Fillpot leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers on the desk. “Your clients are Carter and Maxwell Pierce. Death threats have been made on the lives of Amelia and Petunia Pierce. How am I doing so far?”
He inched forward in his seat when I didn’t reply.
“I can assure you that Edna Sinclair, the school teacher, is not involved.”
Well crap, how in the hell did he know anything about my involvement with the Pierces, other than what I’d shown them?
“If she’s not the one responsible, then who?” I asked.
“That’s for you to figure out,” he said, rising from his seat. “But let me help you out. He tossed a file onto the table. “The Larry you’re searching for is Lawrence Turner. He volunteers as a groundskeeper at the school and has a fulltime job as a groundskeeper at the park. Ms. Delany has agreed that we’re going to pretend this didn’t happen.”
I rose from my seat and flipped the file open. “You people disrupted my life. You stole from my grandmother, you put a tracker on my car, and you ruined a perfectly good evening. Pretending none of this happened is going to be damn near impossible.”
“Then accept this as a truce, Ms. Bennett. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Fillpot held up my phone. He opened the phone and pulled out what looked like a bug. He dropped it onto the ground and smashed it with his foot before putting the phone back together and handing it back to me.
“When the hell did you have a chance to bug my phone?” I asked.
“You’ve been on our radar well before I met your grandmother, Ms. Bennett. I look forward to working with you in the future when your current case is done.”
“I never agreed to that,” I called out as Fillpot led the way to the door.
“That’s a shame.” He shrugged. “Your sister Faith was certain you’d change your mind.”
“You finally figured out it wasn’t me in the car, huh? How long did it take?” I grinned when he didn’t answer.
They drove Max and me back to his house and dumped us at the curb. “Does that happen to you often?”
“Never.” I huffed, rubbing my wrist.
I’d let my guard down enough for Fillpot to bug my phone. How had I let that happen? Faith’s old beat-up truck still sat across the road, reminding me that I needed to check in on my sister. The comment Fillpot made sounded as though he’d made contact with her.
We both walked to the door, and Max led me inside. I grabbed my sister’s keys and was back out on the porch before Max could stop me. I knew what would happen if we stayed inside. He’d have his way with me, and I’d love every minute of it. That wasn’t getting this case solved. I’d been right all along. Max was a delicious distraction that I didn’t need.
“Where are you going?” Max asked, catching up to me.
“To trade vehicles with my sister and go do my job.”
Max stepped out onto the porch. “None of us could have guessed her teacher was protected.”
I licked my lips as I met his gaze. “I should have known. I had Fillpot’s tag number. I should have gone to the office and pulled it instead of coming here.”
He lifted his chin, momentarily rebuffed. “Instead of coming here and being distracted by me? Is that what you mean, Gwen?”
I swallowed hard. This was why I didn’t mix personal and professional. “You’re a delicious distraction, Max. One that neither of our families can afford right now. You understand.”
I spun on my heels and jogged across the street. Max followed just as quickly, and his hand landed on the door to stop me from opening it. “Don’t shut me out. We can do this together.”
I straightened my shoulders and glanced up at him. “At what cost?”
“You and I have chemistry, Gwen. That isn’t something either of us can fake. Are you willing to walk away and ignore that?”
“If it means protecting my family and yours, then yes,” I answered.
Max pulled his hand away from the door, and I slid inside, shutting the door behind me. I couldn’t meet his gaze as I started the truck. Thank God it took only twice this time before the engine caught, and then I drove away.
With a single glance in the rearview mirror, I knew in my heart and my soul that I’d done right by both of us, even though it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
