Page 47 of Landon

Her brow furrowed, and she blew out a shaky breath. “Um… oh, he said that it would be good to take care of it once and for all.” She tightened her grip on him. “What did it mean?”

His jaw tightened. “I have no idea, sweetheart.” The endearment had slipped out, something he never did. Landon wasn’t in the habit of calling any woman sweetheart, babe, darlin’, honey, or anything other than their name or title. But seeing the fear on her pale face, the word sweetheart fell from his lips. If she was offended, she didn’t react, but then he wondered if she’d noticed. “I don’t want Pamela or the kids to know what he said. I’ll talk to my people to trace his calls. He had his phone in his pocket.”

“Okay,” she said, sucking in a deep breath. She straightened, and he could see the instant she steeled her spine. Patting his arm, she said, “I’ll see to the kids.”

Nodding, he watched with pride as she moved around him and walked directly to Tad and Penny. Pamela stood to the side, probably too shocked to begin her dramatics, and Noel took advantage, pulling the kids gently into the house. He followed their progression, seeing the trio headed up the stairs.

His eyes tracked their progress until they were out of sight. The tension in his chest eased only slightly as he turned back to Devil and Frazier. Pamela had retreated into the house, but he shifted his stance, ensuring their conversation remained private.

Devil groaned. “This should have been the easiest mission, and has turned into nothing but a fuckin’—”

“Tell me about it,” Landon agreed. “But there's more.” He watched as the other two Keepers' eyes flared with interest. “When waiting for the ambulance, Mike managed to speak to Noel. He told her that he was here to kill Pamela?—”

"You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Frazier bit out.

“He also said to ‘tell him I didn't get a chance.’”

“Him? Who him?” Devil asked. “Does he mean somebody sent him here to fucking kill Pamela?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I want to see what he’s got in his overnight bag.”

“Did he bring a bag with him when he came?”

Landon nodded. “I’m going to find what room he stayed in last night. That's got to be where his bag is.”

“He sure as hell needed a way to kill her that wasn't going to be messy or loud,” Devil said, his eyes narrowing as he thought of the possibilities.

“I wonder if he planned on doing something when you, Noel, and the kids were leaving. Something he could do that wouldn't immediately be traced back to him,” Frazier pondered aloud. “Couldn’t be loud or messy.”

“And who sent him? Stan Fugate? Or Stan’s father?” Devil asked.

“Had to be someone who had complete trust in Mike, knowing he was loyal to the family,” Landon said.

“I’ll call it in and tell Todd to check his phone records. There’s got to be a trace,” Frazier offered.

Landon nodded before he requested, “Make sure Pamela stays away while I go search.”

Frazier clapped him on the back. “You got it.”

With no one around, he bounded up the staircase and heard Noel comforting Tad and Penny in Penny’s room. Glancing across the hall, he spied a pair of Tad’s jeans lying across the bed and assumed that was his room. At the end of the hall was the apparent owner’s bedroom with Pamela’s clothing strewn about and an empty vodka bottle on the nightstand.

No other bedrooms were upstairs, so Landon headed downstairs. A hall bisected the living room and dining room, going by the kitchen and leading toward the back of the house.Horticia was standing in the kitchen, so he asked, “Where did Mike sleep last night?”

“He stayed in the downstairs guest room, sir. Uh… Roger's room is the first one on the left, and Mike was at the end of the hall.”

“Is Roger still in his room?”

Horticia’s eyes widened. “Uh… I’m uncertain, sir.”

Dipping his chin, he glanced over his shoulder and caught Devil’s eye. Without saying a word, he indicated that the other Keeper should stop Horticia from leaving the kitchen.

Devil moved forward and smiled at her. “Ma’am? I think we can all use a cup of tea if you don't mind.”

Horticia’s eyes were wide, and her hands shook before she clasped them tightly. Nodding, she moved over to the teakettle.

Landon slipped down the hall, went to the farthest room, and opened the door. Shutting it behind him, he looked around at the guest room. The bed was made, and a small overnight bag sat on the covers. Next to the bag was Mike’s jacket. Glancing around, he saw no other personal items belonging to the man. He stepped into the en suite bathroom, but it was also void of anything personal. “It looks like he was all packed up and ready to go,” Landon murmured.

He moved over to the bed and unzipped the bag. Not wanting to stick his hand into the unknown, especially if there was a weapon, he pulled a penlight from his back pocket and peered into the bag.

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