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4
The Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
MONDAY, JULY 25, 3:00 P.M.
Molly glared at her computer screen, the result of her search on the car that had followed them having taken far longer than it should have. Motherfucking sonsofbitches. It was every bit as bad as she’d feared.
“Hey,” Burke said from the doorway to her office. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She glanced away from her screen to Burke. “Patty get back to the Choux okay?”
“She did,” Burke said warily, sensing her fury. “She’s safe.”
It had been hard to listen to Gabe telling his cousin about his father’s death. On their return to the office, Molly had retreated to her office to give them space to grieve and talk things out.
“Who took her back to the restaurant?” she asked.
“Val. She’s going to remain on-site, just in case someone comes looking for Gabe or Patty.”
That was reassuring. Of all Burke’s PIs, Val Sorensen would have been Molly’s first pick. The woman was nearly six feet tall and tough as nails. She had long blond hair that made her look like a Valkyrie, the source of her nickname. She was sass and swagger. But underneath all that, Val was a marshmallow. She’d be gentle with Patty, even as she watched her back.
“I’ve got info for her, then. We were followed on the way back.”
Burke’s brows shot to his hairline. “What the fuck? Why didn’t you say so before?”
“Because I’d hoped to get an ID on the vehicle so I could give you something concrete.”
“Did you?”
“Kind of. I circled around and got behind the car long enough to catch the plate.” She had to breathe for a second to calm her anger. “It was a fucking unmarked NOPD sedan.”
Burke closed his eyes briefly. “Of course it was. Someone must’ve been watching the Choux. Did the sedan come close enough to get your plate?”
“Probably.” Dammit. “Which isn’t good because I’m driving the truck today—the vehicle that Chelsea usually drives. If they follow her tomorrow, I’ve potentially put her in danger, too.”
“She still working from home?”
“Yeah, but she had a job interview in an office today with on-street parking. She has a hard time parallel parking the truck, so I told her to take the car.”
“Hopefully she’ll get the job but won’t need to start until after this case is closed. Until then, you can take your car and I’ll loan her mine if she needs one, just in case anyone gets too curious about you. I’ve been biking to work lately. Easier to get around traffic that way.”
Relief washed over her. “Thank you, Burke.”
He waved her thanks away. “Least I could do. What will she do with Harper while she’s at work if she gets the job?”
“Louisa is doing some summer classes online. She’s coming over to work at our place so she can keep an eye on Harper.” Joy’s daughter had been a godsend. Harper trusted her, and that was no small feat. “I might be overreacting, but knowing a cop was following me has me rattled, to be honest.”
Burke’s expression didn’t make her feel better. “Knowing what they’re capable of, I don’t think you’re overreacting. I saw the photos of Rocky’s body in the police report.”
She swallowed. So had she. Keeping her expression neutral in front of Gabe while looking at his father slumped over his kitchen table had been difficult. The exit wound had been... bad.
“I’ll tell Louisa to lock the doors and windows, to set the alarm, and not to let anyone in, not even delivery people.” She met Burke’s steady gaze. “I hate this. I hate even the notion that I’ve put them in danger. Harper and Chelsea are just getting better. Chelsea doesn’t bust out of her skin when someone talks behind her anymore. Harper’s nightmares are slowing down.”
“You didn’t put them in danger. Gabe didn’t, either. Whoever was following Gabe did this. I don’t want you to be distracted worrying about your family. I’ll assign someone to watch over them.”
Gratitude lessened a portion of her fear. “This case is going to cost you more than Gabe is paying you.” Especially if he had to take investigators off other jobs to work bodyguard duty. Burke’s firm wasn’t small—he employed six full-time investigators and at least a dozen part-timers—but this was still a major diversion of resources. “You can’t sustain throwing most of your staff at Gabe’s case. Not for long.”
Burke’s jaw set. “I don’t care. I want Rocky’s killer to pay, and I want Gabe, you, and your families to be safe. I don’t care what I have to do to make those things happen.” He shrugged. “And I’m not charging Gabe a full fee, either. Rocky was my family, too, just like Chelsea and Harper are. I’ll juggle priorities so that none of our other clients are shortchanged. Don’t worry about it.”
