Page 23 of Desperate Justice

As they went into the foyer, his gaze focused on the stacks of boxes near the sweeping marble staircase.

Allison gave him a questioning look. He saw it on her face. She suspected those weren’t ordinary boxes.

Diana saw them looking at the boxes and shrugged. “Those will be gone soon. The wedding planner is picking them up. I don’t know why they’re still here.”

Each box was marked in a black permanent marker—Wedding Favors.

“If these are for the wedding, I’d like to see the colors so I can match the lights on the trees,” he said.

Rafe opened a box.

Damn. There inside were the same rainbow-colored candy Allison had had at the hospital. Though the candy at the hospital only had trace amounts of fentanyl, he suspected rainbow tablets containing pure fentanyl were mixed into the box.

Some wedding favors.

He’d barely had time to take one photo when Diana came toward him, scowling.

“Those are my favors for the wedding. Candy for all the guests. You’re not supposed to touch them.”

“Oh? Says who?”

“Hector bought them for us. It’s part of his wedding gift to us.”

Some gift. Drugs that could kill. Rafe knew these were not meant for the wedding, and he’d bet his salary they were destined for the speedboat outside.

Allison had seen inside the box and blood drained from her face. She knew. These were the same type of pills she’d inadvertently offered to his niece and her guests at the hospital.

Damn.

He had to know, at least to clear Allison in this. “Miss Lexington, do you have any extras of those candies I can take back to the landscaping shop to match the colors?”

Thankfully, Allison spoke up. “Di, you should have extras. These look like the same ones you gave me at the hospital. Remember? You insisted they were just candy.”

Blood drained from Diana’s face. “It has to be candy, Ally, it must be... I had opened a box and took a few of bags for you, and when Hector found out what box I opened, he got mad.”

How mad? He saw Diana touch her left cheek almost subconsciously. Did her heavy makeup hide a bruise? Hernandez was famous for his violent temper.

“Hector told me I can’t have any. He’s hiring someone to make the wedding favors with the candy, and he doesn’t want me worrying about little details like this.”

But she didn’t sound convinced. More like she parroted words she was supposed to believe.

Through the double glass doors, he saw a car pulled up on the circular drive. Rafe’s blood ran cold as he saw Hector Hernandez emerge from the black Mercedes-Benz.

This wasn’t good. He hoped Hernandez wouldn’t recognize him from the night the drug lord shot him and killed two of his men.

Because if Hernandez did...

Rafe was toast.

CHAPTER 7

Allison silently cursed, agreeing to this scheme as Diana’s future relative strolled into the house. Dressed in khaki trousers, a blue silk shirt and with his graying hair slicked back, he looked like a professional businessman. But something about Hernandez, other than his questionable reputation, always creeped out Allison.

He saw Diana, stopped short. No welcoming smile or greeting. Only a frown, which deepened at the sight of Allison.

His olive complexion grew ruddy as he spotted Rafe. She had to stay calm and collected, play this out. Because her gut warned this was not a man who liked uninvited guests.

And he was smart enough to detect a fed from a mile away.