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“What’s that?”
“Ronnie talked to Mariena about this.”
“I heard,” Brian said, sounding a bit distracted. “She didn’t take it well.”
“Cleo,” Nick said, his brows furrowing. “We can catch Brian up on this later once we know more.”
“We’re about to travel to go find this guy. There is no reason to wait.”
“Wait on what?” Brian asked, now re-engaged with his antenna. “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing yet,” Nick said. “Mariena was very worked up, and she made mention of the fact that the man we’re looking for was a—”
“A what?” Brian asked impatiently.
“A murderer,” Cleo said flatly. “She didn’t give it more context, and she was so upset she needed to be sedated.”
“Seriously?” Brian asked. “You didn’t think this was important information? Nick, you’ve got to loop me in on everything. That’s how this works. I might not have sent you there.”
“It was me,” Cleo said before Nick could argue. “The rantings of a mentally ill woman under immense stress can’t be given credence. Not that early in the process. I told Nick we should hold off on that detail until we had something else to move on. Now that we know where he is, it’s more relevant.”
“I prefer complete transparency,” Brian replied, but this time with less intensity.
“I don’t like to be an alarmist,” Cleo said. “Facts always guide me. But I hear you.”
“Just proceed with caution then. We ran a cursory background check and nothing popped. If he killed someone, it’s not on his record.”
“Noted,” Nick replied, his face all sorts of conflicted. “We’ll keep you posted.”
Sammy’s voice came in song around the corner and punctuated his footed pajamas padding across the floor.
“We’ve got to run. I’m making dinner. Sammy is here.”
“My brother, the family man.” Brian joked as they disconnected the call.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Nick said, averting his eyes from Cleo.
“It was my call, no reason you should have to take the heat for it.”
“Is it ready? Can we eat?” Sammy asked, his eyes wide and his words tumbling out like cartwheels.
“Not yet, bud,” Nick said. “But Carter is about to help me, so it’ll go much quicker. Why don’t you, Cleo, and Ronnie watch some cartoons?”
“Yes!” Sammy said, pumping his fist in excitement. “Can I pick?”
“Absolutely,” Ronnie said, tussling his hair.
Cleo was on their heels as they moved to the living room. There were a few toys tucked into the corner of the room, and Sammy’s favorite blanket was spread out to snuggle on.
Ronnie sank onto the couch and patted the spot next to her. “I want the tea,” she whispered as the volume on the cartoons kept Sammy from being able to hear.
“What tea?” Cleo asked, feeling anxious about the conversation with Brian. Was Ronnie hoping for some kind of update on the plan?
“Obviously, something is going on between you and Nick. I’ve been living abroad for the last few years. Exploring the world. Now I’m back here with not a damn bit of entertainment.”
“What are you talking about?” Cleo’s flushed cheeks threatened to give her away.
“Oh, come on,” Ronnie groaned. “You two have been here a whole month just simmering with something. At first, I couldn’t tell if you two were fighting like siblings or if it was something more. Now, since the second you two walked back in here, I can tell. It’s something different. Something happened between you two.”
