is talk that Miguel might have been behind my father’s murder.”
“Oh. Wow. I barely know what to say. What are you going to do?”
He catches my hand and walks me around the island to stand in front of him. “There are some things I am not going to tell you until we get married. I’m not protected, and neither are you. Don’t argue. You know I’m right.”
“I want to know.”
“I know you do. And surprisingly how much I have not wanted you to know this side of me, I want to tell you. Just know this. I am not taking over the cartel.” He kisses me. “Go. Do your job. But call me before you see Pocher.”
“Kit is staying with you, Kane.”
He grabs my waist. “He’s going with you.”