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Yasha walks into my office ten minutes later with a breakfast sandwich in his hand. I scowl up at him. “You’re late.”
“I was hungry. Oh, shit.” He winces. “I can go grab you one.”
“I’m not hungry; I’m impatient.” I point to the chair across from my desk. “Sit. Tell me what you found out.”
He sets the sandwich on the edge of my desk and blows out a breath. “Well, not much, honestly. Your dad had never heard of the St. Clairs because there isn’t much to hear. Cora’s dad is pretty well-off, but he makes his money the boring, legal way. He also dipped out when she was a kid and has a whole new family now. Cora isn’t in any of the pictures I could find of his ‘family’ online.”
That’s reason enough for me to hate the bastard. I don’t need to know any more.
“And her mother?”
“Her mom, Evaline, married Alexander McAllister almost ten years ago.”
I frown, scouring my mind for any mention of that name. “Do I know him?”
“It’s possible. He moves in some of the same circles, but he keeps a low profile. No one really has him nailed down.”
“That’s why I asked you to look into it. To nail him down.”
“And I did!” He lounges back, his hands raised in defense. “I tried, at least. He’s just some generic rich guy as far as I can tell.”
“It just doesn’t make any sense.” I growl in frustration. “Cora was at that party under her friend’s name. But why? If her stepdad moves in the same circles—even a tangential circle—she would have been invited, too.”
Yasha shrugs. “Maybe her invite got lost in the mail.”
“Hm.” There’s more, too. “When we were shopping for her ring, Kieran acted like he’d seen her before.”
He feigns shock. “A rich woman in a fancy jewelry shop. How scandalous.”
“He acted like she’d been there before—with someone else,” I grit out. “I think Cora might have been engaged before this.”
He frowns. “Nothing about a previous engagement came up anywhere.”
“You’re running into a lot of dead ends where Cora is concerned.”
“Maybe because there isn’t much to find.”
I shake my head. “Or because there’s something someone doesn’t want you to find.”
“Like what? Cora seems nice. I can’t imagine her having some dark, sordid history.”
“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have one. Look into it more. Interview people, follow leads, dig for dirt. Whatever you need to do.”
Yasha sits up and blows out a breath. “Man, I—I know you like this girl, but—”
“I don’tlikeher,” I snap. “I’m letting her into my house and I need to know who the fuck she is. This isn’t any more personal than that.”
Yasha arches a skeptical brow for a moment before he clears his face. “Okay. Either way, we have bigger shit going on. Don Pushkin called us in for a meeting tonight. He wants to know who tried to assassinate Cora.”
“I’ll deal with my father,” I tell him. “Look more closely into Cora.”
He takes another bite of his sandwich and flops back in the chair. “If you’re sure.”
Hell no, I’m not sure. Since Cora showed up, I haven’t been sure about a fucking thing.
But I shove that uncertainty down and nod. “I’m positive.”
48
