Page 103 of Rescued by the Single Dad

Then she filled him in on her Mother’s Day idea and how she would need his help. She planned to mention it to the children when they arrived home from school. Jagger thought it was a great idea and seemed to think they’d all be on board with it.

“I’ll figure out their favorite foods, then talk to Burke, Wyatt’s head chef, about helping out.”

“Great.” She beamed. “I don’t want to overstep, but I know if someone had done something like this for me, I would have appreciated it.”

“One hundred percent. I think it’s a great idea.”

Footsteps in the kitchen pulled their attention, and Rocco joined them on the patio a moment later, the same style container as Brooke’s in his hand. He lifted it in Jagger’s direction. “Lunch?”

Jagger nodded.

“Thanks, man.”

Rocco sat down in the matching Adirondack chair beside Brooke’s and opened his container. “Well, I guess Sergeant Fox had a lull fighting crime, you know, catching masked bandits stealing old ladies’ purses or something and was able to make a statement to the press sooner than he anticipated.”

Jagger’s eyes widened. “Wait, you told the cops?”

“A cop. And yes. We think if they publicly say it was a suicide and mention that they found a body and Rocco is going to identify it, then whoever pushed me overboard will think they’re in the clear, and it will be easier to find them. They’ll go about their life again without a care in the world.” Brooke shoveled another scoop of couscous into her mouth, making sure she speared a Kalamata olive and a chunk of feta on the fork prong. She loved feta.

Rocco popped a piece of falafel into his mouth. “According to the good sergeant, I’m on my way now to identify the body.”

“Whose body did they find? ‘Cause it wasn’t yours,” Jagger asked.

“Tinsley asked me how I felt knowing they found a body and if I planned on taking anyone with me for support.”.”

“And?” Brooke probed.

“Well, obviously, it won’t be your body. And there won’t actually be a coroner call. Sergeant Fox is just staging it all. So who the fuck knows? I told her I wanted to go alone since it was just us against the world anyway.”

She smiled at her brother, but her head hurt from just how much scheming they were doing.

“A body—your body—means the will proceedings can take place sooner. So prepare for long lost relatives to come out of the woodwork. At least without a body nothing could be done for seven years,” Jagger added.

The lightbulb came on, and it glowed bright. It seemed the bulb in Rocco’s brain flicked on, too.

“By having a body and will proceedings, we’ll be able to flush out the family who may have done it. That actually makes sense,” Brooke said. “I mean, obviously, you are my soul beneficiary.”

“And you’re mine.”

“What happens if Brooke dies, then you die?” Jagger asked. “Or you die at the same time?”

All the color drained from Rocco’s face, and she was sure it drained from hers as well.

“I think it would go to dad,” she whispered. “I’m not sure I have a second person listed. Maybe Inez? But I’m not sure.”

Rocco nodded. “I know for a fact that I don’t. So since Dad’s our closest living relative, if you die, then I die, he gets everything. Even if he is in prison.”

She closed the lid on her to-go container and set it back on the table. Her appetite disappeared. “I need to change my will.”

“Well, you’re technically dead, so maybe wait until you’re alive again?” Jagger said with mirth.

“But what if I actually die and then whoever tried to kill me goes after Rocco? He’s already gone and painted a target on his back by trash-talking dad to the press.” Panic coiled like a serpent around her insides, squeezing until she felt nauseous. “It had to be dad. Or Aunt Gina and Uncle Rick. Maybe he put them up to it. He gets the money, then splits it with them?”

Rocco nodded. “Maybe ... But why now?”

She shrugged. It didn’t matter why now. The fact of the matter was, it was happening now. Even from prison, their father had orchestrated an attempted murder on her. Now Rocco was his next target, since he was Brooke’s only beneficiary.

Her skull pounded. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

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