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Liam peered at the lawyer. He couldn’t possibly have heard that right. “Did you say—”
“Halle-fucking-lu-jah! There is a God after all!” Hammer jumped to his feet with a whoop.
“She’s dead?” Liam blinked again.
“Yes,” Sterling confirmed.
“Shanked over pudding. That’s priceless. It couldn’t have happened to someone more deserving.”
Liam leapt to his feet, grabbing Hammer in a fierce hug. “Really? Oh, that’s the best news I’ve had in ages.”
With a startled frown, Barnes sat back abruptly, glancing between the two men. “Gentlemen, is this really cause for celebration?”
Hammer grabbed the lawyer’s shoulder. “Since Gwyneth, that spiteful, self-centered, pretentious, conniving bitch, all but handed Raine to her raping, murdering father, absolutely.”
“I can’t fucking believe it! Ding dong, the witch is dead!” Liam cheered. “Wait until we tell Raine.”
Sterling stood with a wry grin. “Don’t trouble yourselves seeing me out. I know the way. Enjoy your…celebration. Good night, gentlemen.”
Relief poured through Liam. Rather than Gwyneth potentially returning with a vengeance in the next five years to give them hell, he’d never have to worry about her again. Why hadn’t he known already? Why hadn’t his mother picked up on Gwyneth’s death? Because she wasn’t meaningful enough? Had she ever been?
Liam shook his head. He tried to think of one time—just one—when he’d been truly happy with Gwyneth. He couldn’t do it. All he saw was Raine, Hammer, and the life they were building together. That’s all that mattered to him. That’s what he would fight for.
Mentally, he committed Gwyneth to ash—where she belonged.
Raine sighed as she looked at Seth and River across Hammer’s desk at Shadows. Dusk was approaching. They’d been looking for needles in the membership haystack for hours. Time was running out.
“This is the third time we’ve been through this database. Seriously, I can’t think of anyone who fits the description. A thirtysomething blonde who joined the club when it first opened and then—years later—suddenly decided she hates Hammer. There’s just…no one. Who the hell could this witness be?”
“And why doesn’t Sterling have a name from the prosecution yet?” Seth mused.
“Hang on. How do we know Liam’s mom isn’t full of shit?” River asked. “No offense, but how would she know anything about this witness if no one else has any idea?”
If Liam had told her about his family before they arrived, she would have been skeptical, too. But she’d seen Bryn in action now. Raine glanced over at Seth.
The big PI nodded. “She just does.”
She patted her brother’s big shoulder. “Trust us. But that leaves us nowhere.”
Seth tapped on his computer, which they’d hooked up to the club’s cloud to dive through the database. “Well, we could try again.”
“Ugh, my eyes would cross.” She jumped out of Hammer’s massive desk chair and paced his office. “Maybe we’re being too literal.”
River frowned. “What do you mean? You just said that Liam’s mom thinks our witness is a blonde and that she has to be right.”
“Yeah.” Raine nodded. “I think she is, and we should go with that. Bryn also said that whoever wants to ruin Macen is a woman scorned. Everything else…maybe we toss that out and think a little more broadly. I know it’s supposed to be someone who supposedly saw Hammer ‘rape’ me as a child, but does it have to be?”
Both men opened their mouths to rebut her.
Her brother frowned. “Storm cloud—”
“Just hear me out. A man would look at this logically. It’s black or white. It’s up or down. She saw the crime or she didn’t. But a woman who feels scorned might be more flexible with the truth, especially if she wasn’t well hinged in the first place.”
Seth and River both looked at one another. She saw their light bulbs go off.
“You’re saying bitch be crazy?” Seth asked. “Yeah. I’ve trailed absolutely psycho-ass chicks for cases back in New York. Some of these women made that home-wrecker in Fatal Attraction look sane. Go on.”
River turned to him. “Seriously?”
“How do you not know this?”
“Go spend ten years in Afghanistan. Every female out there is either wearing a military uniform or a burka. Not a lot of interaction, if you get my meaning.”
Seth shook his head. “Oh, you need an education about the fairer sex.”
River scowled. “I know my way around a woman.”
“Can we focus?” Raine chewed on a ragged nail. “If we’re looking for a blonde member in her thirties who felt scorned and is mental, only one person comes to mind. She’s been sticking in the back of my head since we talked on Sunday. We even dismissed her…but I’m starting to think we’re being too hasty.”
“The bitch who hit you?” River asked.
“That one.” Raine nodded. “Marlie.”
“I never met her.” Seth sent her a measuring glance. “Still have that footage? I’d like to see it.”
Raine smiled grimly. “Looking to gage her crazy?”
“Something like that.” Seth nodded. “I usually have a good sense about people.”
