Page 18 of Coff

Fuck, Delaney. Do you know about this? Is there any way this is your brother’s, and your dad doesn’t know? My gut told me her dad’s protectiveness went beyond simply being rich. I had hoped I was wrong.

I leave the building before anyone finds me there and jog the rest of the lap, then back to the house. I’m not sure how I can find out what is going on. It’s not like I can say, “Hey, Mr. Manzia, I saw you had some drugs out there in that building. What are you doing with them?”

Does Delaney know? Is she a part of this? My stomach rolls, and I bend over, taking gulps of air.

No, she’s an honest, caring woman. There’s no way she’d be all right with this. But it’s on their property where she could easily find it.

Carefully, I enter the pool house quietly and make my way to the bathroom. I shower and get dressed, thinking over every interaction I’ve had with Delaney. She’s never once mentioned drugs or even joked about them. And she’s made it clear she’s not interested in her dad’s business.

When I come out of the shower, she’s sitting up in bed.

“How was your jog?” She stands and meets me halfway.

I wrap my arms around her, and she melts into me. “Good.”

“Where did you go?”

“Around the property as you drew out. I saw a building out in a field. Do you guys have horses?”

She laughs. “I wish. No, that would require someone to come in and help take care of them, and my dad would never allow that.”

I lean back. “He doesn’t allow anyone to help with the house?”

She shakes her head.

“But it’s quite large. Who cleans it?”

“My mom, me, my brother. We all have our areas we keep clean.” She gives me a quick kiss, then spins around. “I’m going to shower. I have something fun planned for us today.”

While she’s in there, I get dressed, but my mind is spinning. I fall back onto the bed and stare at the ceiling. I need advice, but who can I call? The odds of reaching Ozzie are low since he’s not on leave. And this is not something I want to leave a message about. Forget about my brother. As an FBI agent, he’d demand answers that I’m not ready to give.

Is there any legitimate reason he’d have those boxes out there? None that I can think of, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

The shower turns off, and I sit up. Sitting here, thinking, isn’t going to help me figure out anything. Instead, I’ll continue my week here and keep my eyes and ears open. What I really need to know is if Delaney is involved. Hopefully not, and I need to see if she’d be willing to leave this place.

I smile. If she says yes to my proposal, then she can move to Virginia with me, and I can forget about what I saw. Or maybe mention it to my brother down the road.

“Hey there. What are you smiling about?” she asks.

She’s already dressed and combing out her hair. I frown.

“Do you keep clothes here?”

What she’s wearing is not what she had on yesterday.

“Nope. While you were out jogging, I went to my room and gathered a few things.” She steps back into the bathroom for a moment, then comes out again. “Let’s have breakfast and plan our day.”

“I thought you said you had plans for us.”

She slaps my ass. “I do. But I figured I’d tell you about them while we eat.”

I follow her back to the main house. We walk into the kitchen, and there is a bowl of bagels on the counter. She grabs one and takes a bite.

“Here’s some cream cheese.” She pushes over a container and knife. “I want to show you around town today.”

I spread some cream cheese across a bagel. “Is it the town we drove through on the way here?”

“Yes, it is.” She grins.

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