how did Lee get the gun?”
Old memories crowded in and her mouth went dry. She took a sip of tea. “It was during the divorce. He was furious at me for leaving him. He had always been...difficult. After I left him, he would constantly accuse me of being a bad mother. He must have remembered I had the gun. One day he came over and demanded I give it to him. He said it was too dangerous with a child in the house.”
“So you just handed it over?”
She glanced away. She wasn’t ready to talk about the past. She had just begun to know Reese on a personal level. She wasn’t sure what he would think of her if he knew the truth.
“Griff was going to be home any minute. It wasn’t worth an argument.”
Reese leaned back in his chair. “So Lee had the gun. That means whoever killed him must have known it was in the house when they went inside.”
“Or maybe whoever it was didn’t plan to kill him. Maybe they got into an argument or something. The killer saw the gun, picked it up, and fired.”
“It’s possible. You know where Lee kept it?”
She thought of how paranoid Lee could be. He had probably kept it somewhere he could get to it quickly. Maybe that was even the reason he had taken it away from her in the first place. He’d wanted it for his own protection and it was easier than getting one for himself.
“I could make a guess, but I don’t know for sure.”
Reese was watching her closely. She wondered if he noticed her hesitation. There was a lot he didn’t know, a lot she didn’t want to tell him. He thought so highly of her. She wondered if that would change if he knew the truth.
“Make a guess,” he said, his eyes on her face. There was something in them, a hint of distrust that hadn’t been there before. It made her ache inside.
“Lee had enemies. Or at least believed he did. He had clients who’d lost money in one of his many schemes, husbands of women he’d been involved with. At times he was paranoid. He might have wanted the gun because he thought someone was after him. If that was the case, he would have kept it somewhere he could get to it easily.”
“He was killed in his bedroom, so maybe it was in his nightstand.”
“Maybe.”
“What about Griff? You said Lee was worried about having a gun around the boy.”
“Griff was rarely there. Lee could have put the gun in his safe while Griff was visiting.” She raked a hand through her hair, shoving it back from her face. “I really don’t know.”
Reese stood up, drew her out of her chair and into his arms. “It’s okay. There’s no way you can know what your ex-husband was doing that night. I’ve spoken to Nathan Temple. He’s a criminal attorney, one of the best in the city. He’s expecting us in his office first thing tomorrow morning.”
Kenzie shook her head. “Reese, no. It’s too much. You don’t have to take on my troubles. You’ve already done more than enough.”
“I’m going to help you, Kenzie. You might as well resign yourself.”
He was taking control. It was his way of handling a situation. She wanted to ask him why he would go to so much trouble. But she knew him, knew how protective he could be. This was Reese, the man she was already half in love with.
Standing together in the kitchen, Kenzie leaned into him, rested her head on his shoulder. “This isn’t what you signed on for when you took me to bed.”
Reese tipped her face up and softly kissed her. “Don’t worry. The paybacks I have in mind will make up for all the trouble.”
The corners of her mouth tipped into a smile at the humor in his voice. It was the best she had felt all day. The sound of a door opening and footfalls on the stairs ended the conversation.
Kenzie stepped away as Gran and Griff walked into the kitchen. Griff’s eyes were red and swollen, his face puffy.
“I’m sorry about your dad, Griff,” Reese said.
Fresh tears welled. “Me, too.”
Gran mustered a credible smile. “I know just the thing we need to cheer us up. Anyone ready for a piece of hot apple pie?”
Kenzie felt a rush of gratitude. “Sounds perfect,” she said.
But catching Reese’s worried expression, thinking of Lee’s murder and the accusations against her, she knew perfect was exactly