Page 12 of Riordan's Revenge

Cassie gave a dramatic sigh. “There won’t be any. This is terrible to confess, but I’ve been messing with Arran. To stop him keeping an eye on me, I disabled the camera in the hall. I can’t believe I was such an idiot.”

Both cooed over her, trying to make her feel better. I raised a wry eyebrow.

She noticed. Cringed.

Eventually, she got off the call with a final comment from Everly about sending her something for their shared hobby, whatever that was.

Cassie peeked at me. “Why did ye jump in like that? I was ready to take the blame.”

“If you’d asked me to come here with you, I would’ve.” A simple truth but honest. Staying for tonight was also my decision, no matter Arran’s order or her brother’s strong-arming.

She hung her head. “Oh. If it counts for anything, I’m really sorry for what I did. Not for ye being here with me, but for scaring ye.”

“In the car, I couldn’t see you so had no idea who was driving. I thought another gang had taken me. It was right after I’d put two and two together on Bronson.”

Her eyes flew to mine. “God. I made such a mess of it. If I promise to make it up to ye, can ye forgive me?”

“Don’t bother. I’m only staying because you’d be vulnerable if I left. I won’t let you die on my watch, but that’s it.”

Her shoulders slumped.

Why the hell did that make me feel like the bad guy?

One of her little nieces, a copy-paste of Cassie, ran in and commanded her attention. Cassie took her hand and exited the room, barely looking at me. But someone else was. I lifted my chin to her brother across the kitchen, waiting for his condemnation. Sinclair stomped over, two open beer bottles in his hand. He held one out.

I took it. “Is it drugged?”

He snorted. “Not my style. If I wanted ye unconscious, I wouldn’t need anything but my hands. The beer’s non-alcoholic, though, as you’re on duty this evening.” Resting a hip against the island that separated the long family dinner table from the rest of the kitchen, Cassie’s brother pointed his bottle at me. “Once we’re gone early tomorrow, you’ll be here alone with Cassie.”

I swigged the cool beer, noncommittal, though I’d already decided to stay. Then a random question formed. “Did Lottie really make the first move on you?” It seemed so unlikely. I’d taken a quick measure of her over dinner and found her quiet and calm. Nothing like his and Cassie’s bolder nature.

No smile broached his lips. “I didn’t tell ye that to warm ye to my sister. I’m naw her fucking fluffer. As far as I’m concerned, you’re an unknown quantity and therefore have a mountain to climb to prove you’re good enough. What I need now is a walk-through of what ye learned today so I can feel better about naw being here. Give me Cassie’s main vulnerabilities.”

A pop quiz. Great.

Despite my annoyance, I listed what I’d already identified. “The size of the house is a problem. More entry points than can be easily defended. If more than one person attacks, that’s an issue.”

Sinclair drank his beer. “Every door and window has sensors which alert if it’s open or broken. There would be no element of surprise, and the exact entry point would be known.”

“And if that system’s offline?”

“It won’t be.”

I pressed my lips together, no choice but to believe him as he wasn’t going to share how everything worked.

“Fire would be my next concern. You pointed out the sprinkler system, but again, if that’s down, or if the smoke’s coming from a non-extinguishable source, that’s a problem. If we can’t breathe, we have to run.”

“Has your target been known to use tactics like this?”

I considered his question. “No. He’s drugged women and abducted them but always in a low-key way, from what I can tell.”

“What evidence supports that?”

I thought back to what I knew and pieced it together, really paying attention to the murders, thanks to what I’d read on Cassie’s detective wall. “Cherry, the first woman he killed, worked the churchyard steps across the street from where I used to live. Anyone could lurk in the dark graveyard surrounding the church. He hid then killed her where he caught her. Natasha Reid was drugged, suggesting he needed to abduct her to somewhere quiet to do the deed. With the third woman, Amelia Martin, he broke into her temporary home, telling me he’d watched the place as she was house-sitting. It makes sense now as we know the Four Milers were targeting the mayor and that was next door. With Alisha, he got her to come to him. All of thattells me his tactics are subtle and with the intention to stay out of sight.”

Not the smash and grab I’d described with a raid or flames. He’d sneak in and kill without a fanfare.

Sinclair watched me. “Then tell me again Cassie’s vulnerabilities.”

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