Page 31 of Stone Cold Sinner

“Dill, to be fair, you were up here at the house when all this went down a few days back. Ran was supposed to fill you in.”

“Go ahead and throw me under the bus, Coy. I haven’t exactly had a free moment to share the details. There’s either family around or agents. I told her there might be some trouble, and that’s all I got out.”

“And I assumed he was referring to Nash and how he reacted to the plants you plowed down and didn’t give it much thought.” Dillon shrugged. “Next time, send me a damn text. Email. Hide in a closet and call me, for all I care. Something.”

“Fair enough,” Coy said, turning his phone to show both of them the images he’d taken. “Anyone stand out?”

“Definitely not from around here. That guy’s shoes cost as much as my car.” Dillon said. “No one around here dresses like that. Not even on Sunday. The other guys with them?”

“Kenzie has seen them together before. They aren’t familiar, but they’re more dressed the part. Playing local.” Coy went on. “Familiar faces?”

Dillon let out a deep sigh, “No. Not for me.”

“Damn. I can’t say they’re familiar to me either. You think this is related to the plants, then?” Ransom asked.

“I don’t know. Too many things suggest they could be, but there are just as many reasons that suggest this is something entirely different. Either way, I don’t think we’re done with those guys. Something tells me they’re up to no good.”

“Did you send in your images? Have Killion run them through facial recognition and the other databases?” Dillon asked.

“Already sent.” Coy tucked his phone away. “We can talk about this later. We have company.”

Nash entered through the front door with Charlotte.

10

“I can’t believe you told her everything, Nash. Shit.” Dillon chastised as if Charlotte wasn’t sitting right in front of them on a stool in front of Nora.

Despite being the topic of discussion, Charlotte didn’t flinch. She finished assessing Nora and had moved on to tending to Jackson’s wounds.

“How many times do I have to tell you guys you can trust her?” Nash argued, “And I didn’t tell her everything. I don’t keep secrets from her.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Dillon asked.

“Not even close. Look, I’m an open book but not a gossip.”

“How long have you two been seeing each other?” Coy asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Surely the sleepover the other night wasn’t the first time… And the body language coming off both of you says you’re more than friends.” Coy said quietly, unamused by his brother’s elusive response. “That’s what I mean. How long? How well do you know her?”

“I told you. She was Mama’s nurse, and…”

“How long, Nash?” Coy insisted, attempting not to cause a scene.

“Nearly a year.” Nash said, “Six months, seriously. Give or take.”

Dillon shook her head and began to pace, “Jesus. She probably already knows more than we think. This ought to be good.”

“Truth is,” Charlotte chimed in with a sweet tone, not taking her eyes off her work as she sewed up a wound on Jackson. “I feel like I know all of you already, and I’m quite fond of y’all. I could pick out who was who without an introduction, just based on Lilah’s stories. You can trust me, but I’ll understand if you don’t. Lilah warned me about that, too. Trust is hard-earned with this family, and I understand why. If you’d rather I left, I can do that, no hard feelings at all.”

“She warned you? Like she knew our paths would cross? She intended for you to be a part of our lives after her passing?” Dillon asked.

Charlotte smiled, but her focus remained on the task at hand, “Your guess is as good as mine, but perhaps it’s because she was hopeful her matchmaking efforts would cash in?”

“Regardless of the why, you aren’t going anywhere,” Coy said.

Nash puffed out his chest in a protective manner and stood toe to toe with his brother, “Hey, now. Watch yourself, brother. First, you don’t want her here, but now she can’t leave. What kind of game…”

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