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Anthea pushed into the guys’ midst, her arms crossed. “Are you sure getting her involved in this is wise?”
Kaige studied me warily for a moment, but his shoulders had relaxed. “I don’t see the harm.”
Wylder finally spoke, his voice light but with a hint of an edge. “Ithasbeen two weeks since you started investigating, Aunt Anthea, and we’re nowhere near the answer as far as I can tell.”
Anthea bristled. “There’s little to no evidence. I told you, I need more time.” Then she looked up at me accusingly as if I were the one questioning her competence.
But Wylder had made his decision—in my favor. As I passed him his second drink, he nodded to Gideon. “Why don’t you do the honors?”
Gideon tapped his fingers against the bar counter as if counting out the facts. “Titus, also known as ‘the Titan,’ was one of Ezra’s best men. Two weeks ago he was found dead on the back lawn. He appeared to have fallen from the fire escape platform on the third floor after the railing broke.”
Axel hadn’t mentioned the railing. “Then why does everyone seem to think he was murdered?”
“The railingwasbroken, but on closer inspection, it was clear it’d been sawed through and treated with chemicals to make it look as if it’d rusted out instead.” Gideon’s tone stayed totally matter of fact. “Oh, and he was dead before he even hit the ground anyway. His neck had been snapped first.”
He pulled out his phone and turned it toward me. The photo on the screen showed a guy sprawled limply on his back. Axel crouched next to the body with an angry expression. Even in his prone position, Titus was obviously huge—at least six and a half feet tall and a good two hundred and fifty pounds minimum, all muscle. His veiny arms looked ready to pop. Like Axel, his head was shaved.
Shock rippled through me. Somebody had managed to break this giant’s neck.
“That must have taken one heck of a powerful person,” I said.
“It sure as hell wasn’t me,” Kaige muttered. After a pause, he couldn’t seem to help adding, “If it’d been a fair fight, I wouldn’t have minded taking credit. To date, no one’s beat Titus in a brawl.”
“Butsomeonedid. Someone who managed to kill him.” Possibilities were already running in my head. It had to be somebody with massive upper body strength. As narrow as the neck was, it took a lot of effort to snap it, not to mention getting access to that area in the first place unless his attacker was equally tall.
Without thinking, my eyes drifted to Kaige. He was the picture of innocence. But could I really trust him? It was true that I hadn’t seen anyone else who came close to the Titan in size and strength around here so far.
“People are pointing the finger at Kaige because just a few days before Titus’s death, the two of them got into a spat,” Rowan said, speaking up for the first time.
Kaige smacked his fist on the counter. “I had no choice. The bastard decided to come after Wylder, questioning his authority, getting right up in his face. I’m not going to stand around while anyone disrespects him.”
Wylder nodded. “Kaige was standing up for me.”
“By going ballistic?” Anthea said. “And it wasn’t just that. Multiple people heard you threaten tokillthe guy.”
Kaige frowned. “Whose side are you on exactly?”
“I’m just stating the facts.”
“It was an empty threat,” Kaige said. “I was pissed off, but I’m not a big enough fool to go after one of Ezra’s men. That’d be a death sentence forme.”
“Titus had threatened to kill you too,” Anthea pointed out.
“Just spouting off like I was. I forgot about it by the next day.” Kaige grimaced at her. “I told you already, I didn’t kill Titus. I hated the old bastard, but he didn’t die at my hands.”
The circumstantial evidence against him wasn’t exactly hope-inspiring, though. Was he annoyed by the discussion because he really had nothing to do with it or because he knew what a proper investigation would unearth?
Wylder was observing me as closely as I was watching Kaige. “So, what do you think of all this, Kitty Cat?”
“It’s a strange case,” I admitted.
Kaige groaned. “I’m sure everything will be fine if Anthea stops pointing out the reasons it could be me and actually manages to exonerate me.”
Anthea scowled at him. “Ezra gave me a job, and I intend to do it to the best of my abilities. Stop doubting my judgment.”
Wylder shook his head. “It’s not enough. We’re running out of time. Dad will be home soon, and Axel and the others will be pushing for retribution as soon as he does. Maybe that means it’s time to bring in reinforcements.” He arched his eyebrows at me. “What do you think, Kitty Cat? Are you up for the job?”
I blinked at him. “What?”
“You wanted a proper deal, right? Well here, I’ll give it to you. You figure out who actually killed the Titan, and I’ll take down Colt Bryant for you, no further services required.”
