Page 41 of Grave Stone

“We know why you’re here,” Naomi said quietly. “Our family is the core of the chapter. Mom and I are the only nonmembers who always know what’s going on, so you can speak freely in front of us.”

“We were talking about the letter and who might’ve sent it. I asked if they could possibly have meant another girl in a casket. He said I’m the only one they’ve found, so it has to be me. And that’s when he ended the conversation and went back inside.”

“You can’t ask shit like that,” Stevie whispered harshly.

“I can’t ask if they’re sure I’m the subject of the letter?”

“You can’t ask about their business dealings. Would you ask a mob boss if he mixed up any of his hits?”

“Oh, I see what you mean. Should I apologize?”

“Nah,” Naomi said. “Like I said earlier, he’s moody as fuck. His dick probably touched his leg wrong or something.”

Hadley made a strange sound and quickly shoved back from the table as beer streamed from both nostrils. It looked like someone had turned on a faucet. “Ugh,” she coughed. “Warn a bitch next time!”

“Yeah,” Stevie laughed. “You can sit with us any time.”

We continued talking to Naomi and Cora for another hour before we went back to our room for the night.

“Are y’all sure I shouldn’t say something to Stone?” I asked. “I don’t want him to think I’m an asshole.”

“Trust me. He doesn’t think you’re an asshole,” Hadley said confidently. “Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

“Yeah, like he’s pissed off at me.”

“No, like he wants to devour you.”

“Is she serious?” I asked Stevie.

Stevie shrugged. “Maybe it’s both. Angry fucking can be top tier.”

“I think you’re both wrong.”

“We’ll see,” she said.

“Do you feel like going over some stuff?” Hadley asked. “Or would you rather wait until tomorrow?”

“No, I’d rather start now. I don’t think it would be a good idea to let my mind wander unsupervised until tomorrow morning.”

Smiling, she reached for her laptop. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

* * *

The next morning, Stevie drove one of Hadley’s cars to work while Sin followed behind her in his truck. She was adamant about not drawing any attention to the situation, and that was the compromise they reluctantly agreed upon after a lot of arguing over breakfast.

Hadley and I spent the morning searching for more information on Nate and Tate Wood and any connections they might have to me other than Glenn. I hadn’t been able to find any. The only people who cared enough about me to do something like that were Stevie and Hadley. And the only people I knew to have shady connections were my mother and Glenn, and they were both dead.

“Damn,” Hadley said after lunch, “I don’t want to stop working on this stuff, but I have to take care of a few administrative things for the other businesses before it gets out of hand.”

“Is there something I can do so you can keep working on it? You’re much better at finding information than I am.” I’d helped Hadley with administrative tasks for her PI business here and there over the years when I was in between jobs or when she was overloaded with cases, but I’d never been involved with her other business ventures.

“Yes!” she said excitedly. “I need to order supplies for the diner and sign off on payroll for last week. Then, there’s an email from Anthony with a list of shit that needs to be addressed. Order and approve whatever he needs. Then, I need to move any meetings I have this week to next week or the one after.”

“I can take care of all that.”

“Are you sure? It’s a lot of boring shit.”

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m happy to help you so you can help me.”