A Tangled Truth (Stonewall Investigations Book 3) Read online

  “Marah,” I said as she started to stand. She looked at me and dropped her head before sitting back down on the bench. “Sorry, I’m almost done. I know this is difficult. You mentioned other affairs. Do you have any names?”

  She took a breath and let it out, a few leftover cries slipping out. “No.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “You’re really helping me out right now.”

  “Am I?”

  “You are.” She smiled at that and wiped at her wet cheeks. A family pushing a stroller with another baby strapped on the dad’s back walked by us, looking as cheery as a postcard, totally unaware of the dark world I was investigating only feet away from them. And things were about to get darker.

  “So, when you were with Johnny, did he ever say anything negative about his wife? Something that really struck you as off? Or maybe he said something about his first wife?”

  She took a breath and searched her thoughts for a moment. She pursed her lips before answering. “No… except one time. He did mention that he was fighting with her. A really bad fight. He apparently shattered some crazy expensive vase because he was so angry at her.”

  More new information. I knew he was a womanizer, but I hadn’t known Johnny was ever physically aggressive toward his wives. That was telling in a gruesome way. It made my blood boil, but I controlled it and channeled the anger into my focus.

  “Did you ever witness him get angry?”

  “No, and I was never there for any of the fights.” She glanced at the hot-pink watch on her wrist. “Um, I do remember, there was one time I was talking to his assistant so I could set up a time to meet him. He didn’t like scheduling anything himself, not even his affairs. And she had to hang up the phone. I heard shouting in the background, and I’m sure it was Johnny’s voice. She sometimes works from his house, so I’m pretty sure she was there for that fight and a few others. I think she was there for that.”

  “And you weren’t worried about her knowing of the affair?”

  Marah shook her head. “No. If anything I thought it was a safer cover. I didn’t want to get caught by his wife texting his phone. I’m not a homewrecker, either. And he trusts his assistant, so I figured I could, too.”

  I had been wanting to sit down for an interview with Diana, but I also thought it wiser to wait for the initial heat of my first interview with Johnny to simmer down first. It sounded like she really enjoyed working for him, but I was counting on cracks in their relationship. I couldn’t believe she could condone all his behavior. Plus, if there was anyone who could know all about the skeletons in Johnny’s walk-in-sized closet, it would be Diana. But that’s why I needed to make sure the timing of my interview with her was perfect. I wanted to go in armed with information from multiple sources. Information was power, especially in an investigation.

  “Okay, Marah,” I said, feeling like we had reached the end of the interview. She was looking even antsier than when we’d started, and I didn’t want to get her overly stressed. If anything came up, I knew I could call her, especially if I ended this interview on a good note, which meant ending it sooner rather than later. “I think we can stop here. Thank you for being honest with me.”

  “Of course, Detective.” She stood up quickly, brushing off invisible dust from her shirt. “Please, clear Liam’s name. He doesn’t deserve that crap. I’ve worked with him twice, and he’s just the biggest sweetheart in this entire industry. He’s honestly one of the good ones. Please.”

  I stood up, standing a good foot taller than her. “I’m trying my damn hardest,” I said.

  “I believe that,” she said, her face sad except for a glimmer of hope in those expressive brown eyes.

  17 Liam Wolfe

  A Week Later

  I sat in the back of the town car, my thoughts of Mark wrapping me in a warmth that covered my entire body. It was like I had thrown a blanket on. That was how I’d been feeling every damn day now, especially since I was waking up with Mark’s naked body next to me. He’d been sleeping over, which was a little misleading since sleeping was one of the last things we were doing.

  It was such a weird time in my life. On one hand, I had everything I ever wanted and more; on the other hand, I was currently on my way to visit a new lawyer since my last one had a heart attack over the weekend. Yeah, things were complicated.

  But at least I had Mark. That was the thought that covered me in a heat that was truly indescribable. Not only was the sex out of this fucking world, but just being around him, clothes or no clothes, always made me happy. More than happy—I was over the moon whenever I was with Mark. In a way that never happened to me with anyone else. None of my past casual relationships had this kind of effect on me.

  I had to do something special for Mark. To really show him how taken I was by him. How much I had always wanted him. I pulled my phone from my jeans and went to my assistant’s number.

  “Hey, Carey, busy?”

  “Nope, need anything?”

  “Can you get me the info for Geraldo Hines? He’s the owner of the Starlight Theatre over in Brooklyn. I want to call in a favor.”

  “You got it!” Carey said, sounding more chipper than usual.

  “Thanks,” I said and hung up. I had an idea for something really special, but there was a chance my plan may not even work, so I had to be quiet about it until I talked to Geraldo. In the meantime, I daydreamed about how the date would go with Mark, feeling the butterflies rev up inside me again. Crazy how after so many years they were still around. I had a feeling it would always be like that. Mark was the kind of man who would always be making me feel a certain way.

  Also, did I mention the sex? Out of this fucking world? I did. Well, I think it deserves a second mention because damn did that man know what he was doing with what he was carrying. I’d never had so much sex before and still wanted more of it. Even now, I felt my dick swelling at the thought.

  “This a good place to drop you off, sir?”

  “Wha? Oh yeah, perfect,” I said, not even knowing where we were. That was fine. I’d walk the rest of the distance if this wasn’t the right spot. I thanked the driver and got out, looking up at the massive building stretching above me, its mostly glass facade reflecting the midafternoon sun. There was a large number in gold above the entrance, matching the address Griffin had given me. He recommended this lawyer who had helped him get out of a really tough spot. Mark also happened to highly recommend the guy, who knew him because the lawyer happened to be Zane’s fiancé and would come around to some of their office get-togethers.

  I walked into the lobby and checked in. A guard let me know which elevator to get in, and I rode that all the way up to the law firm’s floor. They had a few floors all to their own. The lawyer I was meeting with was one of the head partners. He was also a pretty well-known figure throughout the nightly news circuits, usually appearing on CNN or MSNBC to give some kind of well-thought-out talking points.

  The elevator opened and left me in front of two huge doors, with the firm’s name printed across it in a gold script: De Luca, Lively & Associates. I opened the door and walked into a cyclone of activity. There was a packed waiting area with all kinds of clients chewing on their nails as they sat on comfortable chairs and drank from the community Keurig. The front desk was staffed with smiling faces that all appeared to be ready for a photo shoot. One blonde guy waved to me and checked me in, letting me know my lawyer would be right out.

  I didn’t even make it to a seat before I heard someone say my name. “Liam Wolfe! Ciao! Great to meet you.” It was a charismatic voice colored with an Italian accent.

  I turned and saw a beaming man with bright eyes and a face groomed by a damn artist, with a neat beard that had been trimmed and shaped so it highlighted his face perfectly. He was wearing a designer beige button-down shirt with a delicate floral design on it tucked into tailored navy blue slacks.

  “Lorenzo De Luca,” he said, sticking a hand out, a Rolex glinting with a blue face on his wrist. “Yo
u can just call me Enzo.”

  “Cazzo,” Enzo said, his fingers twined together in a fist as they held his chin up. He was listening intently to my story and ended my retelling with what I assumed was an Italian curse word.

  “That bad?”

  “No, no, nothing is that bad, Liam.” He leaned back in his chair. We were sitting in his corner office, with windows that let in the bright sunlight. There were a couple of tall bookshelves with plenty of law books, but I also spotted a few others in the mix, like the final Harry Potter book nestled in between two thickly bound leather books.

  “Okay, good. I’ve heard great things about you.”

  “Who was talking about me?” he asked, puffing his chest up as if getting ready for a fight. “Let me know so I could thank them with a flower bouquet.” He smiled, and I saw exactly how Enzo won almost every case that came across his desk. He was a world-renowned defense attorney, and I’m sure he was as sharp as a box of nails, but it was that smile of his that could most likely turn a jury onto his side. Enzo instantly made you want to believe every word he was saying.

  “You’re a well-known lawyer,” I said. “Your name’s in pretty much everyone’s mouth.”

  “Ahh, I’ll take it.” He turned in his chair to his computer and started typing. “Okay, I’m just going to write down all the preliminary details you told me. I’m assuming we’ll go after Johnny for libel, which is written defamation, but there are also a few other avenues I can think of chasing him down. Now, this is a little bit of a different case for me since we’re going on the offensive here, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Enzo’s dripping confidence helped assure me. “There’s also the fact that you still don’t have proof it was actually Johnny who was the author of the email.”

  “Right, so there’s that. I’ve got an excellent detective looking into things, and hopefully he’ll find something soon.”

  “Without solid proof, my hands are tied, but I do think you went to the right people. You hired Stonewall Investigations, right?”

  “Mhmm,” I said. I had known we couldn’t do anything right away, but I still wanted to meet with Enzo so I could get ahead of it all. I liked being a few steps ahead, and getting a defense attorney on retainer was exactly that. I wanted Enzo to be prepared for court at any moment, because the second Mark found evidence of Johnny and his dirty deeds, I was going to drag that scumbag straight to the front of a judge.

  “Good. My fiancé founded that place. Zane. He’s definitely the smartest guy I’ve ever met, and I know he only hires the best. Whoever you’ve got working on the case is going to figure it all out.”

  “I’ve got a lot of faith in him.”

  “I can tell,” Enzo said, looking away from his computer screen and back at me. He was a handsome guy, that was for sure. And a cocky motherfucker, too. It was obvious why the camera loved him and the news organizations kept having him back on their evening shows. “Is that a spark I’m noticing? Your smile is growing, too.”

  I hadn’t even realized it, but sure enough, thinking about Mark had me starting to grin. “A very big spark,” I admitted.

  “I knew it,” Enzo said, smiling. I noticed he absentmindedly fiddled with the silver band on his ring finger. “There’s something about that place, huh? Maybe Zane should moonlight as a matchmaker.”

  I laughed at that, picturing Zane holding speed dates at Stonewall. I had only really seen him once before, but even then, I knew he was more of a detective than a date-night host. “You should bring it up to him, get a cut on profits.”

  “I like the way you think,” Enzo said, nodding. We talked a little more about Johnny, along with my suspicions surrounding his ex-wives. Enzo was incredibly helpful in giving me the rundown on what we could and couldn’t do in terms of the law and bringing Johnny to court. It was toward the end of our meeting when I got a call that completely sucked the air out of my lungs.

  It was my agent, Stephen, who called to deliver the bad news.

  “Stephen, what’s going on?” I said, answering the call while I was still in Enzo’s office.

  “Hey, Liam… it’s not good. You sitting down?”

  18 Mark Masters

  Gino’s Deli was one of my favorite places to come get a good Italian sub, and that was exactly what Collin and I were craving for an early dinner. We had been in the office pretty much all morning, both of us cracking our heads over the cases we were working on, so when I spotted Collin walking past my office in search of food, I called him in and asked if he wanted to get a bite to eat together. It had been a bit since we had last hung out just us two, and I wanted to change that. With everything going on in our lives, our friendship had unfortunately been put on a slight hold. Collin wasn’t even aware of the full story between me and Liam, so that was the first thing I gave him the down-low on.

  “Since you were kids, huh?” he asked as we took our seats in the packed deli. “That’s crazy.”

  “Totally,” I agreed. “And for him to walk into Stonewall and then get me as a detective, it all clicked so well.”

  “I’ve noticed it,” Collin said. He was looking a little more rested, wearing a navy blue shirt and khakis that weren’t wrinkled. “You always have a smile on now. Before, we could all tell you weren’t a morning person because it looked like you were ready to strangle one of us. But since Liam, even the mornings aren’t getting you down anymore.”

  “This is true,” I said, laughing. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

  “It was pretty bad.”

  “Bullshit,” I said, chuckling, knowing that Collin wasn’t exaggerating. I had never been a morning person, but sure enough, that all seemed to change when I started waking up next to Liam.

  “Mhmm,” Collin said, drinking his soda and narrowing his eyes. “There was that one morning I knocked on your door so I could borrow something, and all I heard was a bark from inside your office. You literally barked at me like a guard dog.”

  “It was a cough!”

  “Doubtful,” Collin said. We continued to chat for a bit, catching up on things that went beyond work. Frankly, I found it difficult talking about Collin’s case anyway. That had never happened to me before, but it had all hit way too close to home for me to feel comfortable bringing the Unicorn up. I knew Collin was working his ass off trying to figure out the who the killer was, and that’s what mattered. I had full confidence that Collin was going to do what no one else could and finally put a name to the monster.

  “I’m really happy for you guys,” Collin said. “I feel like you’ve even talked about him before to me.”

  “I most likely have. We were really good friends. Best friends back in high school. I had definitely developed feelings even back then, but I wasn’t admitting them to anyone. Not even myself. Then he moved away, and we lost touch.”

  “It’s so shitty. Instead of living and loving, we grew up worried if something was wrong with us.”

  I nodded, lips pursed tight. “Yeah, I think I’ll always wish things had been a little different, but at least I got a second chance to make things different.”

  “Yes to that.” Collin’s face lit up. He had a baby face that radiated warmth and kindness. “So, I think your good karma with guys is rubbing off on me,” Collin said before taking a big bite of his sub.

  “Oh really?”

  “Mhmm,” he said, swallowing. “I’ve been talking to someone.”

  “What? How did you not open with this?”

  “It’s nothing too crazy, but I do like where it’s headed. He’s from London and has an accent that is a full-on panty dropper.”

  I snorted at that. “Collin, at one point I think even Big Bird’s accent would have dropped your panties.”

  “That was a phase, and it only lasted a few months,” Collin said, smirking as he defended himself.

  “I’m joking, I’m joking.”

  “I know, but it’s the truth. I was slutting it up for a while.”

  “But then you stopped,”
I said.

  “I did. I got over it. Wanted something more serious but couldn’t find anyone interested in settling down, and then Zane gave me the Unicorn case and I’ve been totally consumed by it since.”

  There it was. Even mentioning the name seemed to bring a chill in the air that wasn’t there before. “You deserve a damn king.”

  “Well…”

  “Wait… no, is he a prince? A king? Collin! How have you been holding this back!”

  “Relax,” he said, dimples forming in his cheeks. “He’s a count, so there most likely won’t be any crowns in the future, but still… It’s pretty hot, isn’t it?”

  “Damn right,” I said. “How did you two even meet? Is there a dating app for meeting up with counts?”

  “Yeah,” Collin said, smirking. “We met on Countr.”

  I cracked up at that one. “Damn, you’re good.”

  “We met through a mutual friend,” Collin said. “She set it up as a blind date, and things really went well.” Did I see a little blush fill in his cheeks? “Like, really well.”

  “Get it, Collin.” I clapped a hand on the table. “Does he live here or in London?”

  “Here. He’s been here for three years now. Works down on Wall Street.”

  “He’s a banker?” I asked, arching a brow.

  “Yeah, but not the slimy kind of banker. I honestly had no idea he was loaded until our third date, when he took me to one of his houses in the Hamptons.”

  “Just one of them?” I asked, my jaw dropping.

  “Yeah, he said he would show me the second one some other time.” Collin laughed at that. “It’s crazy, but I don’t even think about the money. He’s just a really good guy. Theo Rogers. Even his name makes me giddy.”

  “That is a sexy name,” I agreed. “God, I’m so damn happy for you, Collin. You really deserve this. When am I meeting him?”