MemoriesErasedTreachery (24 page)

"Because the rest of you don't believe she's indomitable. It's the logic of our jobs. Whereas Ewyn operates primarily from fear and hatred," Christopher said.

"True."

"Another thing," Christopher added. "If this is about the will, how does this nutcase expect to inherit? Whoever comes forward will be the prime suspect."

"Right. But regardless of our suspicions, the burden of proof will be on us. The blood trace found in the car belonged to Jennifer. She often drove Nicole's car, and the gun, stolen," Devin informed him. "We have no evidence and the perp must have realized it by now, which is why I'm concerned about Kiera."

"With reason." Christopher frowned. "Consider this. Nicole wasn't supposed to die with her sister there. She should have been alone, and in the driver's seat, so it would have seemed as if she'd gone into labor and ran off the road. Kiera wasn't supposed to survive."

"So you're thinking premeditation, too. The husband married her intending to kill her." Devin glanced at Timothy.

"Caro died because she refused to leave her sister." Timothy sighed. "And, as Chris said, she knew or recognized the perp."

"Yes," Christopher said. "Furthermore, if your UNSUB wanted money so badly, he or she killed two young women in cold blood, this nutcase will blame Kiera by proxy for things not working out. The hatred is for Nicole because your perp has the new will and realizes, even in death, Nicole thwarted him or her."

"We've taken that into consideration," Devin mentioned. "Hence the security measures we've implemented to insure Kieki's safety."

"Threat assessment--this person
will
come after Kiera," Christopher stated. "After three years, it's no longer about money. In all probability, the perp's mindset has escalated from greed to hatred to unadulterated rage and revenge."

"You've given us a lot to reconsider, Chris," Timothy told him.

"Speaking from my own personal experience with nutcases," he stated.

"Tim's right. Yours could be the fresh perspective we've needed, and I would like to continue this discussion." Devin leaned forward and kissed Kiera's forehead. "But I have a date with a special lady." Sleepy grey eyes peeped out at him from behind half-closed lids. "Hey, baby-girl. Ready for lunch." Her eyes widened and she grinned, then she looked around the room.

"Ew?"

"He's outside waiting for us." He stood with her in his arms and headed for the door.

"Devin, we need to get on this," Timothy said. "Kieki is going to be more exposed now."

Devin stopped, hand on the doorknob, he turned back. "You're right." Kiera pushed against him. "Daddy…let go." He set her down and watched her scoot out the door. "Except for Detective Patterson, everyone involved in the case will be at the estate tonight. Chris, how do you feel about family get-togethers?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Kieki's birthday bash at the Calderone estate. If you and your family can make it, I think tonight would be the perfect occasion for Kieki's introduction to her other family."

"Not a problem and you're in luck. Korey and Ricardo are in town working on the family's new business venture. I'll round up everybody." Christopher grinned. "With family get-togethers in mind, I should warn you about members of my family."

"Oh?"

"Paternity tests or not, just by looking at Kiera, I believe your baby-girl is a Corbett. And regardless of which Corbett is the father, you need to prepare yourselves for the introductions to my wife and my sister-in-law. Their reactions to another child, especially a girl in a male-dominated family, might be a little over the top."

"Not a problem." Devin headed out the door. "You'll find our extended family a treat, too. Tim, will you get hold of Patterson?"

"Will do."

Chapter 16

Ewyn opened the rear passenger door and Kiera clambered into the SUV. She settled in her car seat, fastened the safety harness and grinned. "Big girl now, Ew."

"Yes, you are. You'll be going to school soon, huh." He closed her door and climbed onto the front seat, belted up, and glanced over his shoulder. Her smile had disappeared. "Hey. What's up with the frowny face? You don't want to go to school, play with other children, and learn your ABC's."

"Play with Mario, Stefan, and Josie at home." She pouted. "'Ready know ABC's, Ew."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Ewyn looked at Devin and nodded his head toward Kiera.

"Uh-oh." Devin scanned her features while fastening his seatbelt, then started the truck and drove off. "What's with the face, baby-girl?"

"I don't think she likes the idea of going to school," Ewyn replied. "Says she already knows her ABC's."

Devin grunted. "We know that's true, since she recites them every chance she gets." He looked over his shoulder. "Hey, little miss, today is your birthday. We'll go to lunch, and afterward, off to the amusement park, then you're having a party--lots of gifts, food, cake and ice cream. We can save the school talk for another time, okay." Glancing in the rearview mirror, he chuckled. "She's asleep. It's been a busy morning for all of us, huh."

"Tell me about it." Ewyn turned to Devin. "What do you know about the Corbetts?"

"Nothing about the family, and only minimum about Christopher," Devin said. "He's the standard most Ops want to achieve, and there's a younger brother with the company. Why?"

"According to Kris, her family has been through hell." Ewyn went on to repeat what he had learned about the Corbett family. "Can you believe people hold grudges for so long?"

"Oh, yeah. Ask Mick and Tag. The FBI deals with that type of crime more than we do. We're the solution. Once it's brought to our attention, the cause is irrelevant, the issue no longer problematic," Devin stated. He grabbed Ewyn's hand, fingers linked. "If you had been involved in your family's business, you would be very familiar with the art of vendetta."

"Yeah, I guess. But Greg didn't use the old school mode of operation from Dad's generation. I didn't think it still happened."

"Sure it does. A lot more than people imagine, and it's not mob specific."

"I assumed our family drama was unique." Ewyn snorted. "Kris challenged my assumptions."

"So, you're referring to her as Kris."

"You know me, Dev." Ewyn squeezed Devin's fingers. "Once I calmed down, I realized I shouldn't have taken offense. I would have been as defensive if a stranger had accused you or Greg of something."

"I hear you, and speaking of defensive, Christopher wants in on the investigation, because he doesn't believe it's a coincidence--the girls being identical. He's convinced the odds they're
not
related are astronomical."

"Yeah. Seeing the girls together, and Kris having a twin brother, it's a given Kieki is part of their family, which complicates the investigation. It takes Kieki's father off the suspect list, huh."

"Right." Devin gave Ewyn an edited version of his conversation with Christopher. "I've invited them to the party at the estate."

"Good. The sooner we remove the paternity issue from the table, we can move to other possibilities. We'll have more resources to operate with, and definitely more protection for baby-girl." Ewyn remained quiet a moment. "So he's suspicious of CeCe's death, too."

"Not so much suspicion as conjecture." Devin pulled up in front of Black Angus and parked. He unfastened his seatbelt and turned to Ewyn. "Once we've verified paternity, it may be hard on Kieki, not knowing who to call daddy."

"I considered that, and where she'll live full time." Brow furrowed, Ewyn nibbled his bottom lip. "Suppose her father wants her to live with him."

Devin cupped the stubborn chin in his palm. "Listen. This I promise you. Nothing changes until Gregorio returns. It will be his decision, and I hope they won't fight it."

"I don't know, Dev. Except for Kris' dad, they're all attorneys. They can make trouble."

"And alienate Kieki?" He leaned over and kissed the soft lips. "I don't think so. She only knows our family. They'll have to slowly integrate themselves into her sphere…her comfort zone."

"Oh, yeah. Didn't think about that."

Devin watched Ewyn's smile light up the green-eyed gaze. Ewyn gave him a quick kiss, released his seatbelt, and stepped out of the vehicle. He opened the rear door, reached inside and unfastened Kiera's safety harness, then gently shook her awake. As if spring-loaded, the thick-lashed eyelids popped open and vivid grey eyes peered around in wonder.

"I'm hungry, Ew."

"So let's go have lunch, then dessert--cake and ice cream."

"
Yaay
!" she squealed as she wiggled out of her car seat and threw herself into his arms.

Devin came up beside them just as Ewyn put Kiera down. Holding hands, with Kiera skipping along between him and Ewyn, they entered the restaurant.

With Kiera asleep in his arms, Devin followed Ewyn out of the elevator. Eyes fixed on the wiggle of Ewyn's tight little ass, he watched baby-boy juggle doggie bags and gifts while trying to retrieve the door key from his pocket. If he weren't enjoying the view so much, Devin would have handed his keys to Ewyn.

The door to the other condo swung open and Mick emerged, dressed in jeans, a polo shirt, and armed. He hurried to assist Ewyn, taking the packages from him. "Our baby-girl must have had a rough day," Mick said.

"Rough is an understatement." Ewyn laughed as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. "Let me put Kieki down for her nap, then Dev and I will fill you in on everything."

"Yeah, Tim called." Mick snorted. "Gave me the relevant details. Baby-girl has a mean right hook, huh."

Devin grinned. "More of a good body-tackle, but her opponent was no slouch." He handed Kiera to Ewyn. "The excitement of riding the amusements at Pharaoh's Theme Park for the first time, she's out for the count."

"Good thing, since she'll be up late tonight." Ewyn headed toward the bedrooms.

Devin joined Mick in the kitchen. While they repackaged the leftovers and put them away, Mick repeated what Timothy had learned about Christopher and his family. Some of what he said confirmed what Kristen had told Ewyn. Tasks complete, Devin grabbed a bottle of water and a beer from the refrigerator. He and Mick had just seated themselves at the table when Ewyn rejoined them.

"She never stirred, not even while I removed her jacket and shoes. So what have I missed?"

"Nothing. We just sat down," Mick told him. "So we have a father for Kieki and he's not Nicole's husband."

"We're missing something." Devin recounted his conversation with Corbett. "We need to concentrate our resources on verifying Cecilia's death."

"Oh yeah," Mick agreed. "Until we do, she'll remain a distraction. Personally, I don't think she survived, but…" He shrugged.

"I hear you." Devin glanced at Ewyn expecting a retort from him. With his elbows on the table and his head propped up by his hands, Ewyn dozed. Devin motioned to Mick who snorted.

"Guess Kieki wasn't the only one who wore herself out," he remarked. "I'll leave you to him. I need to scout around outside."

"What's up?"

"Went for my run this morning and a car parked across the way caught my attention. The occupant was sitting there reading the newspaper--on the side of the road, out here, uh-uh." Mick stood and downed the rest of his beer before heading for the front door. "I couldn't get a good look, couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but I made note of it and went for my run. Car was still there when I returned, trotted over to check it out, and it sped away."

"Get the license?"

"Yep. A rental. I'm waiting for Tag to get back to me with the information." Mick opened the door and stepped into the hallway. "Probably nothing, but I want to be on the safe side."

"Let me know what you find out."

"Will do. See you tonight."

Devin closed the door and returned to the kitchen to find Ewyn, head resting on crisscrossed arms on the table, sound asleep. He shook Ewyn awake. Confused green eyes peered up at him. "Hey, sleepyhead."

Ewyn jumped up and looked around. "Where's Mick?" He grimaced. "Is it bedtime?"

"No, it's late afternoon." Devin steered him toward the bedroom.

"Oh." Ewyn climbed on the bed.

Devin closed the door connecting to Kiera's room, strode over to the bed, and shucked out of his clothes. He sat next to Ewyn, who yawned and slumped against his side.

"Maybe I need a nap, too, huh."

"No doubt." Devin eased him back on the pillows. "After," he mumbled against the soft lips and slowly stripped Ewyn of his clothes. Mouths merged. He rolled onto Ewyn, nudged his legs apart, and settled between the firm thighs. With reluctance, he withdrew from the kiss and came up on his knees. Fingertips trailing down along the supple form, he soft-stroked the sensitive grooves between groin and thighs, watching Ewyn wiggle and his cock pulse.

Hands coming to rest on the round curves of Ewyn's ass, he lifted the writhing butt off the bed and settled it on his thighs. Devin didn't think he would ever tire of seeing Ewyn this way, and his dick reacted to the sight, throbbing, leaking precum.

"Dev…"

Leaning forward, he reached for the lube, and whispered, "I want to spend more time with you."

"Uh-uh. Hard and fast, Dev." A slow smile altered the corners of his mouth. "Parenting clause--we're on the clock."

Devin grinned, lubed his cock and the tiny hole flexing beneath his touch. He grabbed Ewyn's legs and placed them on his shoulders, then spread the smooth ass cheeks and made the breach.

"
Shh-yit
, Dev!" Ewyn pulled his knees back toward his chest.

"Oh yeah," he groaned. "Hard and fast works, baby. Give me what you've got." He reached over and folded his fingers around the head of Ewyn's cock, slick with precum, and worked his hand down over the shaft. Ewyn's hand clutched his, as he gently twisted and kneaded the silky smooth hardness, hand moving in rhythmic tandem with his thrusts.

His orgasm building, Devin watched myriad emotions flickering in the jungle green eyes. He gritted his teeth to harness the growl wanting out as he shot his load, filling the snug receptacle with sperm. Ewyn's cum spurted, bathing his fingers in warmth.