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Maybe the real question wasn’t who could have but why anyone would have wanted to.
I glanced at Anthea again. “Do you have any suspects?”
She arched a brow. “As far as I’m concerned, everybody is a suspect.”
“Is Kaige included in that?”
“He’s innocent until proven guilty.”
Her voice tightened with those words, a hint of a frown creasing the corners of her mouth. I didn’t think she liked that there was so much suspicion on him. “You don’t think he did it, no matter how much evidence there is.”
She aimed her frown at me. “He and Wylder are like brothers. I’ve practically seen him grow up. He can fly off the handle pretty easily, and he’d kill to defend Wylder in the moment, but I can’t see him arranging some elaborate murder plan when no one’s in immediate danger.”
“Then why are you investigating him at all?”
She lowered her petite form to sit on the windowsill. “If I don’t remain neutral, the investigation will be tainted. My brother wouldn’t like that.”
I worried at my lower lip. If she didn’t think Kaige could have done it, I had to admit I was inclined to believe her. “Isn’t thereanyoneelse who could have taken Titus on? Who else was around that night?”
“It’s a pretty busy house. Some of the top guys live here most of the time, and there are always associates coming and going. And then there are the groupies, not that they pose a threat other than by venereal disease.”
I held back a laugh, picturing how Gia would have responded to that assessment. “Are there a lot of ‘groupies’ who hang around here?”
Anthea made a dismissive wave. “A few of them. It’s a steady rotation as they realize no one here is going to want them for more than a quick lay and they move out to make room for the next round. But my brother lets them have a room so they’re on hand should any of the men want to… partake of their services.”
From the bitterness that had crept into her voice, I wondered if her mother had been one of the groupies. We might have had that in common. Whoever my mom had been, Dad definitely hadn’t bothered to marry her or anything official like that. She’d been nothing more than a broodmare to him.
I wasn’t trying to make an enemy out of Anthea—well, more than we already were—so I didn’t pry on that subject. I was debating my next question when she spoke up again.
“You don’t belong here.”
“What?”
She stood up again, stepping close enough that I had to back up, starkly aware of how little space was left behind me. One quick push, and she could heave me over the railing just like that.
“Forget your revenge, forget vying for Wylder’s favor, and get the hell out of this house,” she said in a low voice. “Kittens don’t last long in a place like this.”
I snorted. “Is that a threat?”
“I could make it one. Let me be very clear: I don’t want you here.”
I folded my arms in front of me. “Oh yeah? So what’s stopping you from showing me the door?”
Her jaw clenched. “It’s not my house, and Wylder has decided to entertain your delusions. I have plenty of other resources at my disposal, though.”
“You’re a Noble too. You have seniority over him, don’t you?”
A sharp guffaw spilled out of her. “And you’re a woman too. I think you know well enough how men in this life see us.”
“You have some kind of position here,” I had to point out. More than my father had ever allowed me.
“Oh, sure, my brother makes use of my unique skill set. That doesn’t mean he gives me any authority outside of that.”
“And your job is poisons?”
She gave me a sharp little smile. “Any kind of killing that can fly under the radar as an accident or illness to prevent further investigation. Both identifying them and dealing them out.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. But then, every man in this mansion was probably a killer several times over. Why not the main woman of the house too?
