Page 69 of Ace

It doesn't seem like Cora noticed, but I did and it irks the shit out of me. She deserves more respect from the ones she loves.

"Agent Yarrow," William says when he notices me. "I have to say I didn't expect to see you here."

I walk toward the man, holding out my hand, knowing he doesn't want to shake it but his manners won't allow him to reject it the way Faye did when I first met her.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Preston."

We shake hands as Chris walks closer. "Agent?"

I offer my hand to him as well. "Eddie Yarrow. I work for ICE."

I'm not herein that official capacity honestly, but he doesn't know that.

"He's here going through Sadie's things, trying to see if he can flesh out where she might've gone," Cora says as she carries the salad bowl to the dining room table. "Dinner is ready. We can sit down and eat."

"I'm starving," Chris says with a quick easy smile as he rubs his flat stomach. "It smells delicious."

"It's your favorite," Cora says to her little brother. "Stuffed bell peppers."

"With added mushrooms?" Chris asks with a wide, hopeful smile.

"Of course," Cora answers.

"One of these days maybe a family meal will include one of my favorites," William says, also smiling but I can see the hint of annoyance behind his eyes as he looks at his little brother.

I can easily see the irritation coming from him, and I have to wonder if it's more than just him thinking the youngest in the family gets everything he wants or if he has a true problem with Chris.

The younger Preston all but drools over the food as he sits down. William pulls out the chair for Faye, and I do the same for Cora.

"Tell me more about being an agent for ICE," Chris says, reaching for the dish with the stuffed peppers in it.

"Not much to tell," I say, wishing we could talk about anything else but the case.

I know just the mention of it is taxing on Cora, and she's having a hard enough time holding it together.

"It's all about illegal immigrants, right?"

I shake my head. "There are a lot of assumptions about ICE because of what's sensationalized on the news, but there's a lot more to it. We prevent the transport of all sorts of illegal goods across the borders, and do our best to shut down the systems in place that are getting them into the US."

"That's a very diplomatic explanation," Chris says with a chuckle. "I took a class last semester that dove a little deeper into the drug industry. I learned they're cutting their drugs with fentanyl."

"That's true. Border agents are having to use specialized equipment just to search for and test drugs that they find," I answer.

"That sounds cool," Chris says, around a bite of food. "Maybe I should work for ICE."

William scoffs, but Chris ignores him.

"Think you could write me a letter of recommendation?"

I give the eager young man a smile. "I could probably do that."

The conversation continues, and the longer we sit, eat, and chat, the more concerned I grow because my phone isn't ringing, and I want to choke Mike when instead of a call, the front doorbell rings. I know before William stands to answer it that plans were changed without either Cora or me being informed.

Chapter 30

Cora

I dart my eyes in Eddie's direction the second Will leaves the table to answer the door.

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