Page 14 of Lake House Killer

Now it’s Fallon’s eyes bugging out. “You dumped Ryan? When? How? I guess I know why.” She shakes her head at her sister. “Okay, look, the guy’s name is Marco Rossi.”

Another audible groan escapes me, and Fallon averts her eyes.

“Marco Rossi.” Riley nods with a look on her face that lets me know she’s taking mental notes. “And what mob family does this guy work for?”

I shoot Fallon a look that screams say it and regret it. We could be opening a whole new Pandora’s box with this one.

“It’s the Moretti family,” Jet says without missing a beat, and now it’s my eyes that are about to leap from my head.

“Geez.” I shake my head. “Do I want to know how you knew that?”

“Probably not.” He gives a dark chuckle as he says it, and now I definitely don’t want to know.

The bell chimes on the door to the entry and Riley glances up.

“Ooh, a crowd just walked in. I’d better get moving. Thanks for the hot tip on where to find Erin,” she says, jumping to her feet. “I’ll get your order in first. The usual, right?”

We give a couple of reluctant nods her way.

“I’d better get moving, too,” Jet says, following her lead. “And don’t worry”—he says, wrapping an arm around Riley’s waist like he owns the real estate there, and both Fallon and I take note of it—“I know exactly where to find this guy.”

“What?” Fallon gags on the words trying to make their way out of her throat. “Don’t you dare,” she calls out after them, but it’s too late. They’ve disappeared into the bustle of the diner.

“Good move,” I say.

“You be quiet.” She folds her arms tight. “I’ve never held anything back from Riley. I guess I need to rethink my position on the level of secrecy between the two of us.”

“Judging by the way my brother just mildly assaulted your sister, I’d say they’re both keeping something from us.”

Her mouth falls open.

“Okay.” She closes her eyes for a moment. “I can’t deal with either of my sisters right now. Let’s just focus on the case. Nikki mentioned she found a few things. We should meet up with her.”

“Agree. But first, I’d like to take a drive out to Briarwood and maybe knock on Owen’s door.”

“You sure about that? Rumor has it, he doesn’t take too kindly to trespassers.”

“Good thing I’m packing heat. Plus, we’ll have Buddy. Who doesn’t like a dog?”

“With a face like this?” She gives him a hearty scratch. “You’d have to be insane.”

Whoever caused all that carnage up at Sugar Pine Lake is definitely off the rails.

But then, Fallon and I did sign up for crazy.

Speaking of which, Owen Marcus, here we come.

9

Special Agent Fallon Baxter

Once Jack and I finish up at the diner, we head toward Briarwood, and yet my mind is still reeling with regret.

Mentioning Marco Rossi was a colossal mistake.

The thought of Riley or Jet getting tangled up in this mess creates a knot in my stomach the size of the Rocky Mountains. My fingers keep twitching to reach for my phone and shoot Riley a text, warning her not to go off half-cocked, but I stop myself. I know her well enough to understand that caution isn’t her default mode.

On an up note, my sister promised not to say a word to our mother, who just so happened to show up as we were leaving. And since the morning rush was over, Riley asked to take Buddy to the dog park for me.

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