I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands.
“I need to go. Make sure that she got there safely,” I said, pulling out my dead phone. “I also need to get a new phone because this one’s battery is awful since I did that new update on it.”
Dad grunted out agreement. “I’ll call you and let you know if I find anything else out. Text me to let me know that Avery is safe when you get home.”
I gave him a thumbs up and walked over to Katy, dropping a kiss onto her cheek before saying, “You got a cute kid, sister. Riggs is a fighter.”
“Riggs?” Logan asked from beside me.
“Well, she didn’t have a name, and Avery started calling her Riggs. After Martin Riggs off of Lethal Weapon. Something about her being a scrappy little fighter. Now everyone’s calling her that until you can come up with a real name.”
Katy laughed, looking over at Logan with a grin.
“I like it,” she said.
His brows went up. “I kind of do, too.”
Feeling more anxious by the second, I said my goodbyes and was out the door moments later.
I didn’t want to leave Avery alone now that I’d heard about what had happened to Logan and Katy.
It may have been an actual drunk driver. It sounded like it, even. But I trusted Logan’s judgment. If he didn’t think it was an accident, then it wasn’t an accident.
Sometimes cops just knew when there was something more wrong.
Chapter 15
Love me like you love beer.
-Avery to Derek
Avery
I didn’t know who I expected to be at my house so late at night, but the mayor definitely wasn’t it.
I blinked in surprise as the cab pulled into my driveway, and got out with a murmured, ‘thank you’ after paying.
The cab backed away, illuminating Lynn’s face once again, and left me in the dark.
“I have some news,” he said, his eyes going down the length of my body. “You look beautiful. What was the occasion?”
I grimaced and tugged my camera back up higher.
“I had to take photos at prom,” I answered. “I didn’t want to be the only one not dressed up, so I wore my mom’s prom dress. I was lucky it fit.”
Lynn’s mouth turned up at the side. “It’s wonderful.”
I walked up to him and stopped only a few feet away.
“What’s up, Mayor?” I asked. “It’s kind of late.”
He grimaced. “I know it is. I found a couple of interesting things I thought you should know about.”
My brows went up in surprise.
“Okay then,” I said as I moved toward my front door. “Let’s go inside.”
Lynn followed me, making sure to keep a respectable distance.
For some reason, he didn’t intimidate me in the least.
I felt safe with him, and I wasn’t sure altogether why.
“If you don’t mind,” I said as I gestured to my dress. “I’d really like to go change. Have a seat. Get a drink. Whatever you need.”
He nodded once, and I disappeared into my room, coming back out moments later dressed in sweats and a sweatshirt—both Derek’s.
He grinned at my ‘KPD SWAT’ shirt and gestured to it with his chin.
“I like it. It suits you,” he teased.
I rolled my eyes and took a seat on the counter across from where he was sitting at the bar.
“What’s up?” I asked, feeling nervous now.
He grinned at me.
“I did some research,” he said. “And I found out about the woman with the child.”
I waited, heart in my throat.
“The baby is a girl. She’s probably your sister,” he said, voice soft. “Your father was seeing the baby’s mother at some point. I’m not sure when. Your father is listed as the baby’s father on the birth certificate as well. I came here tonight to see if I could get some of your DNA. To test it between yours and the baby’s.”
I immediately nodded my head.
“What do you need?” I asked. “Hair? Cheek swab? Why did she do this?”
“Cheek. And I have no clue. That is something that only she can answer at this point.” he answered. “But there’s more.”
“More?” I asked, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. “What kind of more?”
He grinned at that but just as quickly sobered.
“I got a police report that says you pressed charges against a man that pointed a gun at you. Threatened to shoot you,” he said. “This is the same man that is married to the woman that slept with your father. The mother of your most-likely sister.”
My mouth fell open in surprise.
“What?” I gasped.
Derek walked into my house then without knocking, his eyes narrowing on Lynn.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he barked.
Lynn grinned wryly.
“Explaining a few things that I was able to find out about the baby that is your girl’s sister,” he answered.
Hearing Lynn call me Derek’s girl made my heart all tingly.
“And also making sure she wasn’t left alone,” he continued.
Derek’s eyes narrowed.
“I was at the hospital today visiting a sick friend when I saw her leave,” he said. “I’d heard the call earlier about a drunk driver hitting your sister and brother-in-law. I’m sorry to hear that, and I’m glad they’re okay.”
“Why would it matter if I was left alone?” I asked curiously, sensing there was more to this story than what I’d been given.
Lynn’s eyes met mine, no longer filled with amusement.
In fact, they were intense and honestly kind of extreme.
His gaze left me and turned to Derek.
“I’ve been doing some digging,” he told Derek. “Into the baby. And what I found was a whole lot of mess that might explain a few things.”
He began to explain, and even with Derek at my side holding me up, I was too flabbergasted to comprehend.
“So you’re telling me that the man that held me up at gunpoint for stealing his million dollars and my mom were dating,” I said.
Derek squeezed my neck that he was once again supporting, offering emotional support too.
“Yes,” Lynn said.
“And the woman that had my father’s baby was dating my father.”
Lynn nodded again.
“And that they both tried to collect insurance payouts on each of them,” I continued.
“Yes,” Lynn repeated.
“Did they kill them?” I asked. “Was it them?”
Had I watched a man die that hadn’t actually murdered my father?
“No.” Lynn shook his head. “From what I gather when I talked to the woman, they just dated them in the hopes that they would die since they had such dangerous jobs. They liked the possibilities, and apparently each enjoyed the liaisons. Them actually dying was a complete coincidence that they were never able to capitalize on with your mother. They tried to do things differently with your dad, the woman purposefully getting pregnant. They kept the insurance policy on him, which they collected on. She thought that if she had the kid, half of the money for insurance and such would go to her as well. The woman got cold feet in asking for the money, so the husband decided to take it into his own hands and hold you at gunpoint until you gave him what he wanted. She also filed for divorce from her husband because he was a little too gung-ho on collecting the money that he felt that he was owed.”