So happy to have your approval.“I’ll meet you there. I need to go now. I have a lunch meeting.”
Her lip poked out in a pout that she thought was charming. It had been, when she was younger. But she was no longer young, and that pout was more irritatingly ridiculous than anything else. “I was hoping you could come home for lunch.”
He wondered what she wanted now, because she sure as hell wasn’t excited to see him. “What do you want?” he asked, managing to keep the snarl from his tone.
Or he thought he had, because her eyes narrowed. “Don’t take that tone with me, darling.”
He closed his eyes and reminded himself that he couldn’t kill her because the husband was always the lead suspect. He couldn’t even divorce her for at least a few more years. He had goals to attain first and a divorce wouldn’t make them impossible, but it would make them harder. So he’d swallow his contempt and smile.
“I’m sorry, Joelle,” he said, and he sounded sincere even to himself. “I’ve had a stressful morning and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” Her teeth were grinding, and he hated the sound. “I’ll just ask you later, since you have a meeting.” Her lips curved, but the smile was as fake as his own. “See you later.”
She ended the call, and he gave in to the urge to roll his eyes.
But he had more important things to worry about than Joelle. He considered calling Stockman back to find out if he’d been able to get the kid alone but controlled the impulse. He’d wait for the text telling him the job was completed.
It wouldn’t say that, of course. They never spoke plainly about such things in any way that could be traced, and texts were definitely traceable. The message would read, “It’s a beautiful day,” just like it always did.
And when he got the text, he’d be able to breathe easy for the first time since he’d learned that there was an eyewitness to his crime.
The Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
MONDAY, JULY 25, 12:00 P.M.
Molly looked up from her laptop when Burke entered her office. “Well?” she asked.
Burke dropped into one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. “Antoine has the laptop. He’s gonna try to work his magic and hopefully find whatever was wiped.”
Molly already knew that, having just come from the IT guru’s office. “I meant Gabe. You know, my client?”
“He’s gone to the Choux.”
Her brows shot up. “Alone?”
Burke scowled. “Of course not. I sent Lucien with him until I get his actual security set up. I was surprised that Gabe allowed it, honestly. He’s nearly as stubborn as his father was.”
There was sadness under the scowl. Sadness and a grim affection. “His father was your friend,” she said quietly. More than a partner, then. Kind of like us. She’d clicked with Burke within the first few weeks under his command. They’d never had a romantic kind of relationship, though. They considered themselves more like siblings than anything else. She guessed it was the same for Burke with Rocky. “Rocky was kind of like a brother?”
His scowl softened. “More like a father.”
Oh.That was important because Burke’s actual father had been truly awful. Her own father had seen the need in Burke, the need for someone to love him like his own father should have. And her dad had provided that, too, before his death. Damn, she missed him. “Did you know Gabe also?”
“Sure. Well, kind of. He was busy a lot, doin’ all those...” He waved his hand. “You know. Chef things, whatever that is. Until his mama got sick. Cancer,” he added when she tilted her head in question. “She was a good woman. Rocky was lost without her.”
“Poor Gabe. To lose his mother and father to cancer.”
“At least he got to say goodbye to his mama. Rocky...” He swallowed hard. “That was a shock.”
“When did you know that Gabe suspected his father had been murdered?”
“This morning.” And his deepening scowl showed exactly what he thought about that.
She sighed. “Well, shit.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, slouching down in the chair. “We were never close, Gabe and I, but I’d have thought he’d have trusted me enough to bring me in when he suspected foul play. I mean, I went to the memorial service. I hugged him. He could have told me.”
“He brought you in as soon as he knew for sure. I think he trusts you more than anyone.”