and collected two of his empty glasses. “Here you go.” She set a bowl of Chex mix in front of me, and I vowed not to get drunk enough to eat from it.
“Who’s the big guy in the corner? That your driver?” Matt nodded to my new shadow, a massive redheaded Irishman who could kill any threat just by sitting on them.
“He’s actually private security, borrowed from Winthorpe Tech. The driver is out in the car. William is a little paranoid with everything that has happened.” I gave an apologetic frown. “Sorry, if he bothers you—”
“No,” Matt scoffed. “I should be the one apologizing. I’m the one married to the lunatic.”
“Speaking of which . . . I saw them put Neena in a police car. Have you heard from her?”
“Not since . . .” He stabbed at the screen of his phone. “Two and a half hours ago.” He turned the display so I could see the row of missed calls.
“They showed us the pictures they found in your bedroom. Scary stuff.”
“They tell you about the cash? Bundles of it stacked underneath our floor.” He belched, then apologized. “Around eighty grand. Who knows where she got that.” He glanced at me. “Could William have given it to her?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I can check our safe and accounts, but I don’t know why he would have.”
“Well, she can find her own way home from the station.” He took a long sip of his drink. “And she’s not staying at home. I’m going to let her pack a bag, but then she’ll have to find a hotel.”
“Good. I hope she ends up at a Motel 6.” Taking my drink from the bartender, I held it out in a toast. “Here’s to misfires.”
He winced, then nodded, clicking his drink against mine. “To misfires.” Our eyes met; then I lifted the drink to my mouth and took a sip. It was strong, the mixture almost pure liquor, and I swallowed it with a bit of a cough. “Jeez, that’s strong.”
He nodded at the brunette, who was drying off glasses by the sink. “Amber’s the best. Hey, Amber!”
She looked over one shoulder, a glass still in hand.
“This is Cat.” He gripped my shoulder. “She’s the only person in the world right now who understands my pain.”
“It’s true,” I agreed, smiling at him. “We’re tortured twins.”
“Tortured twins!” He cackled like it was the wittiest thing in the world. “Amber, Cat is married to the man who has been screwing my wife.”
“Wow,” she said slowly, setting the glass up on the shelf. “You guys are an unexpected pair. Where are the cheating scoundrels?”
“Well, my wife is in jail,” he said grandly, and I let his exaggeration slide. “And her husband is . . .” He squinted at me. “Well, I don’t know where William is. Somewhere expensive.”
“My husband is talking to his attorney and figuring out the best way to fire your wife.” I took another sip of the drink and shuddered.
“Ha.” He slid the glass in a circle on the bar top. “You know . . . I’ve been thinking about what would have happened if the gun hadn’t misfired.”
I watched him carefully. “If the gun hadn’t misfired . . . ,” I said slowly. “You’d be hurt, or dead.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “But”—he raised a finger in speculation—“would she have gotten away with it?”
I frowned. “They would have done the same investigation, right? Still discovered the photos and the money. And the photos were what really caused them to find the affair, right?” My voice broke a little, and he reached over and patted my arm in the helpless manner of a man who didn’t know what to do.
“You know . . . ,” he said carefully, “I don’t know why he did anything with her when he had you. It doesn’t make any sense.”
I swallowed a burst of emotion that threatened to bring on tears. “Thanks,” I said quietly. Thanks, but so what? It didn’t matter if I was prettier or younger. Sweeter. Less psychotic. He still went for her. If I hadn’t stepped in, how far would it have gone? What could have happened?
He withdrew his hand. “Have you talked to him about it? Found out how it started? Or why?”
“Yeah. He—” I took a deep breath. “He said it just happened. That it was a mistake. That he didn’t know how it got to that point, but it had.”
“Sounds like bull,” he growled.
“Yeah.”
He hunched toward me. “Did you