CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

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A PERFECT LATE May afternoon. Blue skies and sunshine. Eyes closed, Calder lifted her face to the light and smiled.

The smidgeon of guilt she'd felt after she pushed her company on Adam didn't last long. He might not realize, but he needed her with him. Alone, he would have brooded. Stewed in his proverbial juices.

Calder could have stayed home. Worried about Adam's state of mind. She felt better beside him where she could pull him out of himself. Make him talk.

Talking was always a good idea.

At the first red light they hit, Adam surprised her. He started the discussion without Calder's urging.

"Hunter must have assumed you weren't in the house." Adam slipped on a pair of sunglasses to combat the sun's glare. "Claimed the whole thing was a mistake. Big house. Wrong floor."

"Yadda, yadda, yadda." Calder didn't buy the lame excuse any more than Adam.

The light turned green. Adam stepped on the gas.

"I caught him before he entered your room."

"How can you be certain?"

"Timing was off. Add the disgruntled, fuck you, look in his eyes."

Calder hoped Adam was right. If she believed Hunter had pawed through her things, she would need a fumigator. Doable. But inconvenient and time consuming.

Adam laughed, shaking his head.

"Where the hell did you come up with panty pilferer?"

"Beats me. Besides, Hunter's probably more of a sniffer."

"Jesus, Calder. Did you have to put that image in my head?"

"I hate to suffer alone."

"Glad I could help." Adam slowed to let a pedestrian cross. "You should contact your sisters. Tell them to follow your lead and lock their doors."

"I texted them before we left the house." Calder frowned as her thoughts grew darker. "I doubt Hunter was after jewelry."

"Or your underwear?"

With just enough zing to drive home her point, Calder jabbed Adam's thigh.

"From now on, panty jokes are officially taboo. Agreed?"

Adam's lips twitched. But he had the good sense to nod.

"Hunter is many things, but he isn't a fool. You want information on him. Whatever his long game, odds are he'd be after the same."

Logical. Except they had Dee Wakefield.

"Why do the dirty work himself when he can afford an investigator?"

"Chances are, he has someone on the case. But, whoever he hired doesn't have access to your home."

Calder nodded.

"Thanks to Billie, Hunter can go wherever he wants when we're not around to stop him."

"I'm sorry. But, yes."

With a simple brush of his hand over hers, Adam told her so much. Though Calder couldn't read his eyes through the dark lenses, she knew he was there for her.

"Right now, an unknown person could be sifting through the minutia of my life. Personal and professional. Past and present." Calder rubbed her arms as a chill ran across her skin. "I'm not happy, Adam. Not happy at all. Am I a hypocrite? You know what? Never mind. I don't give a crap."

Adam—dear, sweet, thoughtful Adam—turned the heat to full blast.

"The hell with hypocrisy. We need to get Ingo Hunter out of your life by any method necessary."

"Fair or foul?"

"Exactly." Adam shot her a look before he changed lanes. Finally, he addressed the elephant in the car. "Short of murder."

"If I hadn't come along, you would have pulled yourself back before you did serious damage."

"I'm not so sure."

"I am."

Calder hadn't known Adam long. Yet, they'd achieved an intimacy she'd never come close to with men she knew her entire life. Dinners. Lunches. Late-night phone calls. He'd elevated her sex life to heights she hadn't thought possible.

Obviously, Adam had hidden depths. Parts of himself he held close. Rarely—if ever—shared. Didn't everyone? If Calder had her way, she'd have time to explore every side of his personality—good and bad

For now, she would rely on her gut, a little faith, and the absolute belief in two things. Adam Stone would do anything in his power to keep her safe—come hell or high water. Self-defense was one thing. Calder knew he wasn't a murderer.

However, something beyond Hunter's unauthorized snooping set Adam off.

"You can tell me anything. I can't guarantee what my reaction will be. But I promise to listen."

Adam parked the car next to a twenty-four-hour laundromat. Hands on the wheel, he stared out the windshield.

"The story isn't mine. Not really." With a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to ask someone before I tell you. Can you wait a little while longer?"

"Of course. When you're ready."

"Thank you."

No, Calder mused, thank you. Adam, so thoughtful and caring about another person's feelings accomplished what she hadn't believed possible. As good as he was? He found a way to get even better.

 

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"I KNOW WE need to talk about Ingo Hunter." Bryce scrunched her face as if she tasted something rotten. "First, I need to get girly."

Certain she knew what was about to come, Calder held up her hand.

"Don't. I beg you."

Calder could have held back the tide before she could put the brakes on a determined Bryce. Like a giggly teenager, her sister plopped onto the sofa.

"You had a boy in your room!" Bryce wiggled close. "I need deets."

"Deets? Really? From the woman who complains the world needs to stop with the slang and use proper words?"

"You think you can distract me. But you can't."

Bryce and her infamous one-track mind. Calder rolled her eyes. For once—and only once—she wished her twin was more like their mother.

"Distract you from what?"

Destry, a can of Coke in one hand, a mammoth sandwich in the other, chose the chair near a small end table. She set down her snack, waiting for someone to answer.

"Calder broke the unwritten rule."

Destry snorted.

"Which one?"

"The no sex in our rooms rule?"

"Ah." Incongruously, Destry took a bag of potato chips from the pocket of her silk pants, an apple from the other. "I thought Andi blew the no-sex rule out of the water a long time ago."

"Never in my room," Andi said. She shut the door behind her. Dressed for her own pleasure, she wore jeans and a long-sleeved Columbia University t-shirt. Her blond hair hung loose, and her feet were bare. "The linen closet by the third-floor landing saw some action. And a first-floor guest bathroom."

"Go, Andi!" Destry popped a chip into her mouth. "I assume he who shall not be named was your partner in crime?"

"Yes. And, you can say Noah's name. I won't break into a million pieces." Andi had the good grace to shrug. "Not anymore."

"How are things on the Gerry Norton front?"

Calder was genuinely interested. The change of topic, off her love life onto Andi's, was a happy bonus.

"I like him. He's… uncomplicated."

"I.E.? Boring."

The look Andi sent Destry was meant to quell. Little sister wasn't impressed.

"Gerry is a gentleman. I swear, if you say boring one more time, I will kick your ass."

Grinning, Destry held her hands up in defeat. Andi might look like a fashion model, but she had a right hook that could down a linebacker.

"Gerry's a gentleman. Andi got down and dirty in the linen closet, etc. Doesn't change what Calder did with hunky Adam. In her bedroom."

Bryce didn't care about unwritten rules. None of them did. They weren't kids anymore. They didn't judge each other's choices. However, their home was a special place. If one sister brought home a man, they all knew he wasn't a casual fling.

"Adam isn't boring." To say the least. "He's…"

Sandwich forgotten, Destry leaned closer.

"Yes?"

"He's Adam."

Destry groaned. Bryce sighed. They didn't understand. Until they met someone indescribable, they never would. Andi remained silent, but her blue eyes spoke volumes. She knew what Calder meant. Now and then, when a woman was very lucky, she needed only one word to describe a man.

Adam? Andi mouthed his name. Neither Bryce nor Destry noticed the silent question between sisters. Calder swallowed—and nodded. The moment felt huge. As if she hovered a step away from the vast unknown. No parachute. No net. Unsure if she'd take the plunge alone, or if someone—the one—waited to fall with her.

"Can we move on to the real reason for our little gathering?" As she passed, Andi patted Calder's shoulder. Taking a seat near Destry, she crossed her legs. "What did Ingo Hunter think he would find in Calder's room? Has he already checked my room? Or Bryce's?"

"Yuck."

Bryce spoke for all of them.

"How can we know?" Destry asked, as puzzled as the rest of them. "I'm gone so much of the time. Anything of value, I have stored in a safe deposit box. The question is, what does Hunter consider valuable?"

"Information?" Calder gave the answer she mulled over with Adam. She tossed in the possibility that Hunter had hired his own investigator.

"Makes sense," Destry said. "Any agenda he might have, the more he knows about us, our family history, the better chance he'll get what he wants."

"Billie doesn't know how to keep anything to herself. I know," Bryce laughed. "Hardly a news flash. Just hear me out. Ask her a personal question, she'll talk for hours. However, even our mother might have her limits if someone asked too much, too often."

Calder spent the better part of a sleepless night as she mulled over what they knew. The result? A major case of mush brain. Bryce, Andi, and Destry gave her a sense of rejuvenation. Fresh perspectives. As always, four Benedict sisters were always better than one.

"Hunter can search the house. Our rooms. Find information a professional investigator wouldn't have access to. Smart." Calder hated to use the word, but she might as well be honest. No one here would judge. "I'd do the same if I had access to his home."

"Not a bad idea."

"No, Destry." Andi's tone, the heat in her eyes, brooked no argument. "Breaking and entering is a crime. And dangerous. And stupid."

"I agree."

Andi's gaze narrowed.

"You never give in without an argument. What's the catch?"

"So suspicious." Dramatically, Destry clutched at her chest. "I'm wounded."

"And I smell a pile of crap. What's your plan?" Bryce asked.

"She has no plan because she isn't going near any property owned by Ingo Hunter. Right?"

"Only as a last resort. Do you want me to lie?" Destry asked when Andi looked ready to explode.

Calder didn't like the idea any better than Andi. They couldn't stop Destry once she made up her mind. If the time came for drastic measures, she would rather know what their little sister had up her sleeve than be in the dark while she worried.

"Hopefully, if Dee Wakefield does her job, the only resort we'll need will be one where they serve tropical drinks decorated with little umbrellas."

"Sandy beaches? Ocean, clear and blue, as far as the eye can see?" Smiling, Bryce closed her eyes as if she pictured herself there. "How long since the last time the four of us took a vacation together?"

"Years." Andi looked around the room, from sister to sister. "Thanksgiving in Tahiti. Are you with me?"

"Yes, please," Bryce chimed in.

"Couldn't keep me away," Destry nodded. "Calder? One for all, and so on?"

"I'll be there." Calder hesitated. "What if we haven't solved our Ingo Hunter problem by then?"

Three sets of eyes turned toward Andi and waited. With a put-upon sigh, she tossed her hands in the air.

"Fine. You win. If we can't get rid of Hunter by the end of November? We'll sic Destry on the bastard."

 

~~~~

 

A LIGHT KNOCK sounded, drawing Calder's attention. Completely immersed in budget spreadsheets, she frowned at the interruption.

"Come in," she called out.

The door opened—just enough for Destry to stick her head into the office.

"Do you have a minute?"

"Perfect timing. I was ready for a break." Calder pushed away from her desk. "What's up?"

Destry set her backpack on the floor. Black jeans. Leather jacket. She wasn't dressed for a leisurely afternoon at home.

Calder felt the familiar twist in the pit of her stomach.

"Time to say goodbye?"

"Job just came in. ASAP."

"Do you ever get any other kind?"

"Rarely." Destry sent her a half-smile. "In an hour, I'll be on a flight to Santa Fe."

Twenty minutes after she landed, Destry would be up to her neck in her latest adventure. Calder knew the routine, even if she didn't know the details.

"You'll call?"

"Daily." Destry chuckled as she moved in for a hug. "Weekly at the very least."

"You were around longer than usual. I'll miss seeing your face every day—up close and personal."

"Give me a ring. Anytime. My face will be right there on the screen."

"Not the same."

Calder wanted to hold tight, never let go. She knew better. To love Destry was to accept how she lived her life. She had to believe her sister would come back safe and sound or she would never let her out the door.

"Any idea how long you'll be gone?"

"If anything pops on the Ingo Hunter front, I'll be back right away. Otherwise?" Destry shrugged. "Best I can promise, I'll be here for your big charity bash. You know how I hate to miss a great party."

Four weeks until the Spring Romance Gala. Destry had been gone longer. Once, she ping-ponged from one end of Europe to the other. Of course, the circumstances were different. She left right after her father went to prison, a haunted look in her eyes. Six months later, she showed up in the middle of the night. Dirty, thin as a rail. Dragging like the tail end of a battered kite. However, whatever she'd been up to had chased away the shadow demons.

Every goodbye—every time—Calder longed to ask Destry not to go. Every time—every goodbye—she bit her tongue. Instead, she pulled her sister in for another hug. And said what she always said.

"Take care."

"Always."

Destry knew the routine. She let Calder hold on as long as she needed. Then, with a wink, she slung her pack over her shoulder and walked out the door.