"I know I'm not as much of a badass as you two," he said. "But I know what he did. I know he didn't stop what happened to Auggie. He didn't do anything. He has no right to call himself my father. Or Jules' father. He's a stranger."
"That doesn't mean you have to take part," I said. "But if you're in, we have your back."
"I know you do." He reached across the table to lace his fingers in mine. "I don't regret getting involved in this. The things we've done were necessary."
"Unfortunately, yes," I said.
Except perhaps using Detective Getzoff for bait. In retrospect, we should have come up with something else. But we didn't. That regret would hang around, in the back of my brain for the rest of my life. Along with a list of things we could have done differently but didn't.
If it made us the bad guys, then so be it. In spite of the name of my restaurants, I was no angel. I was just a woman doing the best she could.
"I'm also in," Archer said.
"Of course you are." I smiled. "It's your plan."
If it went off the way we hoped, this would all be over before the sun rose tomorrow morning. Archer gone through everything carefully. We'd talked through options and possibilities, trying to factor in every possible scenario.
There was always room for something to go south. If it did, we'd deal with it. We had no choice. This had to work the first time. If it didn't, we'd be the ones floating in the Hudson River, drifting out to sea, eaten by the fish.
I didn't relish that possibility.
Should I try to find a way to give Archer and Cass the slip and go after Forrest by myself? If only because I'd promised not to, I wouldn't. If I happened to get him alone, I'd take advantage of it. If not, we'd stick to the original plan.
In a few hours, Forrest would be the one feeding the fish.
Or the customers.
CHAPTER 14
HARLOW
"This is it?" I looked around me, taking in the wide room. The place was right on the corner. Windows on two sides brought in a ton of light.
"This is it," Archer agreed. "I thought if you were going to expand, this would be a good place for it."
"It'd be perfect," I said.
Was I ready for another restaurant? If I wasn't careful, I could fall in love with this location.
"Why is it empty?" I turned around to meet Archer's gaze.
"The previous owner died," he said. "Her family didn't want to take it on, so they put it on the market."
"That's becoming a habit," I said dryly, "restaurants with dead previous owners."
"It was natural causes this time," he said.
I guess that was better than being murdered, and sliced and diced. Or ground.
I stepped through the seating area, empty of tables and chairs, already thinking about the changes I'd make.
For one thing, the red carpet on the floor would have to go. And the black walls. Along with the black doors, black ceilings, and black fixtures and fittings.
"Any chance the previous owner was a vampire and died from an overdose of garlic?" I asked.
Cass laughed, but it was a nervous sound. "It looks like it."
I grinned over at him. "They have different taste from me," I said carefully.
