“You going to tell me what’s got you so down?”

At the sound of my dad’s voice, I looked up. He’d come out into the backyard without me noticing, and I bit back a sigh at the sight of the two bottles of beer in his hand.

I should have stayed inside and watched the game with him. Maybe he would have been better fooled when I told him nothing was wrong.

But then again…maybe not.

“Nothing’s wrong, Dad. It was just a long week at work.”

He gave me the stink eye. “I know you better than that, girl. Come on. Tell me what’s wrong. Or do I have to get on the horn with Carl and see what’s up?”

I grimaced because I knew he’d do just that, and there was no doubt that Carl had heard by now. Having a brother work in the same precinct that I did was a pain in the ass.

Blowing out a breath, I accepted the bottle he was still holding in front of me and twisted off the lid. “Will it make a difference if I tell you that I don’t want to talk about it?” I asked softly.

“Sure, it would…but I get the feeling you need to talk about it. You maybe want to talk to one of your brothers?” He took a sip of his beer, eying me over the top of the bottle.

“Hell, no.”

The thought of talking to one of them about Nicco and the fuck-ups I’d made was enough to turn my stomach. They’d figure out quick enough that things with Nicco and I weren’t just professional, and that would aggravate the problem. Plus, they’d have all sorts of bullshit advice to offer to about the problem with Gabriel Marks.

They’d all known Mary Jo and her parents, but they hadn’t been close to her, or her parents, not like I had. They didn’t understand how much all of it had affected me – or they didn’t know the promise I’d made either.

“Do you remember Mike Jensen?” I asked quietly, staring down at the beer bottle I held. My throat had gone dry so while I waited for him to answer, I took a small sip.

“Of course.” Dad sat down across from me, his own beer dangling from a loose fist. “Have you been thinking about him and Mary Jo lately? I keep telling you that you should reach out to her. What with Facebook and all, being a couple of hours apart is next to nothing these days.”

I managed a weak smile. “It’s more than that.” Looking away, I said, “I don’t think Mary Jo wants to revisit that time in her life anyway, Daddy. It hurts her too much. And I really can’t blame her.”

“Then what’s this about?”

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself. Then I met his eyes once more and said, “I found the name of the man who was responsible for what happened – for all of it. I know who conned Mr. Mike out of all that money. I can find him now, Dad.”

Dad’s eyes widened a fraction, and he leaned back in his seat. Without saying anything, he lifted his bottle to his lips and took a slow sip. After a few moments, he blew out a breath and lifted his eyes to the sky overhead. “Wow. Ain’t that something. How long you been trying to find him, honey?”

“Forever,” I admitted. “I made Mary Jo a promise.”

His eyes came back to mine.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I added, “She doesn’t exactly know I made her the promise, but I always told myself, and her, that I’d find him. I finally did.”

“Okay. So, is that what has you so glum? You trying to figure out what to do now?”

I laughed, but the sound was hollow, even to my own ears.

“I also found out who his son is. He lives here. In Monterey.” Getting up, I paced a few feet away and turned to face my dad. “His name is Nicco. Nicco’s mother took him away from his dad when he was just a little kid. He hasn’t had anything to do with his father for nearly his entire life, and he’s happy to keep it that way. He knows his dad is a con artist and told me he’d be happy to help me track him down.”

Dad leaned forward and put the bottle of beer down, linking his hands together. His eyes rested on my face. “Ravenna, you do know the statute of limitations has passed. There’s only so much that can be done at this point. You know that.”

“I know that.” Jerking my chin up, I said, “And I still want to bring him down. There’s got to be something. There has to be. I didn’t know what, but I know there’s something. I mean, he couldn’t have run a con like that just one time…and if he did it once, he’s probably still doing it. He’s probably still ruining lives.” Bile churned its way up my throat, and I swallowed, struggling to hold it back. “But I got anxious. I fucked up, Daddy.”

He closed his eyes and dropped his head. “What happened, Ravenna?”

“Nicco’s got a sister – two of them. They were both living with the father up until recently. I don’t know what happened, didn’t ever ask. But the younger one called Nicco while he and I were…together.” My face heated.

Dad wasn’t looking at me, but I wasn’t under any illusion that he wouldn’t put two and two together.

“I saw her number and memorized it. Later, I texted her and asked her to meet me.”

He finally looked at me. “You said younger sister. How old is she?”

“Sixteen.” I swallowed again, but the bile had risen back up, almost faster than I could choke it back down. I didn’t bother telling him that she’d lied to me, claimed to be eighteen. I had known she was lying. I should have stopped things, right then. But I hadn’t. “She’s sixteen years old.”

“And let me guess.” He sighed and reached out for the bottle on the table, tipping it back and drinking long and hard. “You talked to this sixteen-year-old girl, didn’t you?”

With a jerky nod, I acknowledged his question. Dad sighed and got up, coming over to meet me.

“You know my partner was killed in the line of duty back when I was a few years older than you, right?”

“Yes. Dean. Travis Dean.” Dad sometimes told us stories about him and his partner, when he was first starting out as a cop.

“You know Travis was married?”

“I think you’ve mentioned it.” I frowned, trying to recall for sure, but I couldn’t.

“He was. And I told his widow, a sweet girl by the name of Carlene, that I’d find the people who killed him. I promised her.” Dad’s eyes took on a far-off look as he stared off into the distance. “For a long time, that was my obsession. Finding those two fuckers.”

He said nothing else for so long, I thought he might be done talking, but then, he finally looked up at me. “Carlene ended up moving away. I was still trying to find these jokers who’d killed him. And me and your mom…well, our marriage was falling apart. I was all but living at the precinct, hardly sleeping. Then I was in a crash one day, driving home. I was too tired and couldn’t stop in time when a car pulled out in front of me. Your mama told me if I didn’t get my act together, she’d leave me.” A faint smile curled his lips, and he reached up, cupped my cheek. “She was three months pregnant with Carl at the time. It’s a powerful punch to the gut to hear those words, baby. And I had to choose.”

“Dad…”

He shook his head. “You do what you have to do, honey. But don’t let this consume your life. I know you want justice for Mary Jo, and for her dad. But it’s not justice if it destroys your life. She wouldn’t want that. And I know Mike wouldn’t.”

He dropped a kiss on my head and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I leaned into him, my mind turning over what he’d said.

“Why don’t you come back inside?” he asked. “We can watch the game and argue over who’s going to win.”