Sometimes mothers were complicated.
“Yeah, I have plans with a friend. Which reminds me, I need to call her. Anyway, thanks for coming over and telling me the truth. I know that wasn’t easy.”
Her emotion was gone, hidden behind the mask of the competent politician’s wife. “You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I walked her out and she gave me a quick hug before leaving. Max watched her go, his tail wagging.
“Max, I don’t even know what to do with what just happened.” I shut the door and locked it. “I have a brother. Do you think he’s the stalker?”
Max just kept wagging his tail.
“I’ll take you out in a few minutes. I need to sit down.”
I went to the couch and dropped onto the cushions. Max jumped up next to me. I absently petted him as I leaned my head back, trying to absorb the shock.
It was a lot and I had no idea what to do with any of it.
CHAPTER 34
Josiah
The thirty-minute drive to Pinecrest gave my rage time to cool, hardening like the edge of a blade. That was good. Going in hot wasn’t going to solve anything. And, I had to admit, could get me hurt—or worse. I didn’t know what kind of resources this Colin asshole had, or what he’d be willing to do.
He’d gutted a squirrel but that didn’t necessarily mean he’d gut a human.
Or it might.
But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I wasn’t going to wait for him to hurt Audrey. I had to take care of this now.
Not that I was going to kill the bastard, satisfying as that might have been. I’d seen what Asher Bailey had gone through and I wasn’t about to do time on account of this piece of shit.
But I was going to get him to admit everything and turn himself in. Even if I had to hog tie him and toss him in the back of my truck.
That, I was more than willing to do.
Finding where he lived had been all too easy. Property ownership was public record. The question was, would he be there?
He, or someone he’d hired, had been in Tilikum to follow Audrey and leave the note on her car. If it had been Colin himself, I was convinced he’d left immediately. Maybe he’d stayed long enough to watch her find the note, but I doubted it. He didn’t have the guts. And he’d want to secure his alibi.
And if he had hired someone, which seemed pretty likely, my gut told me he’d be home with his wife all day. Make sure he was seen by his neighbors, show his face somewhere around town. All to be sure no one could tie him to the stalker terrorizing his ex-girlfriend in neighboring Tilikum.
His house was every bit as douchey as I expected. The circular driveway had a fountain in the center surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges. A balcony jutted out from the second floor, supported by fluted columns that flanked the front entry. I half expected a butler in a black suit to appear.
There wasn’t a butler but a peacock strutted through the grass. A fucking peacock? Who had a random exotic bird just wandering around the yard?
Unreal.
There weren’t any cars out front, but there was a four-car garage with closed doors. It was very possible he was home.
I didn’t creep around the edges of the property, measuring the angles of the security cameras, like a coward. I walked my ass right up to his front door and knocked. Hard.
A woman dressed in a leopard print tank top and mini skirt answered the door. There was no way her platinum blond hair was natural, her nails were at least an inch long, and it looked like she was wearing stage makeup. Maybe under the glare of spotlights, she would have looked normal, but in regular daylight she looked like her face had been painted on.
“Can I help you?” she asked. Her eyes were a little glassy and her speech had the hint of a slur. Definitely day drinking.
“Are you Mrs. Greaves?”
“Yeah.” She shifted her weight onto one leg and put a hand on her hip. “Who’s asking?”
“Is your husband home?”
“Maybe.”
“Can I see him?”
“Who are you?”
“Josiah Haven.”
“Is he expecting you?”
“No.”
“Are you a client? Clients aren’t supposed to come here.”
“No. This is personal.”
“Oh.” She looked me up and down. “Did he bang your wife?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? Because you wouldn’t be the first.”
“I thought you’re his wife.”
“I am.” She shrugged.
I raised my eyebrows.
“He has his fun and so do I. We both come back. Anyway, what do you want with him? You look very menacing.”