Page 44 of Night Watch
“No,” Erik stated firmly. “But she’s in debt, and I’m just checking all avenues to see if her money problems might’ve spilled over to Wanda.”
“I’ll do it,” Clay offered.
“Let me know what you find.” Erik’s phone dinged and a text displayed on his screen. “Text coming in from Nick. He didn’t locate anything else on inDents or the deposits.”
“Whoever set this up knew what they were doing, then,” Aiden stated. “If Nick can’t find anything, no one can.”
“Exactly,” Erik said as he gave it some thought. “I’ll give the info to Detective Johnson and encourage him to get a court order for the domain registration information.”
Erik thanked his brothers and ended the call. At Kennedy’s deep frown, he wanted to share something positive for once. “Your background check came back clean.”
“That’s not a surprise.” Her forehead remained furrowed.
“I’m just about to start on your mother’s older bank records. Would you like to go through them with me, or would you rather I take my things and head over to Drake’s condo?”
Her finger started spinning in her hair, twirling a strand tight. “I don’t want to go through her finances. Not at all. But I don’t want to be alone either. So stay. Please.”
He’d offered to work with her, but should he really stay? What with her emotional state and all? He should probably head over to Drake’s place before he found other ways to comfort her, ways that weren’t in their best interest.
He started to get up, but she pleaded with those gorgeous brown eyes. No way he could go, so he dropped back down onto the cushion.
About time he realized that he was powerless to refuse her anything. A fact he was certain would be his downfall again.
11
Kennedy crossed the large room to Erik. He’d come over from Drake’s condo an hour before, bringing bagels for breakfast. She hadn’t showered, so she’d gone back to his room to get ready and put a fresh bandage on her hand while he continued to work at the table, Pong resting at his feet.
Erik looked fresh in his work polo shirt and cargo pants. The dark black shirt highlighted his lighter hair. He glanced up from his computer, and with just one look, her pulse slipped into warp speed. She could too easily imagine waking up in the morning with him at her side. She’d often pictured it in the past, but now it seemed even more personal. Maybe because they weren’t a couple anymore.
He smiled and lifted a large mug with big letters that read,NO I WILL NOT FIX YOUR COMPUTER. “There’s coffee in the kitchen. I put a mug out for you. Help yourself to the bagels.”
“Thanks.” After a rough night filled with pain from her hand and bad dreams that kept her tossing and turning, she could use a gallon of the stuff. She hurried to the kitchen to fill a mug. She chose a plain bagel and slathered strawberry cream cheese over the surface. She hadn’t eaten much of the pizza, and the scent of strawberries had her mouth watering as she took her plate and mug to the table.
She closely looked Erik over. “Any symptoms?”
“I feel perfectly fine.” His gaze was earnest, and she believed him.
“It’s likely too early for symptoms to occur anyway, but keep an eye out for anything unusual.” She set down her mug and tapped his pill bottle sitting by his computer. “And keep taking these antibiotics.”
“Yes, Mom.” He laughed.
She settled in a chair and grinned back at him, but his eyes smoldered with an intensity that kicked up her heart rate. No. Not good. Keeping up this flirting—or whatever it was—would only lead them in the wrong direction.
He pointed at her bandage. “How’s the hand?”
“Sore but manageable,” she said, though the pain was bad enough that she’d been tempted to take the pain meds the doctor prescribed. She didn’t. Not when she needed a clear brain.
“And you’re feeling—?”
“Fine. No sign of illness.” And no reason to linger on her health. “Have we learned anything about the DNA from my mom’s place?”
“A text from Emory said the DNA from the print on the drawer matched my shirt, so the intruder definitely bumped into me. Too bad I didn’t know that and stop him.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I knew something was wrong.” He leaned back and frowned. “Should’ve followed my gut. His DNA didn’t match anyone in the Veritas database, so Emory will have to get Detective Johnson to run it through law enforcement databases.”
“Speaking of Johnson, any word from him yet?”
