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Chapter Three

K enna and Maizie stood beside each other, descending the escalator at the convention center into an ocean of people—mostly women. A lot of them wore veils, or sashes, indicating they were the bride-to-be. “Kill me now.”

Maizie giggled.

If Kenna looked around, probably behind them, she would find Ramon somewhere. Bruce and Stairns were working on whatever Bruce’s thing was today—digging into the life of the man Bruce had confronted yesterday, the guy who’d been his colleague in the CIA.

And she was here. At a wedding show.

“Anything on the company from yesterday?”

Maizie waved at someone across the lobby. “I’ll tell you later.” She wound her arm through Kenna’s and pretty much dragged her through the crowd to where two women waited for them.

Jax’s mom, Adrielle, had a long pixie cut and wore gray slacks with a pink blouse and a cashmere shawl. Her shoes were flat black with a gold buckle. She smiled widely and, when Kenna got near enough, kissed her cheek. “Kenna, how are you?”

“I’m good. How was your flight?” Better than asking how their impromptu trip had gone.

Adrielle shrugged one slender shoulder. “No turbulence, and our bags arrived at the same time we did.”

Laney got between them. “Kenna.” She gave her a hug, squeezing tight. “This is fun.”

Kenna shot her a look.

Laney laughed. “It’s been ten years since I got to peruse any of this. I’m excited.”

Kenna said, “This is my friend Maizie.”

“Right,” Adrielle said. “Your assistant.”

“She’s going to be my bridesmaid as well.”

Maizie whirled around to Kenna. “I am?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Uh…Dixie? Forrest Crosby?—”

Adrielle said, “You know the author, Forrest Crosby?”

Kenna nodded, and Maizie continued, “Laney. Elizabeth Stairns. Valentina Ryson.”

“Okay, fine,” Kenna said. “But I only need one, right? So that makes it you.”

Maizie blushed, looking nervous.

“Besides, I have an ‘if I have to suffer, then we all have to suffer’ policy about the whole thing.”

Laney busted up laughing. “I love it.”

Jax’s sister wore dark jeans and canvas shoes with a white button-down shirt and a white undershirt in the open collar. She had on a simple gold necklace, and her dark blond hair was long and loose. Kenna had liked her the first time they met, over the holidays a few months back, and even her husband had been the kind of person who allowed Maizie to relax—at least to an extent.

At their meeting, they’d explained to Laney and her husband about Maizie’s background and how they’d met her. They hadn’t done the same with Adrielle Jaxton or Jax’s father. Neither needed to be privy to what Maizie had suffered.

“Sounds like we’re going to need cake samples.” Adrielle smiled wide. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Kenna said, “I like your style.”

Laney led them through double doors into the big convention auditorium, with huge chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. Floral carpet. Rows and rows of vendors selling all kinds of things.

Adrielle said, “I already made an appointment with one of the dress designers. I think you’re going to like her style.”

Maizie glanced over.

Kenna said, “Sounds great.”

Adrielle and Maizie got distracted by stationery, comparing paper color and fonts. As if Kenna was going to send out actual invitations.

Laney slowed to walk with her. “I know you and Jax had that plan where you go to the beach and you both have bare feet.”

Kenna smiled. “It was a nice idea at the time. But this thing isn’t going to get out of control. I’m not getting talked into four hundred people in some huge church I’ve never been to just to impress a bunch of people I don’t really know.”

Laney’s eyes widened. “I’ll help wrangle Mom. I promise I won’t let her lock you into anything, but she knows you don’t have much family. I think she’s trying to fill a gap.”

Kenna sidestepped a lady pushing a stroller. “I actually found out that my mother might be alive.”

Laney gasped. “Are you serious?”

“It’s crazy, right? Because if she really is alive, then where has she been for thirty years? You’d think she’d have contacted me and let me know she wasn’t dead.” Kenna shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I understand having to fake your own death. But the book made it seem like my dad knew.”

“What do you mean?”

Kenna slowed at a vendor for matching luggage, which was pretty safe as far as this whole convention went. Did they need Mr. and Mrs. monogrammed suitcases? Right, probably not. She looked anyway, and Laney stuck beside her. “He never published the book, which is probably because it’s about the hero investigator and how his true love faked her death. And how they met up a few times over the years or sent letters to each other, then later, emails.”

Laney frowned. “Can you find the email account and trace it somehow? Isn’t that what Maizie does?”

“We’ve got a lot of things going on.” Kenna continued walking. “Maybe when she has some downtime, but right now, she’s working on data we got from a finance company yesterday. There’s a lot of that to go through.”

They’d caught up to Adrielle and Maizie, who glanced over. The teen seemed hesitant, maybe even nervous.

“Everything okay?” Kenna didn’t usually find herself in the middle of such a thick crowd of people. She had an itchy feeling on the back of her neck.

When she glanced around, the reason for her nerves became clear. They were live on someone’s social media channel. The “influencer” took up the whole aisle, gesturing with one hand and holding a tiny microphone to her lips with the other. Evidently “so excited” to be here. She kept talking, but Kenna barely understood half of what she said.

She glanced at Maizie, tugging her elbows around so the girl’s face was away from the camera coming toward them. “Is she even speaking English?”

Maizie smiled.

“I feel old just listening to her.”

Adrielle said, “How do you think I feel?”

Kenna winced inwardly, but when she glanced at her future mother-in-law, she spotted humor on the woman’s face. “We definitely need cake.”

“And champagne with our lunch. This is a celebration!” Adrielle whirled around and continued on.

Maizie didn’t move right away, so Kenna wound her arm through Maizie’s, and they walked together. “You okay?”

Maizie said, “Weird memories. But you should know I looked up that woman you ran into yesterday.”

“At the company?”

“Sheryl Nolan.” Maizie bit her lip. “I just got a couple of pings on my phone. She’s posting on how she lost her job this morning and ranting about how it’s all your fault.”

“Does she know my name or where to find me?”

“She has your picture from their security system. Don’t ask me how she got it.” Maizie ducked her head and whispered, “She’s calling you out on socials.”

“Thanks.” She wasn’t too worried—at least, not until something happened.

“Having fun yet?”

Kenna eyed her suspiciously. “Maybe it’s not so bad.”

Maizie chuckled, and it was good to see her laugh. She’d ventured out of the Airstream more and more over the past few months, since the trip to the UK. But it couldn’t be denied that this was a huge step for the young woman.

“We should throw you a big birthday party when you turn eighteen.”

“What if I’m already eighteen and we missed it?” She shrugged.

“We could start planning for your next birthday.”

“Do you care about your birthday?”

Kenna frowned. “Okay, fine.”

“I guess you’re raising me the way you’ve been raised. To not need a fuss made about me and to not want to be the center of attention.”

“That’s not a bad thing. It’s good to live a quiet life you’re happy with. No flashing lights. No notoriety. Seems like everyone wants to be famous, like having people notice you is the most important thing in the world. What if I don’t want anyone to notice me?”

Maizie said, “It’s easier to stay under the radar if no one notices me.”

“Plenty of jobs prefer the employee to have no social media accounts. They’re a breach of security.”

“So I should go for one of those?”

“You can do whatever you want.”

Maizie said, “You know that’s not really true. I mean, you can’t do everything. I can’t either. I’ll never be an MMA fighter or an Olympic track star. I’ll never be a nurse because it’s too gross, and I don’t think I could be a therapist.”

“We should work out.”

“You know what I mean.”

Kenna said, “But if you want to get stronger, we can have Jax make us a workout plan and get a gym going at Stairns’ place. When I’m on the road, we can touch base, keep each other accountable. And in the meantime, you can choose whatever field you want to work in.”

“How about yours?”

Kenna would’ve objected even just a few months ago. “You’re already doing that. But you don’t have to do it forever if you decide to switch fields or move on. Maybe I’ll make it a requirement of your job that you have to get a college degree.”

“I’ve been thinking about it. I can do an online school, right? I’ll be able to work around cases.”

“Sounds like you’re on the right track.”

“Which is why you should listen to me.” Maizie stopped, turning to face Kenna.

So suspicious.

“I found a church.”

Kenna started to object.

“Hear me out.”

This could get awkward. Especially since Adrielle and Laney had also stopped and were close enough to hear.

“It’s in Colorado, in this tiny town. A small white country church. The old kind with the spire, and it’s been there for two hundred years.”

Maizie paused long enough for Kenna to say, “Go on.”

“The pastor is Elizabeth’s uncle, and she said he’s quiet and kind. And suuuuper old.”

Kenna smiled.

“The church only holds about fifty people. So, it’s not like a whole lot of Jax’s friends and family will come, and we can tell everyone to sit wherever. That way, you don’t have his side of the church packed and you’ve only got me and Stairns and Ramon and like five other people.”

“Elizabeth’s uncle?” First Kenna was hearing about this.

Maizie nodded.

“What else have you figured out?” Kenna narrowed her eyes. “You know I don’t like surprises.”

“Searching for the church has been keeping me from flipping out about heavy white dresses.”

Maizie was having flashbacks?

Kenna moved closer to the girl and touched her cheeks. “We can leave right now. Or Ramon can come over and take you outside, let you get some air.”

“I know why you like the RV.”

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Kenna smiled. “You want Ramon to take you?”

Maizie shook her head. “I want to see you put on a dress.”

Kenna gave her a quick hug. “Who says I’m wearing a dress?”

Adrielle gasped.

Laney’s eyes widened in a panic.

Maizie said, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“My wedding.” Kenna folded her arms and fought the smile that pulled at her lips. “My rules.”

And, on top of that, it was pulling Maizie out of her funk.

“Well…well…” Adrielle sputtered. “What’s the alternative?”

“Crisp white slacks, a white bodice made out of wedding dress material, so I get the top part. White Converse.”

Laney started laughing. “That’s oddly specific. Almost as if you’ve thought extensively about this.”

Adrielle started to fan herself like she was going to faint.

“But I suppose we could try some dresses on. Just in case.” Kenna bit the inside of her lip. She was going to murder Jax.

Okay, maybe not.

But still.

Adrielle smiled widely. “Let’s at least go look at some. Who knows, you might be inspired.”

Laney looked like she thought this entire thing was hilarious.

Kenna turned to Maizie. “Sure you’re okay to be surrounded by dresses?”

The teen said, “As long as you’re around, and Ramon is close by.”

Except that the threat wasn’t here. It was in Maizie’s mind, locked in her memories. Everyone had things they wanted to forget or parts of their past they chose not to recall. One person couldn’t say their experience was worse than anyone else’s—except that Maizie’s had been as bad as things could get.

“I need my wingman.” Kenna nudged her. “That church is a pretty good idea.”

Didn’t mean that was how it would go down. She preferred Jax’s idea of the two of them with a few people—she was thinking five max.

Him in slacks and a white shirt, not even tucked in. Bare feet. Her maybe in a white sundress or her idea of white pants and a wedding-dress-like top, also no shoes. Loose hair with a flower in it. On the beach, but not when it was hot.

Quiet.

Gorgeous.

The perfect day.

Fanfare was not her thing. They all knew it, and Adrielle was going to catch on.

Kenna didn’t usually think about her former fiancé, Bradley, who had died in the basement of a serial killer’s house. Watching his life slip away, Kenna had watched her dreams die with him—and their unborn child. She’d lost so much and since then gained more back than she’d imagined she would have.

Some people might think she should recreate the wedding she was supposed to have had with Bradley, but that wouldn’t be fair to his memory. And it wasn’t what she wanted.

The designer had set up in a room off to the side of the auditorium. Adrielle introduced them all to a four-foot-eight woman with some Asian in her ancestry. Her dark hair was cut into choppy angles, and the ends were pink. The room had fairy lights strung up all around and even a few racks of bridesmaid’s dresses in all colors. Shoes. Jewelry. Kenna’s head spun just taking it all in.

Akira scanned Kenna from head to toe. “I have just the thing!”

The room had a changing area behind a screen. A pedestal step and trifold mirrors to look at the dress from all angles. Slender glasses of bubbly apple cider to sip while they perused the racks of dresses.

Akira raced to a rack at the far end and started rummaging.

Kenna glanced over at Adrielle. “You were right. These are fabulous.”

Laney, one row down from her mother, looked relieved. Oh good. Kenna had said the right thing.

The door opened, and Maizie quickly ducked down between rows of dresses. A blond woman stepped inside wearing casual street clothes and holding a cup of Starbucks, which was one of the most innocuous things in the world. With a cup of coffee, you blended in at a place like this immediately .

Akira held up one hand. “We have a private appointment in here!”

The woman closed the door behind her. “So do I,” she said in a British accent and glanced at Kenna. “I need to speak to you.”

Just when she got used to wedding dress shopping.

The door opened again, and Ramon stepped in, grabbed the woman, and backed her against the wall with his arm across her throat. The Starbucks cup fell to the ground, and the lid came off. It was empty.

Adrielle gasped.

The woman glared at him.

Ramon said, “Start talking.”