Page 30 of Blood Ties

“And another interesting thing I found in the attorney’s files was that he also made the arrangements for his cremation the week before his death.” Facet was as stumped as I was by the strange series of events.

“What if the stepmom—what was her name again?” Venom asked.

“Jade,” I replied.

“Who’s to say Jade didn’t forge those documents? It’s pretty convenient that he requests immediate cremation a week before he dies. Or am I an absolute moron?” Venom’s tone began to border on exasperated.

“I thought about that too. Trust me, I’ve been scouring this shit left and right. You’re absolutely correct, the one with the most motive is Jade. She signed a prenuptial agreement prior to the marriage. The will gives her a big chunk, whereas with the prenup, she got a flat million.” Facet strummed his fingers on the table.

“Christ, how much was Justin worth if a million isn’t enough for her?” Venom asks with a look of surprise.

Facet lifted his dark gray eyes and met everyone’s questioning stares. “Billions.”

“Fuck,” Hawk muttered.

“Then it would make sense that Jade killed Justin. With the cremation request, if she poisoned him, but made it look like a heart attack or something, the body was incinerated so she could conveniently hide the evidence. Can you find out who notarized the cremation request? Or anything that would show she might have forged shit?” Venom asked Facet.

“I’m trying to pull up the scanned documents.” Facet was focused on his screen as he typed away.

Venom, Hawk, and I waited impatiently.

“Bad news, guys.” Facet looked up. “There was an autopsy done. According to the report, cause of death is ruled cardiac arrest. Also, both the new will and the request for cremation were signed in the law firm’s office, witnessed by Justin’s personal assistant, and notarized by the firm’s notary.”

“There are a lot of things that can be done that end up being ruled cardiac arrest. That’s not as concerning to me as the sudden change in his funeral arrangements. You think she could’ve played with shit that much? Or maybe Justin was getting some kind of early dementia or something. Is that possible?” I asked, beginning to get frustrated and needing answers.

“I’ll tell you what—if you give me a few hours, I can probably get into the security feeds for the attorney’s office to see if Justin went in there the day it was signed,” Facet offered.

“You do that, I’m ready to go home. Message me if you find anything. Until then, you’re safe here. Get some rest,” Venom encouraged me, then sighed. “God knows, I’m done hanging out here. I just have to see if Loralei is ready to go home.”

Venom stood up, as did Hawk. I got to my feet with them and shook their hands. “I appreciate you letting us stay here for a bit.”

“Anytime, Alessio. We have a history and Facet speaks highly of you. To me, that makes you family.” Venom gripped my shoulder before giving it a firm pat. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll let Squirrel know that if there’s anything you need, he can run to town for you. If you want, I can park your car in one of the outbuildings to keep it out of sight. That’s a pretty noticeable and memorable ride you have out there.”

“That would be great. Thanks,” I said with a tired smile. It was crazy that a bunch of bikers were more like family than my grandfather had ever been. I wasn’t overly close to my dad either. Gabriel and Vittorio spent more time with him learning the ropes. I had no interest in having anything to do with what my grandfather believed was his legacy. Fuck that and fuck him.

Venom and Hawk left the room. Facet and I remained.

“Do you think you can dig into who the guy on our ass is?” I asked Facet, leaning forward with my elbows on the table. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth asking.

“I can try, but you know as well as I do that there’s a reason that shit is done on the dark web. Would you want any old hacker like me finding you and who your targets have been?” He cocked a brow as he tilted his head.

“Yeah, I get it. But I know you have your ways.” It was the first time I’d openly acknowledged that I knew there was more to Facet than met the eye. He played the part of computer nerd very well. But there was a reason he was in this chapter of the RBMC. The fact that they had… gifts… was a well-guarded secret, but my brothers and I had been part of their trusted inner circle for some time now.

Facet lifted his chin as he eyed me warily. “I’m a warlock, not a magician,” he drily replied. Except his dark eyes seemed to flicker with silver. Then he blinked and it was gone.

I smirked. “Sure.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he conceded.

At that, I sobered. “Thank you—for doing this and for being my friend. You’re probably the only one I have.”

“That’s not true. Any one of my brothers would be there for you.”

“Maybe. But it doesn’t mean I’d trust them with the things I trust you with.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up before he gathered his laptop, and we left the room. He pointed out which room I was using for the night and went on his way.

With a sigh, I turned the knob and went inside. Then I froze. Lying in the bed, with the covers draping the luscious curve of her hips, was my greatest temptation. My jeans grew tight and my zipper began to bite into my rapidly growing dick. I turned on my heel and stepped back into the hall.

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