Page 84 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

But I could tell by the downward slope in the corners of their mouths that this didn’t rule me out in their eyes. They were onto my scent, and the sand in the hourglass was falling before they might find something that would put me away for good.

“Thank you for letting us look around,” Detective Rinaldi said.

A few more pleasantries were exchanged before I escorted the three of them back to my front porch.

“Why is there a squad out front?” I asked, noting the police cruiser.

“It’s for your protection,” Rinaldi claimed. “We still haven’t found Franco.”

“I have my own security,” I reminded them, pointing to my cameras.

“Better safe than sorry,” Rinaldi said.

Bull. They were putting me under surveillance, under the guise of protecting us against Franco. The problem was, there was nothing I could do about it. How could I claim I didn’t want protection from Franco when he was still missing?

“Have a good day, Mr. Lockwood. When we have more questions, we’ll let you know.”

When. Notif.

Wonderful.

I eyed the police cruiser at the end of my drive with disdain.

I needed to go find this man who had received five million dollars and interrogate him, but with police watching me, the risk was too great they’d follow me. I could go to the tunnel, go to my secret garage, but there was a chance another squad car could be parked along the road I would emerge from, and if they saw me, they might trail back and find my secret garage. My everything.

And even if they didn’t, there would be an APB on that make and model car.

Son of a bitch.

I’d evaded police for years, but never with this much heat—never with them this close, literally parked on my property looking for anything suspicious.

As painful as this was, the smart move would be to bide my time. Just for a very short while.

I’d think of some way to get away from them.

“Luna,” Sean said. “Can I have a word with you, alone?”

CHAPTER37

Luna

“Do you know who he is?” Sean’s voice, tense and cold, came from behind me. This time, in the courtroom, the first place I’d seen him since he tried to talk to me in Hunter’s foyer.

Here, hushed whispers of spectators mingled with the creaking of wooden benches.

Dimmed lights cast an ethereal glow upon the polished oak panels, which seemed darker in anticipation of the judge and defendant soon coming in.

In this crucible of justice, a flicker of hope shimmered: perhaps today, my father would be freed.

I could not afford any distractions, and yet Sean approached me from the front row of the audience like he couldn’t wait to talk to me until another time.

“What?” I asked, turning around.

“Do you know?”

His tousled blond locks hinted at his frustration, likely raked through numerous times, and his black tie was loose around the white collar shirt, like he’d been tugging at the knot, while his brown eyes seemed so dark, they almost looked black.

I nodded to the side of the room, where we could talk in private, waiting for Sean to follow me there.

---