Getting involved would be stupid—
She sat up at the sound of a doorbell downstairs. The two-story house had a simple layout: kitchen, living room, dining room, and family room downstairs, and four bedrooms upstairs. The place was huge, not to mention the guesthouse apartment out back.
Even though she doubted a would-be assassin would take the time to ring the doorbell, a jolt of panic punched through her all the same.
When she peeked out into the hallway she could hear Aaron disarming the alarm system downstairs. That meant he recognized whoever was on the other side of the door. Still, a low-grade panic hummed through her, refusing to settle until she knew who was there.
A moment later she heard the sound of the front door opening and then came Detective Duarte’s voice. She was wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt, so she grabbed a sweater and pulled it over her head since she didn’t have a bra on, and hurried downstairs. The fact that the detective was here in the middle of the night was not good news. She held back the fear and worry because freaking out before knowing exactly why he’d shown up instead of calling wouldn’t do anyone any good.
Aaron was talking quietly to the detective in the foyer when she joined them. Duarte was still wearing a suit, though no tie. Even close to midnight the man looked polished and put together. His gray eyes were startling against his bronze skin and she had a feeling he never wanted for female company.
Still, compared to Aaron, the man did nothing for her. Aaron had more of an edge to him. His dark military-style short hair only highlighted all the hard planes of his face, making him all the more interesting to look at. When he’d told her she was the first woman he’d been interested in over the last five years, she wondered if he’d slept with anyone since his ex. It seemed crazy to think he’d been celibate because, come on, look at the man. But she didn’t want to think about him getting physical with someone else anyway. It made something annoyingly possessive flare to life. She wasn’t used to it and wasn’t sure she liked it.
She cleared her throat. “What’s wrong?” Because a detective wasn’t stopping by at midnight to chat about the weather and she couldn’t do any stupid small talk. She simply didn’t have it in her.
“I just had a conversation with the FBI agent who was head of the team to bring down De Fiore right before he allegedly died.”
Allegedly? Oh, that was not good. The word slammed through her, making it hard to breathe for a moment. She looked at Aaron, needing someone to ground her right now. Because all she wanted to do was grab her stuff, her dog, and run.
His expression was hard, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. “Let’s take this into the kitchen.”
“Do you have decaf coffee?” she asked Aaron as they entered the kitchen.
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “No point in drinking coffee if it doesn’t have caffeine.”
A slight smile curved her lips. “What about caffeine-free tea?” Because she needed something warm and soothing that wouldn’t keep her up all night.
He shook his head. “How about hot chocolate?”
It was hard to imagine a man like Aaron drinking hot chocolate because it seemed so impractical but he did have a five-year-old. There would be a little caffeine in it, but she didn’t care. “Sounds perfect, thanks.” Feeling shaky as he started moving around the kitchen, she turned to the detective, a heavy ball of stress tangled in her stomach. “So, allegedly dead?” The question left a sour taste in her mouth.
Duarte pulled out a chair at the island so she did the same and sat next to him. “I’ll keep this short, but yes, allegedly dead. The FBI was looking into him before he ‘died.’ They have an airtight case against him. Tax fraud and evasion.”
She snorted. “Just like Capone?”
“Exactly. They were about to move on him when he suddenly got murdered.”
That seemed convenient. “What about the body, though? Wouldn’t they have to confirm that it was him?”
“Yes, and that’s where it gets a little tricky. The body was burned beyond recognition. The dental records match but that just means the records match whoever’s are on file. He could have paid off someone for that. And…” Duarte sighed, his grayish eyes grim. “There was an issue with the DNA sample taken. It got corrupted during testing—which they believe was intentional. Right around the same time there was a snafu that released the body, which was cremated immediately. So they didn’t have anything left to test.”