Page 52 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

“Oh, my God.” She stared at me with wide eyes. “She just got out for identity theft.”

All of a sudden, energy kicked in. “She blamed Wally.” I jumped up from the couch. “How’d you know about why she was in jail?”

“Flynn told me he was going to talk to her and mentioned it.”

“Flynn?” It wasn’t the first time she’d referred to him by his first name. Jealousy surged through me.

“Detective Donovan.”

“I know who he is. Why are you calling him by his first name?” I reached her at the table.

She shrugged and stared at me with confused eyes. “He told me to.”

My head cocked to the side. “Is he hitting on you?”

“What? No.” She turned back to the papers on the table. It could be that she was dismissing me because I was off base. But it could just as well be because I hit the nail on the head.

“It wouldn’t matter if you liked him. I mean, he probably wouldn’t like what we did last night, but you were clear that it wouldn’t happen again.”

She gaped at me, and I had to admit, my words shocked myself too. “What is wrong with you?”

Fucking hell. I scraped my hands over my face. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Her eyes softened. “We'll figure this out.”

I nodded and did my damnedest to get my mind right. But holy hell, thinking of Donovan and Lindsay together made me crazy.

“I guess the question is whether Darcy knows that Liam had something. She’s the one who told me about the FBI. Maybe she was at the bar to find out what, if anything, I knew.”

“How’d she know you’d be there?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s the one sending the texts.”

“Still, why now? Why not after Liam died? Like you said, she had time before she went to jail.”

I had no clue. “Darcy’s more likely to be someone who takes orders, so perhaps Wally or whoever has told her to find Liam’s information.”

“She’d still help Wally after he caused her to go to jail?”

“If she’d get a payout, probably.”

Lindsay thought for a moment. “What if she knew where Liam hid the evidence but couldn’t get to it for some reason? Now, she’s out of jail, the heat is off the case, and she wants it. It could be her way out of the crew.”

“The reasoning is solid, but I’m not sure Darcy wants out or whether she would risk her life like that.” A terrible thought came to me. “Jesus, it’s possible she told Wally about Liam.”

“Would he have told her his plans? Surely not. He’d have told you, right?”

I wanted to think so, but now I couldn’t be sure. My anger and frustration at him had pushed him away. Would he have trusted Darcy with his secret? Liam was a smart kid, but he was alone.

“I don’t know.” The fact that I didn’t killed me. I headed to the minibar to get a drink, hoping the hotel staff had refilled it. “Want something to drink?”

“Water?”

I pulled out two little bottles of whisky and one of water. I handed her the water and then went back to the couch. Just as I sat, my phone pinged with a text.

I imagined it was work, but the disruption was welcome. My mind and emotions needed a break. I pulled out my phone and opened the message.

You’re asking for trouble.Stop snooping around. Give me what is mine.

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