"Maybe you should think about selling the business and retiring," Christy told Anthony as she put towels away that she'd folded.

Anthony stepped out of the shower and reached for the towel his wife held out to him. Drying himself off he answered, "We've talked about this, Christy. What would I do with myself? Until Daisy graduates from high school, which won't be for several more years, we're tied down here. And I'm happy. I like working. I always have."

"I know," she replied. "Lately you just seem to come home more aggravated than not."

"That's because I've lost a lot of men recently and can only seem to find morons to replace them."

She gave him a hopeful glance, her bright blue eyes almost pleading.

"Don't even think about Christian taking over the business, Owani. Landscaping isn't his thing. I think we both know that."

"Is riding with Grizz's old gang his thing, Anthony?" It was difficult to keep the frustration out of her voice.

"That's his choice." He threw his wet towel in the hamper and reached for his clothes.

"You sent him there, Anthony!" she cried.

"They'll teach him what I apparently couldn't," he countered.

"To be a criminal?"

"To be responsible for his actions. Christian is a hothead. He'll either buck the hierarchy and someone will put him in the hospital, or..."

"Prison," Christy finished.

"We both know Christian is heading for prison, Owani. Maybe he'll learn enough discipline with Grizz's old gang to avoid it."

Christy walked into Anthony's massive arms. Hugging him tightly, she let out a sigh against his chest. "Well, at least I'm doing everything I can to make sure he doesn't end up in prison. And I'm pretty sure we've managed to divert the Mimi thing. I think she's finally given up trying to reach him."

"You're a good mother." He kissed the top of her head. "And you were right to throw her letters away, Christy," Anthony said while stroking her soft hair.

She looked up and gave a slight nod. "I know. But I can't help but wonder if Mimi would've been good for Christian."

"Not at the risk of Christian finding out Grizz didn't die on death row. He's eighteen but still not mature enough to be trusted, honey."

Christy pulled away and took his hand. "C'mon, dinner will be ready in ten minutes and Autumn will be bringing Daisy home soon."

"Is Autumn still trying to get her hooks into Christian?" Anthony asked as he followed Christy through their bedroom.

Stopping at the foot of their bed, Christy turned to face Anthony. "I know Autumn thinks she's in love with him and does whatever she can to get his attention. It doesn't help that he still lives here, at least part-time. God only knows where he crashes when he's not home."

Anthony was going to reply, but looked at their bed instead. "How long do we have until Daisy gets home?" he asked, giving Christy a mischievous grin.

Dropping to her knees and unbuckling his belt, Christy told him, "Long enough.”

"Dinner was good, Owani," Anthony remarked as he walked behind her toward their family room. "Daisy scarfed it down."

"I think she scarfed it down so she could watch her favorite show. Besides, it's not too hard to mess up a four-ingredient Crock-Pot recipe, although I have ruined some of those in the past." Christy laughed.

As was their nightly habit, Anthony and Christy cleaned up the dinner dishes before retiring to the family room to enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the evening news.

"Daisy, you can finish watching that in your room. Daddy and I are gonna have our coffee and watch some TV," Christy directed Daisy as she set both cups on the table.

Daisy jumped up from her spot on the floor, and after giving each parent a quick hug, happily bounded off to her bedroom.

"I don't think I've ever encountered a sweeter or more agreeable child," Christy said as she took a seat in one of the leather recliners and reached for the remote and her mug.

"I agree," Anthony replied. "I sometimes wonder how she could be ours. Slade was a good kid, but even he had his moments."

After craning her neck to make sure Daisy had gone to her room, Christy said, "I don't know if I told you that I heard from Carter."

"Is everything okay?" He gave her a sideways glance.

"I'm sure it is. It amazes me that we never got to know Carter and Bill that well, especially with how close they were to Ginny." She paused and drank her coffee. "You remember we had lunch about eight months ago, right?"

"How could I forget?" Anthony asked. "I was shocked that Ginny called her, and that Carter told you about it."

"Ginny had a good reason to call Carter. Grizz killed that man, Anthony. Ginny had been holding it all in and was getting paranoid. I think she needed to talk to someone who knew about Grizz's history. And since Carter's husband is responsible for scouring the internet and burying anything remotely connected to Grizz and their family, I think she was nervous about possible rumors surfacing." Christy picked at an imaginary piece of lint on her pants. "I don't blame her."

Anthony gave her a sympathetic nod and added, "If Carter has anything interesting to share, I'd like to know."

"Of course, babe."

They settled on their favorite news station and commented to each other on the weather, the latest business report and a feature on tourists who were being targeted by local thugs.

“We're coming to you live from Davie where three boys happened upon a gruesome discovery while fishing at this remote canal.”

The reporter gestured to the area behind her.

“The children alerted police to what they believed was a dead body, but turned out was only an arm that had been cleanly severed at the elbow. We can't show you a picture of the detached limb, but we can describe it in the hopes that someone will recognize the tattoo descriptions. Police tell us the forearm has what appears to be a religious cross with flowers intertwined around it. On the other side, and what may be the best clue to the victim's identity, is a heart with the name Edith inside it. If you think you may know someone who has tattoos like these, you are urged to contact law enforcement at the number at the bottom of the screen. Right now, police aren't sure if they're looking for a murder victim or the victim of a horrible accident—”

"What a horrible thing to find," Christy remarked. "I can't imagine what kinds of nightmares those poor boys will have after finding an arm."

"The police will probably find the rest of the body soon," Anthony interjected. "If it was an accident it would most likely be ripped and torn, not a clean cut. The clean cut tells me it was deliberate."

"You would know," Christy huffed, giving him a knowing look.

They both heard the sound of Christian's motorcycle. Christy got up and nodded toward Anthony's mug. "Want a little more to warm your cup?"

She was standing at the counter giving them both a refill when the door that connected the kitchen to the garage swung open. She turned around to greet her son when both mugs she'd been holding crashed to the ground, splattering hot coffee across the floor and on the cabinets.

Anthony raced to the kitchen in time to see Christy patting Christian down. "Where is it? Where are you hurt?" she screamed in obvious terror.

"What happened?" Anthony barked.

"It's obvious he's hurt!" Christy cried. Christian was covered in blood.

"It's not my blood," Christian replied.

Christy stood back, her eyes wide.

"Whose blood is this, Christian?"

"Nick Rosman’s," he said curtly.

It took Christy a moment to place the name, but when recognition dawned, she barely whispered, "Did you kill him?"

"No. I maimed him for life," Christian said, without a hint of remorse.

"The arm," was all Christy managed to say.

Christian nodded, but didn't ask how she'd known about the arm. He addressed his father. "I guess you'll tell me I'm an idiot for going after him."

"Not for going after him," came Anthony's stern reply. "You're an idiot for leaving evidence. I wouldn't have left an arm for somebody to find."

"Yeah, what would you have done?" Christian challenged.

"I would've put him in the ground. All of him."