“Will it? I saw a couple of unmarked cars following me. I don’t know if it’s the Brennans, the Titans, or the feds. And what if they come after Cori or Josie?” She shakes her salt-and-pepper hair. “As much as I abhor violence, it’s best if we end the Brennans now. Their wives don’t know anything, and it won’t lead back to us. Hopefully, they will slink away because the Titans don’t have the morals we do.”
“I have people watching Cori and Josie. I don’t want either one of them to know.”
She wraps her arm through mine. “I had a wonderful time with Cori. I’m so glad she decided to stick her nose where it didn’t belong and follow you. Even though I warned you not to go through with your plan of forcing her to marry you. What were you thinking?” She swats my chest with her free hand. “If you had just waited a few hours, but no. You never listen.”
I let out an unguarded laugh.
“It worked.”
“It worked until it didn’t. That’s why you had to call in the big guns.”
Months ago
“Son, what are you doing?” Mom yells from the kitchen while I peek through her living room blinds.
Corine Lamb is parked just a few hundred feet away, holding a pair of binoculars while she looks at my mother’s house.
This is the third time she’s followed me this week, and she’s about as subtle as a flashing neon sign.
She nearly rode my bumper the entire ride here. I cut down several side streets. A real professional would have aborted their mission, but not the beautiful Ms. Lamb. She’s either oblivious or brave, but she’s already started something that she won’t be able to walk away from.
Beautiful, strong, and nosy. I could do a lot with that. Yesterday, she sat at a table next to mine at Seven Heaven, and all I could focus on was the scent of her perfume and the sight of the fork going into her mouth. At one point, our eyes locked, and she slowly pulled the fork from her mouth.
She knows what she’s doing. What she doesn’t know is that I’m tired of being alone, but the way my life is, I can’t just be with anyone. I need someone who will accept me and my business, and if King can find a woman like that, I can, too.
“Son?” Mom’s footsteps are as light as a feather. I had no idea she was walking toward me until she rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. She peeks through the blinds and whistles. “She’s tenacious,” she says. “And brave.” She chuckles. “I love that. She followed me to the nursery yesterday and watched while I picked out my plants. She didn’t buy a single thing.” Mom shakes her head and chuckles. “I almost asked her over for lunch.”
“Her nosy ass would have accepted.”
“Ask her out.”
“She’s not the type you ask out.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t like the sound of that. I raised you to respect women. Every girl deserves to have a handsome man ask them out.” She slams the blinds shut and purses her lips at me.
“If I do that, she won’t accept. I have to be creative.”
“Oh, well, let’s figure it out over dinner.” She takes my arm and pulls me away, but I’m intrigued and dying to know what the hell she thinks she’s doing. She must be suspicious or have figured out who I am, but how?
I know King wouldn’t tell Eden. Corine Lamb is doing her own recon, but the question is, what is she going to do with that information once she confirms it?
“We have the town. Who cares if Shadow Cove residents know who you are now? You did that, sweetheart.” She points to a chair, and I sit and wait for her to put the food on the table.
“We did that, Mom. You’re the one who decided to go through Cousin Hazel, and it was your idea for me to bring in King and Preacher.” If my mom has one talent, it’s reading people.
Ripley King was a short-order cook at my dad’s old diner. One day, he saved a waitress from her abusive ex, who had a gun to her head. He nearly beat the guy to death. Mom was there, and after that, she convinced me to hire him at one of our nightclubs.
We dealt with drug traffickers then. The plan was for me to expose Ripley and wait for his reactions. He noticed, but never reacted.
We had wanted to come to Shadow Cove, but I needed a plan. Shadow Cove was our path away from drug traffickers. We’ve since dealt with gun peddlers, a few corrupt politicians, fraudsters, and several illegal gambling rings.
“She’s best friends with Ripley’s girl,” I announce over dinner. Mom raises her brows. “I think she’s a suspicious little thing. She’s also Lamb’s daughter.”
“Oh, that opportunist.” She purses her lips in disapproval. “With a daddy like that, she’s going to need a good guy in her corner.”
“I don’t think she likes good guys, or she wouldn’t be following me around.”
“Well, find out if you can trust her. That’s the first step. If you can’t, she’s not the one for you.” I don’t reply. I gaze toward the window, wondering if the end of my loneliness is only a few feet away. “Look at me,” Mom orders, and I do. “Have I ever led you wrong?”
