“I already booked us rooms using one of Reese’s cards,” Mati added apologetically. “But we can cancel and use mine instead.”
“You shouldn’t use your cards either,” David said.
Reese was trying not to be alarmed, but it wasn’t going well.
“I agree,” said Chance, rising to his feet. “I’ll book something for you three, and we’ll go from there.”
“Thank you,” Reese said, considering the logistics of how he and Mati would work while in Boston and—wait—
You three?
Mati’s breath caught when Chance called his admin and requested, “Lodging for three people, behind one door, ideally with three bedrooms, but less can work.”
All she could think was,less could definitely work.
Which was crazy. It was a huge leap to get from three almost-chaste kisses and sitting on Reese’s lap, to sharing a room, let alone abed.But her sleep-deprived brain was imagining thatandDavid in the bed with them, gleefully bounding from “things Mati had thought about idly and never thought she’d have” to “the stuff of masturbatory fantasies and therefore totally removed from reality.”
Chance hung up the phone. “Okay, that’s being taken care of. Now, is there any reason you can think of that someone would want to break into your house?”
Mati started to shake her head but stopped when Reese grimaced.
“Maybe?” he said.
What?Mati pivoted on Reese’s legs to see him properly.
David sat forward and laced his fingers between his knees, his gaze unwavering.
Reese stared out the window instead of looking at either of them. “It began with my father,” he said, letting out a deep breath. “He was very paranoid. Not his whole life, but increasingly so for the last decade, maybe fifteen years, of it. Since about the time my mother died. No one was allowed to enter the house unannounced. And the only person he would allow to come and go at will, other than me, was Hodges. He assigned Hodges an ever-growing list of unusual responsibilities, including staying with the landscapers and the housekeepers the entire time they were on the property.”
Reese took a sip of his coffee, still focused on the winter sky out the window, an almost tangible sadness coming off him. She’d never once heard him speak of his father in any context other than work and the businesses and assets Reese had inherited from him.
She squeezed his hand but he still wouldn’t look at her.
Chance looked up from taking notes. “I think I met Hodges at the wedding, right?”
Reese nodded.
“He’s been in your employ for a long time?” Chance asked.
Reese smiled. “He was hired when I was three years old. He was only eighteen himself at the time. His parents worked for one of my father’s bigger companies.”
“Okay. What’s his full name?”
Reese tore his eyes from the view to narrow them on Chance. “He’s not a threat.”
“I’m not saying he is,” Chance returned mildly. “But I need to know all the people involved.”
Reese studied Chance. “Macilvoy,” he said at last.
“His name is Macilvoy Hodges?” Chance asked in an admirably neutral tone.
Reese let out a huff of laughter. “No, his name is Michael Hodges Macilvoy.”
“Thank you,” Chance said and noted it down.
Reese nodded and looked away again. “My father was particularly careful with his personal safety and business dealings. He changed banks constantly, wouldn’t tell anyone, including me, what he was up to, and was persistently convinced someone was trying to pull one over on him. He also drank,a lot. More each year. Hodges and I eventually realized it was a form of self-medication and were trying to determine how to force the issue of getting him help. Sadly, we were too slow.
“I saw him one day, and the next he was gone. Dead by his own hand.”
