I roll my eyes. “It’s too late for him. I warned him that I wasn’t going to prop him up forever.” I meet Knox’s stare, unable to stop the satisfied smile curling my mouth. “I have a family to worry about now, and there isn’t any room for a worm like Thatcher.”
“I can feel the love from here,” he remarks dryly, lettingloose a deep chuckle. “I know a gray hat hacker. She’ll be able to do what needs to be done.”
I smile mockingly. “I should have figured you don’t have the skills to do it.”
He narrows his eyes. “Don’t push me, asshole. I’ve got the skills, but it’s the degree of separation. We’ve been friends too long, and if I fuck up—which I wouldn’t, but if I did—it wouldn’t take much to point fingers your way. That happens, and your family gets hurt. So, I’m sure you’ll appreciate me finding a reliable and skilled hacker who is just as good as I am.”
I watch him for the longest moment, taking in the severity of his expression. “Thank you,” I say solemnly. “I appreciate your forethought.”
Knox stands up, tipping his chin at me. “I’ll let you know when it’s done, but don’t expect too much fallout. People like this don’t know what to do when their line is cut.”
My mouth presses into a line. “You think they’ll try to come after Lynley and the money she’s taking from Christopher?”
Knox shrugs. “Maybe. We’ll make sure they know what the consequences are if they do.”
The restof my day passes relatively quickly, but I start shutting everything down and packing up at four, wanting to get back to Sterling Creek before dinner.
It’s strange how quickly everything seems to have changed. Lynley and her children have filledmy life with color, displacing the gray that seemed to overshadow it before—without me even aware of what I was missing. I hadn’t noticed the lack, investing all of my free time in my career when there was no one waiting for me at home. But now…
Family dinners, regular or otherwise, haven’t been part of my life since I moved out of home as an eighteen-year-old, but I’ve had a taste of them again, and I’m loath to give up even one night. Marjorie and I are still working on finding the perfect space to open up a branch of the agency, but I am looking forward to not having to commute anymore.
Judith cracks the office door open, her curly hair peering around the edge. “Grafton?—”
I’m already shaking my head, cutting her off. “I told you. Quitting time is at four. Tell whoever wants my time to get lost.” I eye her. “And then you get lost. I’m sure your husband is looking forward to starting your weekend early.”
She grins. “I’m not sure HR would like you telling me to get lost,” she remarks dryly. “But you’re right. He is.” A muffled voice speaks from behind her, and Judith glances over her shoulder with a frown. When she turns back to me, her frown has deepened. “They’re quite insistent.” She lowers her voice before adding, “I’m pretty sure they’re going to make a scene if you don’t see them.”
“Fucking hell,” I mutter, sliding my laptop into a locked drawer in my desk. I don’t sit down, my frustration at the delay mounting. “Send them through, and then get out of here.” Judith nods, but then hesitates. I crack a smile. “You don’t think I can handle them?”
She scrunches her nose up. “It’s not you I’m worried about,” she mutters. “Not exactly.”
“Let us in!” a shrill feminine voice demands, and my inkling of who’s out there strengthens into certainty. Judith reluctantly pushes the door wider, stepping back as two women push past her. The one in the lead struts arrogantly up to my desk, entitlement oozing from her pores, while her companion follows more apprehensively, her eyes wide as they dart around my office. There’s a photo of Lynley and the kids on my desk, sitting under one of the cherry blossom trees at the house, their smiles wide and happy. The older woman’s eyes fix on it, her mouth tugging down.
I know them on sight. Not because I’m in love with a woman who’s unfortunate enough to share blood with them, but because there were photos attached to the reports Knox made after he went digging into their backgrounds, figuring out what their game was with Lynley.
Caroline’s eyes are fixed on me, her smile pointed. I watch her for a beat before shifting my focus to Lynley’s mother. Johanna drags her gaze from the photo, dropping her chin and hiding behind the lanky fall of her hair.
“Ladies,” I murmur politely. “I wasn’t aware we had an appointment, and I was on my way out.” A brow wings up, and I have to bite back my amusement when heat crawls into Caroline’s cheeks.
“This is urgent,” she claims, propping her hands onto her hips.
“Is that so?”
Her lashes flutter, confusion twisting her mouth at my reaction. “You know who we are,” she decides, looking askance at her mother. Caroline wets her lips, stepping closer to my desk and popping a hip out. She gives me a coy smile. “So?—”
I hold my hand out, cutting her off. “No.”
She gapes at me. “What?” It only takes a beat, but thenher expression flattens. “This is because of Lynley.” Caroline sniffs. “I can only imagine what she’s been saying about us.”
I don’t hide the smile this time. “Nothing that isn’t true, I’m sure. You’ll know it better than me. Lynley is anything but a liar.” There’s enough warning hidden beneath the words that she goes still, malice flashing through her eyes.
She lowers her lashes, and the look is gone, replaced with manufactured sincerity. “That’s not…” She drags in a deep breath before straightening her shoulders, giving me an innocent look. “Our family is a little dysfunctional,” she confides, like I’m one of her society friends. “Lynley and I—” She shoots her mother a dark look. “Our upbringing wasn’t always the best, and I know we’re both still dealing with the trauma from that.”
Johanna stiffens but doesn’t say a word. I lift a hand, rubbing my thumb over my lower lip. “Is that so?”
The question makes Caroline pause. “I thought you said Lynley told you about us…”
I tip my head to the side. “I never said that.” She frowns, confused. I make a show of looking at my watch. “Now, if you don’t mind, I actually have plans.”
