Page 4 of Killian
“My dad. Mom didn’t have a damn thing. Xeno took all her money and then some. You’ll have tabs to pay all over Banthard for her.”
“Lovely,” I said, heading into the bathroom with clean clothes, and started stripping down.
“You should have access to my money,” Axl said. “I left a will.”
“Not that I need the money, but where’s the will?”
“Safe deposit box. Coleen Di Gatti is my personal banker,” he said.
She was mine, too, but Axl didn’t need to know that. “Where’s the shower?”
“Behind the wall.” Axl led me in that direction, and hot water pelted me when I stepped under a showerhead. “Designed a whole shower room. Well, at least I’m in the house now.”
“How did you get the key?” I asked as I scrubbed my head, missing my four feet of curls.
“Oh, well, The builder, um, Zander Luciano? Yeah, he took the key to MacLaden House. I paid for everything upfront and spent a week discussing what I wanted.” Axl patted the light gray tiles. “It’s exactly what I asked for. I don’t know what to do now.”
“Tell me about Banthard? I’ve never been there.” I needed to keep him talking because he held all the information. The gods didn’t know a damn thing.
“So, Charlene MacLaden runs the diner. You want to meet her. Make sure Mom doesn’t have a bill there. Barnham runs the furniture store. He builds custom wood pieces. You have the people Xeno took everything from when he married Mom. I haven’t met them. They hide.”
“Where did you find the builder?”
“Oh, he lives in Banthard. Met him at the diner one afternoon. So, I need you to tell Maisy who you are and that you’re my Uncle.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. Where are you going?” I turned to look at him then and could see right through him.
“You’re my unfinished business, Uncle. Be careful, and watch out for Gerald.” He was gone before I could ask who Gerald was and why I needed to watch out for him.
Most of what he said made sense. For the last two months, the Axl I met behaved strangely. I’d heard he’d refused Ezra and hadtaken his mother home when Xeno died. Cassandra was at the wedding, and she looked okay, but I hadn’t talked to her.
I’d find her tomorrow afternoon. The diner would be the first stop because there wasn’t food in the kitchen.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and checked out the rest of the house, finding another door leading to the other hall, which had five more bedrooms. It led me back around to the kitchen. I had a huge empty pantry save for small appliances, a laundry room, and a six-car garage.
Why was the place so big?
To replace MacLaden House,Yael, my lion, thought.
That did make sense.
When I walked through again, I found a letter and a packet on the kitchen island. The packet contained the remotes to the garage bays.
Dear Killian,
The security system code is 1922, and the Wi-Fi password is CR0WKN0WS1. You can download the app for the security cameras on your phone and laptop. Call me if you have problems or need anything. I’ll be by on Monday to clean the pool.
Zander
How in the hell had he known?
We met him tonight, Killy. Right before Erebus snatched us away, Ozzi Luciano introduced us to his brother using a terrible pickup line,Yael thought.We bled on Zander and had to excuse ourselves.
Oh, yeah. He was cute.
He was,Yael grumbled.
Come on, now, don’t get huffy. We had to feed,I thought on my way back to the bedroom. I put Zander’s number in my phone, plugged it into the charger I’d tossed onto the bed when hunting my clothes, and laid down.
