Page 106 of Steel

I adored my sister, but she was as much a menace as Violet. That meant the two of them would get along and work against me. Maybe I was out of my mind for allowing the two of them to meet.

After pouring another cup of coffee, I pulled up Violet’s number. Seeing her name that I’d programmed had an odd effect on me. Maybe I’d taken having Tanya’s name in my phone for granted.

Or maybe it didn’t mean nearly as much.

She answered breathless, the sound slowly imbedding into my soul. “Josie agreed.”

“Wonderful. Send me the address. Why are you breathless?”

Her soft sigh was enough of an aphrodisiac my cock twitched. “Damon and I are just enjoying a nice location walk that I think you’ll love. As my cover model.”

“Here we go. Don’t get your hopes up.” Why was I smiling about the situation? Why?

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, I guess you will.”

Now it was time to do a little investigation before I headed off to work.

* * *

Kenneth Coleman was exactly as she’d described. A rich asshole who thought he was entitled to treat people badly. The internet had been very useful. Given the marriage to a real princess that he was in, I had a feeling that a tidy sum of money had come from her family. Plus, any improprieties would likely end in a messy divorce.

His family was ultra conservative in nature. I’d simply needed to go through a group of photographs on the internet to gather a sense of his influential friends. Wealthy, highly political, and in positions of ultimate power. Kenneth was a mover and shaker.

He had everything to lose if anyone discovered he had a child with another woman.

What if anything did that mean? Nothing, unless there was some pressure being placed on him, an imminent discovery regarding Damon that he feared. That would wait for another day.

I didn’t have enough time to delve into his hobbies or indulge in the various articles written about him in every financial magazine, but I would if push came to shove. For now, I had a few minutes left before I headed to work and I was determined to make good use of them.

A good guy.

You bet I was feeling like some asshole at this point. I’d snuck around to take pictures of Zorro so Damon wouldn’t suspect what I was doing. That made me an asshole in my book. If the pup belonged to someone else, I’d be the reason the kid was driven into misery. No, that didn’t make me a good guy in the least.

The call to the breeder needed to be made, but first, I was headed out to search my property. I’d search hers later. While I was no law man, I carried my weapon with me. I refused to put her life at risk if there was anything I could do about it.

Nothing appeared amiss close to the house. Then again, I wasn’t necessarily a target.

The shed was full of basic yard tools, nothing of any value. But the space itself was valuable. Just far enough away from the house that if they realized my hours were long, it was a perfect location to hole up if needed.

While the lock itself was intact, there was a window on the back, an easy access point. As soon as I walked around to the side, I scanned the area. Unfortunately, with the fight I’d had withViolet, while the area seemed disturbed, that meant nothing at this point.

The rope also meant nothing other than that it appeared a recent purchase, thick and sold in any hardware store. I crouched down, searching the ground around it. There was nothing noticeable at first. Until I noticed a something glinting in the sun. A key. What was a key doing on the ground? Being halfway buried into the ground, I doubted there were any fingerprints on it, but at this point, anything was possible.

There was no obvious sign the shed had been broken into, but the window was unlocked. Had I left it that way?

I pulled out the set of keys, unlocking the padlock.

As soon as I walked inside and flicked on the light, I knew instinctively just as I had with the rental house that someone had been inside. Only this time, I had proof in the shape of a shoe print in the damp dirt.

It was time to call the police chief. Maybe now, we’d catch the kids responsible. I backed away, yanking out my phone while holding the key in my hand.

“Chief Taylor, this is Steel Beckett. I might have some information about the kids starting the fires. Do you have a chance to talk today?”

CHAPTER 24

Violet