“If it helps, Justin has a gym out back.”
“I hate exercise.Mostly.”Her cheeks reddened, and she flashed a guilty smile.“Okay, working out with Dawson is kinda fun.”
“I’m worried about Justin,” I blurted.
“He has Brax with him.He’ll be fine.”
When Ari confirmed that Liberty Line Investigations had gone out of business, that left us with only one lead—Linus Sykes himself.I wasn’t sure whether Justin’s decision to confront the man had been driven by anger or fear, but as Dawson tried to talk him out of it, Alexa had gone online and bought him a flight ticket.
“It’s the quickest way to get to the bottom of this,” she said, and I could grudgingly see her point.Although if Amie’s life hadn’t been in danger, I might have been tempted to handcuff Justin to the bannister because I was on the verge of a coronary.
He was on his way to fight a shark.A former Washington lobbyist who’d taken the side of his murderous son.
“Could you pass the whipped cream?”I asked Violet.
Silently, she pushed it across the counter.
CHAPTER26
JUSTIN
“Thisis the place?”
Brax sounded incredulous, and Justin couldn’t blame him.When Alexa said Linus Sykes had moved out of politics and into the hospitality industry to become the CEO of Sunwake Brew Co., he’d been expecting a chain of coffee shops that rivalled Starbucks.
But the building they found themselves standing outside wasn’t a fancy HQ.No, it was more of a shack.A simple building with a tiled roof, a long wooden counter, and half a dozen stools lined up in front.A dark-haired man was frothing milk with a fancy coffee machine, and another was making small talk with a woman waiting for her drink, a half-read paperback sitting on the counter in front of him.
No.
No way.
That couldn’t be Linus Sykes.
Gone were the custom-made suit and Italian leather shoes.He was wearing shorts and flip-flops, and he hadn’t shaved for days.
“Alexa said he’d fallen on hard times, but can’t he afford a haircut?”Brax muttered.
“If he can’t afford a haircut, how is he paying the private investigator?”
“Let’s find out.”
The two of them walked over to the coffee shack, and Justin checked out the menu.It was basic, just six kinds of coffee plus a selection of cantuccini, and the place was only open for three hours in the mornings.
“How is this a business?”Justin asked under his breath.
“Money laundering.This has to be a money-laundering operation.”
Okay, that made more sense.Justin perched on a stool while Brax remained standing.
“Ciao, ragazzi.What can I get for you?”the barista asked, his greeting Italian but his accent Spanish.His name badge said “Alejandro.”
“Do you have decaf?”Justin asked.
He’d been awake half the night, and he needed to sleep on the flight back.Although he didn’t regret the exhaustion.He’d been about to climb into bed when Jessie knocked softly on his door, two glasses of wine and two mugs of hot chocolate on a tray.The good kind with cream and marshmallows.He’d updated her on the Amie investigation, and although she didn’t say so in words, he knew she’d been worried about him making the trip here today.They’d ended up watching a movie together, some Hallmark romcom with an ending Justin had almost given up on finding for himself.But when Jessie fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, he’d begun to wonder “what if?”
What if he said fuck the timing and gave in to his feelings?
What if he asked Jessie out on a date?
