She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I can’t believe you remember. And yes, one green folder for my parent’s finances, some of everything in red and orange, and a dark blue binder for Viveiros and Sons.”
David stood. “Got it.”
“I’ll show him where it is,” Hodges announced, rising to his feet from his seat across the table. He had his own laptop open and had been poking at it with his index fingers. “I need to stretch my legs.”
Nobody believed him. Hodges hadn’t been subtle about sizing up David over the past couple of hours. He didn’t think he’d been found wanting—yet—but he’d bet his car the interrogation would begin the moment they set foot outside the kitchen.
Hodges held the door. David smiled as it swung shut behind him.
“Do I need to give you the shovel talk?” Hodges asked, getting straight to the point.
“Kieran Morrison already took care of that.”
Hodges stopped in the front hall and David tried not to gawk at it openly. His tour of the first floor had been brief, but he’d quickly realized that the video footage he’d seen in Boston hadn’t helped him understand how freakinghugethis place was.
“That was kind of him,” Hodges said. “I’m surprised, though. He called to tellmeyou were one of his favorite people on earth.”
David smiled, his chest filled with warmth. “Did he? I feel the same way about him and Chance.”
Hodges nodded thoughtfully and led the way to the offices. “How’s this going to work?”
“The folders, the sleeping arrangements, or the relationship?” David asked, doing Hodges the favor of being equally blunt.
Hodges opened a drawer in Mati’s office and revealed a veritable mother lode of office supplies, sorted by color. He cocked his head. “Relationship, singular?”
“That’s right,” David said as he loaded up with what Mati had asked for. “It’s both of them. Not one or the other, or one and the other. Both. And it doesn’t work without either. At least, that’s how I see it.”
Hodges nodded, his eyes narrowing on David’s face. “And how’s that going to work when you go back to Boston?”
David swallowed hard. “I get my heart broken, and they get to build a life together.”
Hodges pursed his lips. “Okay.”
It wasn’t, but David understood that he wasn’t Hodges’ concern.
“Thank you for being honest,” Hodges said, then grimaced. “And please don’t mentionsleeping arrangementsagain. My brain cannot be sufficiently bleached for that.”
David chuckled and followed Hodges back to the kitchen, their arms full of office supplies. It was a good thing Hodges didn’t know one of the bags he’d carried into the house earlier had been packed with sex toys and accessories—like that damn harness. Hodges would probably threaten to dip his whole body in bleach if he ever found out.
David took his seat next to Mati, helping her sort things into various folders and the binder. His laptop chimed with a new email.
“Chance reports that Chaz’s office claims he’s still out of town on business.”
Hodges pulled his own laptop closer. “Did he send someone there?”
“No, I think they called. It sounds like whoever answered the phone was pretty tightlipped.”
“That would be his sister, Muffy. She runs the office for him,” Mati said.
“Chaz and Muffy? Are these people for real?”
Reese rolled his eyes. “Charles and Miriam, technically. Their father was always concerned with appearances. I think he believed the nicknames sounded high society or something. Money was very important to James.”
David scanned the email. “Well, they do have a lot of money. No one can find any financial reason Chaz would need to break in here. Their father left them a heap of cash and some properties, and the law practice seems to be doing well. Could Chaz or his sister have a gambling problem? Some big debt that’s not on any official record?”
Hodges shook his head. “I doubt it. Neither of them travels much and there aren’t any big games around here. The internet can be enough, I suppose, but I’ve never heard anything about either of them gambling. I’ll have our guys look into it.”
David nodded. “Did you ever figure out what someone was searching for on the property?” He’d been avoiding the subject while Mati had been working through the shitstorm with her family, but every time he looked out the window, he got an itch to chase down whoever had left those footprints.
