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I lifted my head, locking eyes with Gabriel’s wife, Vanna. She greeted me with a wide smile and tight hug.
“Hello, sister-in-law. How are you on this fine day?”
She laughed, the tinkling sound ringing through the kitchen, her thick black hair swishing back and forth at the movement. “Better than you.” She pushed me back in the direction of the study. “You better get in there or not even I can protect you.”
Waving over my shoulder, I did as I was told. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
The door to the study was closed when I got there, and I knocked before going inside. Even I knew better than to startle anyone in my family. We all lived by the creed “Shoot first, ask questions once they’re incapacitated.”
Liam, my oldest brother, was sitting in a chair he’d pulled up to the desk Gabriel was sitting behind. Dad was in the other chair. That left the couch for me. Ignoring the disapproving stares that followed me, I sank onto the cushions. “So what’s this all about?”
“When were you going to tell us that you found the shooter?” Gabriel growled.
Leaning back, I put my arms out to the side, resting them on top of the backrest. “I haven’t found the shooter. I have a lead. Big difference.”
Gabriel visibly clenched his teeth. “You have an address. That’s pretty big to me.”
“But I still don’t have the shooter. A woman and her brother live there. And so far, there’s been no sign of the shooter.”
Dad’s head shot up. “Why is this the first I’ve heard of it?”
“I didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up again only for it to be a dead end. And as I said, I don’t have much yet.”
Liam put down his phone that he’d been typing on, no doubt to message his wife. “It’s more than we’ve ever had.”
“And I’m working on getting even more.”
Gabriel straightened. “Is that why you moved out?”
Shrugging, I lifted my brows. “You already know about the number we got from Aleksándr. And it led to an apartment. But even after watching the place for two weeks, we had nothing. So I bought the whole complex, and I’m renting the place next to the one we’re interested in.”
Gabriel studied me before nodding. “So you haven’t moved out. This is only until we can make sure the shooter won’t show up.”
“For now.”
I didn’t add that I might want to stay. I’d hated the apartment when I first moved in. But after I’d hired a company to do a deep clean, it was growing on me. And I had plans to fix up the whole complex.
I was putting in a new roof, and every time someone moved out, I planned on renovating their apartment. I’d been surprised when I looked over the numbers and realized it was making a decent chunk of money.
If I held on to it for five years, I’d have paid off most of it. It was a solid investment, not only because of its great location but also because of its potential. Once I’d cleaned it up, I could charge a lot more rent.
“Fine. As long as you keep us informed, I’ll let you handle this.”
Ignoring Gabriel’s directive, I got up. “How generous of you. Now, if there’s nothing else, I have a lawn mower to buy. I’m thinking of getting an electric one. What do you think?”
My brothers stared at me as if I’d announced I was becoming a vegan. Dad frowned, unsure what to make of my statement. None of them came up with a response, and I left before they could.
After saying goodbye to the women who were still chatting in the kitchen—a cliché Freya used to hate but now seemed to have embraced wholeheartedly—I drove straight to Walmart.
Pushing my cart, I walked through the aisles, debating the usefulness of a donut-shaped inflatable. I couldn’t come up with a time I’d use it but put it in my cart anyway. I could add a pool to the apartment complex. Nobody needed that many parking spaces.
Maybe I should pick up a TV as well since I was already here. The one in my bedroom was a little small.
Walking past the giant tower of plastic jars filled with chocolate-covered hazelnuts, I glanced around. There were only two other shoppers, both of them engrossed in looking at kitty litter. Knowing this was a bad idea but doing it anyway, I pushed my cart into the tower.
The noise was deafening, and I cringed at the mess. Half the tower had come down, the jars rolling on the floor all around me. But desperate times and all that.
Like clockwork, Ariel appeared, coppery red hair up in a high ponytail, her perfect body covered by her work uniform. “Again? Really?”
