He could see the winning smile and movieworthy appearance.
And none of it mattered because all Darius cared about was Eve.
Scott wanted to hurt her.
So Darius wanted to hurt him.
But first they had to do some dancing.
Eve took the seat across from Scott. Darius didn’t sit at all. He stood at her shoulder instead, gaze settling on the man in Italian leather. Scott waited in silence, eyes sharp and suit wrinkle-free. If the sheriff hadn’t already given them a heads-up, Dariuswould have traced every detail about the man at his side to try and get more information.
He would have also showed a hint of excitement.
Before they had been attacked in his house, the plan had been to find a way to talk to Toby Sanderson and, if Darius was right, the nerve that Eve and Mitchell’s secret investigation had hit before the wedding had been arranged.
So to have him already seated next to the man of the hour, wearing a suit that was notably less expensive and an expression that was also notably less calm, was like hitting the jackpot.
The man they had planned to seek out had come right to them.
And he didn’t seem that enthused about it either.
Toby was fiddling with a pen between his hands as Scott finally addressed them.
“Detective Williams, I’m sure you know who I am, but who would I be if I didn’t introduce myself?” Scott didn’t stand. He didn’t reach his hand out. He didn’t make to move to at all. “My name is Scott Keys. My brother is Mitchell Keys, and I currently run the Keys Foundation. Next to me is my friend, Toby Sanderson. Typically my lawyer would be in his spot… However, he’s currently a part of a homicide case file that I’m sure is still on your desk.”
Scott’s gaze slid down slowly to Eve.
“I also happen to be the former employer of one Miss Evelyn Myers, who I am sad to say was terminated via email before arriving at the department just now.”
The silence was immediate.
It fell like a guillotine had dropped between them.
And there was a tone.
One Darius didn’t like being directed at Eve.
Darius gave it right back.
“I’m Detective Williams and can confirm that, along with the people who shot me and Eve and then tried to kill us again, Iam currently investigating the homicide of a Gary Whittaker.” Darius put his hand on the back of Eve’s chair. He wanted to seem relaxed despite the anger growing inside of him. “And while I can appreciate you keeping track of my work, I should use the same reminder to point out that my time is limited. So is this a social call, or is there a specific reason you need to talk to us?”
Toby wasn’t a cool cucumber. At least not like his friend. Toby’s lip curled up like he was ready to snarl at them.
Scott was more eloquent with it.
His smile was picture-polite.
“Other than my brother calling me here because he’s afraid that this—” he pointed at Eve and then Darius “—new development might spell out more trouble for him, I thought it might be a good idea to come in and make a few statements to the two of you. With a witness.”
Toby put the pen down.
An air of self-importance seemed to expand around him.
His restrained snarl turned into a sneer.
In any other context, Darius would have mentioned that a good witness would be a third party with no clear side in mind.
But he was awfully curious.
