“We’re fine. You didn’t need to do that.”

“Now, Violet—”

“I’ll tell Mom you’re on your way to your hotel, Grandpa. Her new phone should be activated soon, and I’ll make certain she calls you. Maybe we can get together for dinner tonight.” She kissed him on the cheek to lessen the blow. Saul gave a nod to Michael and turned to leave. Owen simply left.

Violet shut the door behind the two men.

Michael’s chest tightened at the hurt on her face. “I take it you’ve had to do something like that before.”

“Mom has always warned me about how manipulative he is. They’ve had huge arguments about it. He immediately knew he’d stepped over the line but wasn’t about to admit it. I’ll bet you anything Mom doesn’t know he can track us on our phones.”

“How often do you see him?”

“Maybe four times a year. We’d go out to LA or he would come to New York pretty often. I’ve always thought of him as my grandfather.”

“As you should, since he raised your mom.”

Violet eyed him. “You know about that?”

“I love a good story ten times more than the next guy,” admitted Michael. “You lost your real grandparents. It’s not easy for a single guy to step in and raise a kid on his own.”

“Mom doesn’t like to talk about her parents’ deaths.”

“That’s understandable.” Michael held very still, his curiosity off the charts, worried that if he said the wrong thing or moved the wrong way, she would turn and run. Violet hadn’t looked him in the eye when she mentioned her mother. He believed she needed someone to talk to, but was holding back. Michael was a stranger . . . but sometimes strangers were the best people to unload on.

From the other room, a small chime indicated Violet had received a text. “Excuse me.”

She left.

The moment evaporated and disappointment swept through him. He liked Violet and Gianna. Their story fascinated him and he wanted to know more. Especially about the man who’d had the nerve to track his granddaughter’s phone when he couldn’t reach her mother. Was Saul Messina genuinely concerned or simply a controlling ass?

But this wasn’t Michael’s circus.

It was a phone call he didn’t want to make.

Play it cool. Only I know what happened in the woods.

“Yes?” came the voice in his ear.

“It’s me,” he said unnecessarily. “I’m waiting for Gianna.”

“The old man gave it to her?”

“He said he did. What else would they have done at their meeting?” he lied, keeping his voice calm.

“The word on the street is that there is a new unidentified body at the medical examiner’s office. I assume he’ll stay unidentified?”

“I have no doubt. How could they figure it out? None of his records exist.” His tongue felt thick in his mouth with the lies, and he struggled to speak clearly.

“What is Rafael doing?”

Rafael had been assigned as his partner. He’d protested the necessity of help, but his father had overruled him. “If this is the meeting we’ve been waiting for, I don’t want the old man slipping out of our hands. Another set of eyes will help.”

He didn’t see Rafael as help; he saw him as a spy. Someone to report back if he messed up. He’d dealt with Rafael before. The man rarely talked. He stared at you with dark eyes and then picked at his nails with a pocketknife. The habit was disgusting and intimidating.

“Rafael is outside by Gianna’s vehicle, waiting,” he lied again.

“How close are you to the Trask woman?”

“As close as possible,” he said. “This should all be wrapped up soon.”

“I wasn’t happy about the forest ranger’s death. What happened?”

He silently choked. His father’s stating he wasn’t happy was the equivalent of the anger of a thousand betrayed men. “I took the action I felt was needed at the time.” The sensation of his previous panic in the snow washed over him and he pushed it aside. “It was necessary. The fire had blocked me from cleaning the scene and the ranger was about to alert others. Killing him bought us some time.”

“Bought you some time.” Disdain flowed through the phone. “No more impulse decisions.”

“You sent me here to take action,” he argued, his face growing hot. “I have to act as I see fit.”

“You are there because you fucked up at home. Sending you there was not a result of your brilliance. You are standing on American soil to protect your own neck. I gave you this assignment because you were in the right place at the right time. Don’t make me regret it.”

Shame burned through him. I will prove myself.

“That old man had been a loose end for too long,” his father muttered on the phone. “It’s unbelievable that it’s almost over. Are you certain it was him?”

“I have no doubt. As soon as he crossed my path, I knew he was the one you were looking for. He hovered around the woman’s home and then followed her to the cabin. Clearly they were to meet.”

His interrogation of the old man a few days ago flashed in his brain. Rafael had been silent, watching him threaten the old man. The suspect had been belligerent, unwilling to share his knowledge, and smirked when he threatened to kill him. “You can’t kill me.” He’d laughed. “If I die, your father’s empire will collapse. I hold the key that protects his business.” The disrespect in the old man’s eyes had pushed him over the edge, and he’d swung the hammer at his head. The old man had collapsed, and he’d hit him again before realizing he needed to stop.