Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I can do that.” She nodded again, slowly, before she sat up taller. “Actually, there is something. I thought it was weird, but then I figured I was just imagining things, but…” she said, and the rest of that statement trailed off.
“What?” I asked, my pulse ticking up to a full gallop.
“A couple came in about a week ago. They wanted to hire a nanny, but they were very vague about it and didn’t even bring the kid. They didn’t have a lot of details, and they never followed up.” Her red brows crinkled as she thought about it.
“That happens sometimes,” I said, though unease prickled at the base of my spine. Sure, we did have people who didn’t follow up, but given everything, this seemed important.
“Yeah, I know, but it just felt off. Then last week,” Toni continued, “a woman came in alone to apply as a nanny, and I swear it was the same woman.”
I stared at her. “You’re sure?”
“Not positive, but I’m pretty sure,” she answered and then snapped her fingers. “Hang on.” She exited my office and returned a minute later with two folders, setting them side by side on my desk.
I picked up one folder and then the other with cold, shaking hands. As I opened one folder, I was feeling pretty smug about keeping Enzo’s paperwork with me instead of inside the ENS offices. “Thank you, Toni.”
“Yeah, of course,” she said, still standing with her arms folded as she watched me closely. Too closely. “Are you okay, Serenity—I mean, really okay?”
“Yes,” I answered easily, but I realized it was a lie and corrected myself. “I know this is a lot to process, Toni—everything—but I am well aware of this situation, and I am committed to seeing it through for Mattie’s sake.” And maybe—just a little—for Enzo’s.
I finished off my checklist, which included payroll, printing checks, scheduling direct deposit payments, and new placement approvals. Muscle memory carried me through most of the tasks while my mind fixated on the couple and the nanny applicant. I didn’t have any concrete answers, only wild speculations, and by the time the day ended, I was a wreck and felt on the verge of an anxiety attack.
Enzo and Mattie were still inside the conference room, and I stood on the other side of the door, gripping the handle without moving. Just do it, I commanded myself before taking a deep breath to steel my emotions. And then I opened the door. Mattie was curled up asleep on one of the chairs from the lobby, and his father stared at me with the intensity of a man with demons.
“We need to talk.”
He gave one short nod, his gaze never leaving my face.
I laid out both folders on the table with the applications and photos of the couple and the nanny applicant. Then, in dramatic fashion, I laid two surveillance images Toni had retrieved on top. “This couple came in looking for a nanny, and then this woman applied to be a nanny.”
He studied all the images carefully, his face an unreadable mask. “That’s them,” he said, his voice cool and certain.
I thought so too, but hearing him confirm it made me feel better and less crazy. “The hikers, right?”
He nodded once. “That’s them.”
Anxiety bubbled inside my gut. “So they weren’t hikers.” It felt good to know my instincts weren’t wrong, but fear niggled that danger had been so close.
“No,” he said gently, his gaze softening when our gazes collided. “The man is dead,” he said plainly.
Dead. That word landed hard, but it wasn’t the fact of the statement—the man was dead—it was the way Enzo said it, in that flat and controlled voice, as if it didn’t matter to him. I reminded myself that he told me I would see this side of him and I might not like it. This is his world, I told myself.
“Do you think the woman is still around?”
“Yes,” he answered quickly. “I need to figure out who hired her.” His jaw clenched as if that one fact was causing him anxiety.
I pulled the small pink USB from my pocket and laid it right in front of him. “This is everything they submitted—applications and photos.”
His lips twitched. “It’s all probably lies, Ren.”
My jaw clenched. “Maybe so,” I conceded. “But my system weeds out most bullshit early in the process. If even a shred of it holds up, it might be worth looking into.” I watched him, waiting for him to doubt me again. He didn’t. “Also, they filled it out digitally and sent it through the ENS database, so maybe have your people look into it.”
His brows rose. “My people?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Hackers, henchmen, muscle, enforcers, and bagmen. People.”
He laughed softly, but his eyes crinkled at the corners, and once again, I saw a glimpse of the man I used to love. “When did you get hip to mob lingo, Ren?”