“I let Elana decide on the pattern for the door,” he says. “She was going through one of her dark, angsty stages as a teenager at the time.”
“Did you go through that phase?” I ask.
He deadpans. “Of course not.”
I laugh, because it’s obvious he’s lying, and the image of an angsty Kaz pops in my mind. He was probably even more broody and dark than he is now, but I doubt he had all this muscle and electric heat rolling off him.
He pushes the door open and gestures for me to enter first. The office offers a powerful vibe with heavy wood furniture and more iron sconces like the ones lighting the corridors.Worn leather chairs and the faint scent of cigars soften the atmosphere, making it feel more…Kaz.
It’s the sort of room built for making formidable deals and having dangerous, secret conversations.
“What about you? Did you hide away in your room, covered in black from head to toe while listening to depressing music?” He shuts the door quietly behind us.
“No. Brooding wasn’t really allowed.”
There’s a knock on the door before he can ask any follow up questions.
“Gerald.” Kaz swings the door open wide. “Come in. Thanks for meeting us here.”
“Not a problem.” A man in a dark gray overcoat breezes into the office.
“This is my wife, Sienna,” Kaz introduces me, shutting the door.
Gerald pauses in taking off his coat to nod toward me. “Yes, the wife. It’s good to meet you.”
“Thanks. Kaz says you can help us, but I’m not really sure there’s anything that can be done.” I move to stand beside Kaz.
Gerald tosses his coat over the back of one of the leather chairs and folds his arms over his chest. He looks very in command with his knitted brow and serious expression.
“Almost anything can be fixed. Where is the boy now?”
“Tommy? He’s at home. I was afraid to send him to school in case my cousin decided to go there again.”
Kaz gestures for me to take a seat in the armchair as he stands behind me, his hands resting on the back. The warmth of his presence wraps around me. Even when the man isn’t touching me, I can feel him.
“It’s been two days since you’ve brought him into your house?” Gerald aims the question at Kaz.
“Yes. We pulled him from the school yesterday,” Kaz responds.
“And nothing from your uncle or cousin?” Gerald turns his curious gaze on me.
“No.” I fold hands in my lap. “But my uncle hasn’t checked on Tommy since Tony’s death. Melody—that’s the aide that’s staying with us for now—said he only reached out to her to let her know Tony had died, and that he was Tommy’s guardian.”
Gerald digs out a small spiral notebook and flips through until he finds an empty page.
“What company does Melody work for? He probably sent the guardianship paperwork to them.” He holds his pen over the pad while looking to me for an answer.
“She doesn’t work for a company. Tony hired her when Tommy’s mother passed away. I think he went through an agency to find them, but he hired her on his own.”
“One caregiver for round the clock care? Does she never get a day off?” Gerald questions.
“She has a short list of babysitters she uses when she needs some time off. I’ve flown in to stay with Tommy when she took a week off for vacation. ”
Gerald’s brows raise. “So no central agency that pays her? Your uncle pays her directly?”
I shrug. “I believe so. Melody told me that after the call from my uncle, a deposit was made in her account for her paycheck. It wasn’t from Tony’s account though. She assumed it was my uncle’s.”
“So she never saw any guardianship paperwork; she just took his word for it?”
