Page 105 of Risky Passion

“But when they got to the trunk of the cruiser, they started arguing,” Whitney said. “Cooper didn’t want to put the body in the cop car, complaining that it would stink. Then he demanded more money.” Whitney paused, and his eyes widened. “Oh shit. I just remembered that he called her Beatrice. That’s when she shot him.”

Chaos erupted as everyone spoke at once.

“Jesus. You heard her name?” I blurted.

“Holy shit. That’s a huge lead,” Parker said.

“Beatrice. Perfect,” Cobra said. “I can dig through the orphanage records with that.”

“Fucking hell, Whitney, why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” I snapped.

Whitney shot me a glare. “Give me a break! We were busy running for our lives! In case you forgot.”

“Okay, okay.” Parker raised his hands to diffuse the tension. “Good work remembering her name. That’s going to help us a lot. Did you see her at all?”

Whitney swallowed hard as if his words were stuck in his throat. “Kind of,” he said at last. “I was two stories up, hiding back from the window, and it was dark. But . . . yeah, I caught enough glimpses.” He scraped his hand over his chin. “She was shorter than Cooper by at leasta foot. A bit overweight. Gray hair, kind of wavy. And she moved like she was in pain. Maybe her back or feet.”

Ryder snorted, leaning back from the kitchen counter with a wry grin. “A motorcycle-riding, grandma serial killer. Now that’s a first.”

Despite the heavy tension, a faint ripple of laughter spread through the room.

“That’s some really good details, Whitney,” Parker said, nodding at our triplet. “You still haven’t told us how you found the boxes.”

“Oh, right,” Whitney said, reaching for a bottle of water, twisting off the cap. “After she killed Cooper, she marched back into the building. But I was still hiding upstairs.”

His gaze darted across a few faces, and I caught the flicker of awkwardness in his expression. But I understood his unease. Parker and I were experienced in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. Whitney’s law enforcement skills only kicked inafterpeople were dead.

“I couldn’t see or hear what B was doing,” he continued. “But she stayed in the building for at least twenty minutes. Believe me, it was driving me nuts not knowing what was going on. And I didn’t want to risk walking around because the floorboards creaked.”

He exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck like the memory still rattled him. “Anyway, after she finally drove off in Cooper’s cop car, I came downstairs. That’s when the smoke led me down to the basement.”

As Whitney explained about the skeleton sitting at the desk, his tone turned flat and clinical. Describing dead people was his domain.

“Jesus, that’s messed up,” Yasmin said, shaking her head. “That poor man.”

“I’d say there’s a reason why his killer left him to rot like that,” Tory said, shaking her head. “I bet he deserved it.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “That place has a dark history, and we’re just starting to scrape the surface.”

Ryder leaned forward, resting his hand on the counter. “So if Beatrice is grandma age, it’s possible she was an orphan at Angelsong.”

I nodded. “That’s what we’re thinking. It explains how she knew the place so well. And how she knew about that secret room that dozens of forensics teams have missed over the decades. Including me. I’vesearched that building top to bottom heaps but found nothing helpful.”

“Other than bodies and unmarked graves.” Whitney shrugged.

The rhythmic thrum of helicopter rotors beat somewhere in the distance, and my pulse spiked as I spun toward a row of windows over the kitchen sink, scanning the horizon for threats.

Cobra rested his hand on my shoulder. "Relax, buddy. That’ll be Levi."

“Oh, he’ll need to eat too,” Yasmin said, turning to Cobra. “I’ll pack something for him to take with him.”

Cobra nodded. “Good idea, Levi is cranky enough. He’s unbearable when he’s hungry.”

“Don’t I know it.” Yasmin rolled her eyes, then she plucked a Tupperware container from a drawer.

"I'll get changed." I took the clothes Cobra offered and headed to the old locker room down the hall. At one of the basins, I splashed cold water on my face, ignoring the call of a hot shower. No time for luxuries. As I pulled on the T-shirt and cargo pants, every muscle protested. I was going to be really sore come tomorrow.

When I returned, everyone looked my way, but it was Tory's gaze that locked onto mine and stole whatever breath I had left. Something about her bypassed all my defenses without even trying.

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