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CHAPTER FOUR

David

I read the letter once. Twice. Even three times to make sure I didn't miss anything and still I couldn't find the words to describe how badly I wanted to dig Michael up and murder him myself.

How the fuck could a man leave his wife and two underage sons to clean up the mess he made?

"Do the police know who they are?"

Kassandra looked up and shook her head. It killed me to see the stress in her eyes. I could only imagine what had been going through her head when she found the note.

Not to mention Michael dead in his office.

"No, they don't. They asked me a million questions, but I don't have the slightest idea who Michael could've been talking about. We didn't exactly have the best marriage the last few years."

I wondered what not the best meant? And why the hell did she stay in a marriage if it wasn't good?

There were half a dozen questions I wanted to ask but it wasn't the time, nor was it my place to ask, so I kept my mouth shut for the moment. Instead, I stuck to the note.

"Do you mind if my company looks into this? They would need to do a very in-depth search of Michael's life and, due to the marriage, yours as well."

I didn't give a shit about Michael. I would gladly dig up every ounce of dirt I could find on the man, but if there was something Kassandra didn't want my teams to look into, then I needed to know now.

"That's fine. I have nothing to hide, but I'm sure Michael did."

I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer.

"Why did you stay with him if things were so bad between the two of you?"

Kassandra sighed but she didn't look away nor did she look embarrassed when she answered. "We both know that, in our families, divorce isn't an option, and I would never put my boys through that. Michael and I didn't fight. We would have to talk to each other for that to happen. He did his thing and I did mine. Unfortunately, his thing was sleeping with women half his age and apparently getting into bed with bad people."

Her confession surprised me. The Kassandra I knew as a kid would never tolerate that bullshit.

"He cheated on you?" I couldn't keep the venom out of my tone.

"Is it really considered cheating when I didn't care that it happened? Hell, I practically encouraged it. It meant he left me alone."

I was speechless.

No, wait. That wasn't true. My mouth wasn't done asking questions. "What happened to the girl who believed in soul mates and happily ever afters?"

Madalyn and Kassandra would always talk about fate and romances like it was the most magical thing in the world. Granted Madalyn ended up leaving me and hiding a pregnancy, so clearly her view on that stuff changed. Maybe Kassandra's did as well.

"Reality happened."

Kassandra turned around and headed back inside without another word. And I let her go. I had to wrap my head around a few things before I could talk to her more, considering nothing was what I thought it was. I walked away when she asked me to because I was convinced Michael was the love of her life and I would never interfere with that. To find out that wasn't the case was fucking with my head. I would never have stayed away so long if I knew she was miserable. I just couldn't understand why she waited so long to confide in me.

Since I wasn't going to get the answer right now, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed the one person who would be able to get me the information I needed.

"Well, hello, boss man. What can I do for you this time?"

I rolled my eyes heavenward and prayed for patience. Bree might be the best person to access information but she was a literal pain in my ass. She wouldn't know how to be professional if it slapped her in the face.

Granted I liked her, and she was clearly good at her job, but there were some days a simple hello, request information, and a goodbye would suffice. I would never get that with Bree.

"I need you to find out everything you can on Michael Bennett." I rattled off the information she would need to start the search.

"What exactly am I looking for? Dirty secrets? Espionage? Are you giving me a direction or is this one of those I can do what I want?"

God help me. It was a wonder how Chance dealt with her on a daily basis. The man had the patience of a saint.

"Dig up everything you can find. He hanged himself and left his widow a note about taking money from some shady people. I want to know who these people are and just how deep he was in with them."

"What a dickasaurus. Only a pussy would take the easy way out of life when someone is after them."

My thoughts exactly. Now I know why I kept Bree as an employee. Despite how annoying she was, she wasn't afraid to say it like it was. More people needed to be like that in life.

"So you’ll find out what you can?"

"Of course. I'm going to go through his life with a fine-tooth comb. I'll know every damn move he made. Too bad he's already dead and won't know how extensive of a rectal exam I plan to do on him."

That’s an image I don’t need in my head.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Anything for you, boss man."

Bree ended the call as I shook my head. I really should be used to her nonsense by now. I pushed the conversation with Bree out of my head and dialed another number. I would be using both teams on this one.

"Calling to check in so soon?" Matthew snickered as a way of answering my call.

"You know me better than that."

I didn't have to check in with Cobra. They did their job with minimal input from me. It was exactly the way we both preferred it.

"So then to what do I owe the honor?"

I suddenly realized how similar Matthew and Bree were. Both could be comedians when they wanted. The difference was, Matthew knew when to be serious. I had yet to see that from Bree.

"After you finish up in Pennsylvania, I need you back here in Boston."

Matthew huffed. "So we’ll be stateside for a while longer."

It wasn't a question and I knew how much Matthew and his team were going to hate that. Their assignment in Pennsylvania, and the one I was about to ask them to do in Boston, wasn't the kind of job description they were used to. Babysitting was well below their skill level.

"I have Maddox getting me information and I'm going to need your assistance once she gets it to me. I have a feeling this is going to turn into a shit show."

“Wait, Maddox is a she?”

Cobra only knew Bree by her code name Maddox. It was how Matthew preferred things to be. When I explained that I was starting a similar team to theirs but in New Mexico, Matthew had only one request: that they rarely worked together, and the few times they were forced to, no personal information was exchanged. I had a feeling that was all about to change but I would leave that up to Matthew to decide.

“Yes, but one of the Phantom guys already snatched her up.”

"Well, isn’t that a damn shame? Is there any reason our own technical analyst couldn't get you the information? And why are you pulling us and not one of the other Boston teams?"

This wasn't Matthew being disrespectful. When I started Blackguard Security, Matthew was the first one I called. I liked to think of him as a silent partner, the only person who was privy to the business decisions I made.

Cobra was formed to be as separate from the rest of Blackguard Security as possible. The other Boston teams were all legit. They handled the mundane aspects of the security sector. The private security, the babysitting, the jobs within the United States or foreign countries that followed the letter of the law.

Cobra did none of that. They skirted the line more often than not. They took out threats to the United States without government approval. They prevented wars from being started. If they ever got caught, there would be no one to bail them out. Not legally anyway, but I would never let their asses swing like that.

"It's personal and I need my best on this one. We both know Maddox puts our Boston analysts to shame, and despite how your team feels about being stateside, I need you on this one."

I didn't have the slightest clue what Michael got himself into, but my gut was saying it was bad. Michael's ego was big. For him to take his life meant he had to accept defeat, and for a man like that, it wasn't easy to do.

It didn't mean he wasn't a coward. Michael was one hundred percent a fucking coward for what he did.

"Alright," Matthew sighed. "As soon as we wrap this up, I'll check in with you about where you want us located."

"Thanks. I'll see you soon." I shoved my phone back in my pocket and looked up and down the street. I would give Kassandra some time alone before I bombarded her with the fact that I would be staying close for the foreseeable future. I doubted she was going to like my plan but there was no other choice.

I wasn't leaving her to face this unknown threat alone.

But I couldn't exactly tell her that with a house full of people. So instead, I would use the time to get a lay of the land. To revisit the old neighborhood I hadn't stepped foot in for nearly twenty years.