She paled, her knife falling to her plate with a clatter.
“Renee?”
“Yes,” she said, not giving more information.
It was clear she didn’t trust him or his brothers. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready for her to bolt. Matto decided to give her more information.
“Hunter was our brother-in-law,” Matto said. “He married our sister Misty.”
If anything, the information alarmed Renee even further. She half stood before Matto grasped her arm.
“How did you find me? What do you want?” Her bottom lip trembled, and she blinked. “Did you sleep with me to get information about Hunter?” Now she sounded pissed.
“No! Of course not. That wasn’t why I asked you to dinner. I liked you at first sight, and I wanted to get to know you better. Please believe me. I wasn’t—are not playing you,” Matto said.
“We don’t want to harm you,” Dakota murmured. “All we want is information.”
Renee swallowed audibly. “About what?”
Matto glanced at his brothers. There was something wrong here. Terror leaked from Renee, a full body tremor and bulging eyes, and that wasn’t what he’d intended.
“Misty found photos of you and Hunter on Hunter’s phone after the police returned his belongings to her. She’s convinced the pair of you were having an affair.” Matto watched her closely.
“That’s a lie,” Renee snapped. “Hunter and I—we never even considered sleeping together. He was my best friend. I told you I never slept with my army buddies.”
“We saw the photos, Renee,” Calian said.
“Were they the ones in the photo booth? You try squeezing Hunter plus me in a photo booth. He was huge, and I’m not exactly a shorty.”
“Are you saying Misty is wrong?” Kansas asked.
“I’m saying your sister has a screw loose if she didn’t know how much Hunter loved her. All he discussed the last time I saw him was Misty and his unborn son. He was so excited to become a father. And then a lowlife shot him and…and…” Tears filled Renee’s eyes. “He was my best friend and I miss him.”
Matto squeezed Renee in silent encouragement and gently shunted her back to her seat. “Eat your breakfast. As soon as you’re done, I’ll drive you to work.”
“Why did you change your name?” Calian prodded. “You didn’t make it easy for us to find you.”
“Howdidyou find me?”
“We talked to your army buddies and your old workmates. They mentioned you’d told them you needed a change and had asked for suggestions of places for work. By a process of elimination, we found you here,” Dakota replied.
“I see.” Renee shoved away her breakfast. “I’m surprised my friends talked to you.”
“They didn’t at first. It helped we were Misty’s brothers, and we could prove she was married to Hunter. We told them Hunter had left you some stuff in his will, which is actually true. Misty was so angry she threatened to toss the items in the trash,” Calian said.
“I need to go.” Renee stood.
“You have time for a coffee,” Matto said.
“You don’t understand. If you’ve found me, others will too. I thought it was safe here. Someone murdered Hunter. I don’t want to end up the same way.”
“Why would you think that?” Kansas asked.
Calian shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth and swallowed, never taking his gaze off Renee. Matto knew his brothers were weighing every word, and although she’d convinced him, he didn’t think she’d won over his siblings.
“Although the cops couldn’t prove it, they suspect a link between Hunter’s murder and the court case against a Florida crime boss’s son. We both testified from California because of our work commitments. The lawyers agreed to that, but they knew our names. It wasn’t difficult for them to track us down. There was another murder. A woman died two days after Hunter. The cops in charge mentioned she resembled me. They suggested it might be safer for me to relocate. I’m not under witness protection, but they helped me with the name change and with references. Damn it. I like it here. I don’t want to start over again.”
Matto frowned. “You’re thinking about those two passengers you took out yesterday.”
