Mati felt like she’d been punched in the chest, her eyes stinging with tears. Reese seemed unable to look at anyone while he spoke of this.
She hadn’t known. How had she not known?
“He poisoned himself,” Reese said, his voice quiet but steady. “Then walked out the back door and collapsed down by the coastline. Hodges had been away for the day. He came home and couldn’t find Dad for hours, and when he did…”
Reese shrugged helplessly. Mati couldn’t imagine the horror Hodges must have felt, or the grief he and Reese had gone through.
She clutched his hand and waited for him to find the words. No one moved.
“The police investigated,” Reese said with a quick glance at Chance, “and confirmed it was suicide. My father had left a note at the house, and a detailed will and packet of letters with his attorney, who was an old and trusted friend. I learned my father had quietly, over the previous months, made me owner, primary shareholder, or beneficiary of all his businesses and assets without telling me. The only thing left to inherit was the money to pay Hodges a good salary until the day he turns sixty-five. The letters, though, were more interesting. Hodges’ letter begged him to stay with me and granted him permission to remain in his apartments above the garage for the rest of his life, regardless of whether or not I wanted him there.Myletter detailed all the ways someone had been trying to kill him over the course of a decade, supposedly, and an apology for not being a better father.”
Reese’s voice wavered and he paused. “Hodges and I dismissed it as another symptom of his mental illness,” Reese admitted, a wealth of regret in his voice.
“But?” Chance prompted.
“But then someone tried to run me off the road. Twice.”
Chapter Six
David’s heart had ached as Reese recounted the end of his father’s life, but it stopped altogether when Reese calmly announced someone had tried to hurt him.Twice.
Mati’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
Reese stared at their clasped hands, his thumb stroking over hers.
“Did the police investigate?” Chance asked.
Reese sighed. “Yes, the first time. They determined I’d drunk too much at my friend’s house that night and that I shouldn’t have been driving.”
David frowned. He hardly knew Reese, but that didn’t feel right.
“I hadn’t. Drunk too much, that is,” Reese said firmly. “But no one at the party had been paying close attention and when the police asked, my friends admitted Imighthave had quite a bit to drink, but they didn’tknow. I was given a warning, and because of that, I didn’t bother to tell the police when, shortly after that, I was followed home from another night out by a car intent on ramming into me from behind. Had I not been able to drive the familiar roads at the speeds I had, they might have succeeded.”
David clenched his hands into fists. The urge to move, toact,was crawling over his skin, growing right along with his concern about what the fuck was going on here.
Mati stared at Reese in horror. She clearly hadn’t known any of this.
And Reese wasn’t finished yet. “Not long after the car incidents, there was a break-in at the house while I was asleep in my room and Hodges was in his apartment. We weren’t in the habit of arming the security system when we were home, so we had no idea anyone had been in the house until the next morning when I discovered my father’s office—which had becomemyoffice—turned upside down.” Reese frowned. “We took our security a lot more seriously after that.”
“When was this?” Chance asked.
“About six year ago.”
Mati eyes widened. “That was when you stopped…” Mati cast a glance at David. “Traveling,” she finished, though David would bet his last dollar that hadn’t been what she was about to say.
Reese nodded, still not looking at Mati.
She frowned, ducking her head to try to meet his eyes. When that didn’t work, she stroked her fingertips along his jaw from ear to chin, tipping his face up toward her.
He finally looked up at her, his expression wretched.“I’m so sorry. When nothing else happened, I thought it was safe to hire you. To have you at the house with us.”
Mati leaned back. “What are you talking about?”
“I put you in danger. I got complacent. I didn’t think anything of leaving you there.Alone. I never should have done that. I—”
Mati pressed her hand over Reese’s mouth. “You listen to me, Edwin Reese Lamont. I wanted this job. I love this job. I love the house, I love Hodges, and I even love you, though you do make it a challenge when you’re being an idiot. You will not apologize for any of that, do you understand me?”
She glared at Reese until he nodded, then took her hand away. He looked at Mati like she’d hung the moon.
