Chapter Three
Simon left the barn feeling better thanhe had when he got there.
Not much, but yeah, better.
The story he’d envisioned for the past couple of months was taking shape, and now that Brantley and Reese knew the truth, he got the feeling this one would go down in history.An FBI conspiracy to take down the mob results in the kidnapping and confinement of a mother of five.
Seriously.The headline wrote itself.
Of course, he owed most of the credit to Holt.If his friend had truly stumbled on the information as he claimed, then Holt should probably play the lottery because he was one lucky son of a bitch.
Granted, he prayed they would find Kylie and the story would have a happy ending.His rarely did.Since he tended to work on cold cases, the best he could usually hope for was closure for the loved ones.In this case, he didn’t want closure.He wanted to find the woman, bring her home, and take down the corrupt officials.In that order, if possible.
By the time Simon pulled into Violet’s driveway, he was feeling pretty good.The sun was up, he had some coffee in him, and now he needed to pack for a trip.He would finally get the chance to sit down with Max Adorite, the notorious head of the Adorite Crime Family.
Telling Violet was the first step in making that happen.He knew she wouldn’t be happy, and he couldn’t blame her.The Adorites were dangerous, but Simon doubted his life would be in jeopardy.It was a meeting.He was sure mob bosses had meetings all the time.
Using the key she’d given him, Simon let himself into her house, hoping she was still asleep.He’d been living there for a couple of weeks now while they waited to close on the house they were purchasing together.Because they were in limbo, he’d settled in as much as he could, which was hardly at all.Since Violet was slowly but surely packing her things into the many boxes now cluttering the guest bedroom, he had a couple of drawers in the dresser and a sliver of space in the closet.
He wasn’t complaining by any means.He loved Violet.He would gladly keep his shit in his car if it meant seeing her every single day.
“Hey, Hermione,” he greeted the big feline who hopped up onto the sofa as soon as he closed the door.“Where’s Harry?”
At the sound of his name, Harry came prowling into the living room, the enormous Maine Coon moving with purpose.
“There you are.Now, where’s your mom?”he asked them.
Hermione meowed, but gave no clue as to where Violet might be.Harry ignored him altogether, moving to his space at the front window so he could observe the neighborhood as it came awake.
Since they were evidently not impressed with his arrival, Simon headed for the bedroom.He heard Violet’s voice as soon as he reached the door.
“I know.I will.”Frustrated sigh.“Okay.I get it.”
Frowning at the irritation he heard in her voice, Simon opened the door to find Violet sitting on the edge of the bed, her phone to her ear.Had she not been annoyed, he would’ve gotten an instant boner from seeing his woman wearing his T-shirt.Which, in his opinion, was just about the sexiest thing he’d ever witnessed.
Violet’s eyes lifted slowly, her frown firmly in place.
“I know, Mom.I said I would.”
He met her gaze and instantly knew something was wrong.
“Simon’s home,” she tacked on.“I’ll talk to him and let you know.”She rolled her eyes.“Yes.I will.Bye.”
“What’s wrong?”he asked when she tossed her phone on the bed beside her.
“My dad’s missing,” she said, exasperated.“Or my mom claims he is.”
His brain processed the words, but Simon wasn’t sure what the appropriate reaction was.“Just out of curiosity, what constitutes missing for a man who doesn’t stay in one place for longer than a night?”
“She claims he was supposed to come over last night but didn’t show.”
“And that’s unusual, how?”
She smiled.“That’s what I said.”
Simon figured that went over well.
He’d met Violet’s mother.Drama was Daphne Walker’s middle name.Especially when it came to her cheating ex-husband, who also happened to be the love of her life.Although they’d divorced long ago and Harold Anderson had never upheld a single promise he’d ever made to his wife or daughters, Daphne still had a soft spot for him.And in an ironic twist, she was now the mistress since Harold was in a relationship with another woman.Simon wasn’t sure that was still the case because Harold’s relationships seemed to change with the sunrise.Or so Violet told him.
