In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2)

Though a nanny had been hired, for all practical purposes Caleb had been the one to foster and raise his siblings. As a child he’d been solemn and serious, bearing the weight of so much responsibility on his young shoulders. But he’d never complained. And he’d damn well ensured that his siblings were kept as far away from the people their parents regularly mingled with as possible. As a result, he’d been forced to grow up way before his time, his childhood taken away by selfish, thoughtless parents.

Though young, both Caleb and Beau had been old enough to take their parents’ indifference in stride, but Quinn and especially Tori, just a toddler, had been bewildered by the fact that they went largely unnoticed by their mother and father. It had infuriated Beau and he’d spent many a night consoling a crying Tori, or reading her bedtime stories because the nanny, while competent enough, wasn’t a nurturer and she’d quickly learned that she didn’t need to do much in order to satisfy her employer’s “demands.”

The only rules seemed to be to keep them out of the way and make sure they were never underfoot. The brothers had often remarked that they simply didn’t understand why their parents had bothered to have children at all unless it was to cement the image of a wholesome family not involved in whatever his father’s shady dealings had been. It was a well-known fact that being a family man was good for business.

Beau had never admitted it, even to Caleb, but it had been a relief when his parents had died. Or rather murdered. Their deaths had been ruled a murder/suicide, precipitated by his father, but Beau—and Caleb—knew better. Their parents enjoyed the trappings of their wealth and lifestyle far too much to ever willingly give it up. But the case had quickly been closed, never reopened and never questioned. Which added to Beau’s suspicion of a cover-up even more.

“Just what was Gavin Rochester’s relationship with our father?” Beau asked in a deadly quiet voice.

It ate at him that he’d been hired by an innocent-eyed temptress to find and rescue a man who could very well have had a hand in his father’s death. Even if there was no love lost between him and his parents. And then he mentally castigated himself for making such a huge leap. He was naturally cynical—growing up as he did, he’d had no other choice but inherent cynicism—but to automatically make an assumption based on one event was not an inherent quality he possessed.

“That’s the unknown factor at this point,” Caleb admitted. “But certainly something to delve into. Do you not agree?”

“I can answer at least some of the questions regarding Gavin’s relationship with your father,” Zack said, pointedly excluding their mother from the equation.

Both Caleb and Beau glanced Zack’s way in silent inquiry.

“They were business associates of sorts.”

“Of sorts?” Caleb interrupted before Zack could continue. “How is one an ‘associate of sorts’?”

A look of impatience simmered briefly in Zack’s eyes, evidence of his displeasure over being cut short.

“Of sorts meaning there is—or if there is I have yet to find it—a clear-cut association between the two. But Gavin’s name popped up frequently in regard to your father’s various business enterprises.”

The way Zack said “enterprises” immediately raised Beau’s hackles, because it sounded very much like Zack knew or at least suspected what Beau knew to be true. It was one thing for Beau to know—to acknowledge—the truth about what and who his father was. It was quite another for someone not in the Devereaux family to think. Or speculate about.

It was evident that Caleb reacted to the way Zack had worded his statement as well, because his eyes grew cold and Ramie slid her hand from Caleb’s, the overflow of his emotions likely unpleasant for her to bear. It was a testament to just how intently Caleb was focused on Zack’s report that he didn’t seem to notice the loss of Ramie’s touch.

“What kind of enterprises?” Beau asked, his stare piercing as he gazed at Zack, trying to ascertain just how much the other man now knew about Franklin Devereaux.

“Most, from what I’ve been able to discern at first glance, were fictitious dummy corporations that were virtually untraceable, a veritable maze for anyone investigating him or his businesses. It’s going to take some time for me to navigate through the mire to see where it all leads back to. It was very carefully—and thoughtfully—arranged. He covered his tracks very well.”

There was no judgment, no condemnation in Zack’s words or manner. He related the information in a matter-of-fact tone, as though he were discussing any DSS client.

His tone seemed to ease the tension radiating from Caleb. Caleb’s expression softened, the lines disappearing from his forehead, and he automatically reached for Ramie, glancing down at her, his eyes faintly puzzled as if he’d only just now realized that her hand had escaped his grasp.

There was instant apology in his eyes and he tucked Ramie gently against him, anchoring her slim figure to his side. Then he turned his gaze back to Zack.