“As often as I can get a girl to go out there with me,” he said.
Riordan’s expectations took a nosedive. So the kid used it for a place to hook up. That wasn’t what he was looking for.
“Does the family know?” Riordan asked.
Charles rolled his eyes.
“Lord, I hope not, and I would consider it a huge favor if you didn’t mention it. It’s hard enough living under this roof without anyone even close to my age. If my social activities away from home were curtailed, it would make my life so much less interesting.”
“But you have five cousins somewhat close to your age.”
Charles frowned.
“No, sir, I’m the only—” And then he stopped. “Ah...sorry, I didn’t get what you meant. However, I didn’t even know they existed until three days ago, so...”
Riordan closed his notebook and signaled for Griffin to turn off the video.
“That’s all. You may go,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” Charles said, and left the room.
Griffin began packing up his video equipment. “At least one of them is normal,” he said.
Riordan frowned. “Seemingly,” he drawled.
Within a few minutes they were gone.
The family came scrambling out of their rooms, heading toward the library.
Justin was finally dressed, Fiona was carrying a cup of coffee and Blake seemed preoccupied. They headed for the desk to get their phones, but Jack got there ahead of them and pulled them all toward him in a pile.
“Not yet,” he said. “I want to know what he asked you and what you said.”
“Oh, hell, no!” Justin said, and grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket. “It’s bad enough we had to put up with the goddamned cops. I’m not putting up with crap from you, too...sir.”
Jack knew he’d only added that so he could claim he wasn’t being disrespectful, even though he was. The others knew that, too, and one by one they followed suit, taking their phones and leaving Jack Wayne on his own.
Jack swiveled his chair around and glared at his brother’s portrait hanging on the wall above him.
“They’re just like you, so don’t blame me if we all go down in flames.”
Then he dropped his phone in his pocket and went to work.
Ten
Bowie and his brothers were still at the gate when Riordan and his crew emerged from the house. It had been a little over three hours since they’d gone inside, and now the sun was directly overhead. The day was heating up, and distant clouds were already building over the mountain to the west. Likely another night of thunderstorms.
Bowie pointed. “They’re coming out.”
The brothers cast a short shadow as they stood together, but their message was unmistakable as the cars approached the gates. Riordan ignored their presence, but Bowie could tell by the set of his jaw that the constable was aggravated they were still there.
“I wonder what happened?” Aidan said, as the county cop cars drove toward the city limits and the Eden police cruiser headed uptown.
“We’ll know in time,” Samuel said.
“I need to get home,” Michael said. “I work this afternoon until 6:00 p.m.”
“I’m going to check on Talia and her dad before I leave Eden,” Bowie said.
“Give her our sympathies,” Samuel said.
“I will,” Bowie said, and one by one they returned to their vehicles.
Once the brothers were gone, the crowd began to disperse. By the time Blake headed to the office, the street in front of the estate was empty. He was trying not to panic, but the constable’s appearance had changed the way he viewed his life. He had thought their world impervious and their family above the law. Money had always made the difference, but not in this case. Damn Leigh for ever bringing Stanton Youngblood into their world, and damn Stanton’s soul to hell for bringing it down.
*
Bowie called Talia on his way downtown, but the phone rang so many times he thought it was going to voice mail. When she finally answered, he heard exhaustion in her voice.
“Hello.”
“Hello, honey, it’s me. Is it still okay to stop by your house?”
Talia sighed. Just the sound of his voice eased the knot in her stomach.
“Yes, of course.”
“Have you eaten anything?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
“I’ll bring food if you’ll tell me what sounds good to you.”
The offer momentarily stumped her. She hadn’t had the luxury of being picky about food, but there was one thing she never turned down.
“A vanilla malt. I haven’t had one in ages.”
He chuckled. “If I’d thought about it, I would already have known that. I’ll be there shortly.”
She closed her eyes as they spoke, concentrating solely on that deep voice rumbling in her ear.
“I can’t wait to see you. Last night I dreamed you weren’t really here,” she said.
“I’m real, and I’ll bring a malt and a kiss just to prove it.”