of their fights, Trent and I will get our shit figured out eventually.
I just hope that, last night, my telling him about the life insurance policy will give him something to think about. The shock that flashed in his eyes when I mentioned it was all I needed to prove I was right. They haven’t looked outside of Gianna, and with the evidence against her continuing to stack up, they don’t need to.
But hey... A life insurance policy that big on one person who isn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, rolling in money is abnormal.
There isn’t even any proof Wally knew about it. For all we know, Kat took the policy out and Wally signed it blindly. I don’t really have any idea about their relationship as father and daughter. Kat appears to know a different side to her dad than anyone else has mentioned, but then it was only about his ruthlessness as a businessman. Although enough people I know have had sides to them I never imagined existed, so what if Wally is one of them?
What if, to the rest of the world, he was a sweet, loving father, a hard-working businessman, and a devoted husband?
I already know the devoted husband is bullshit. You don’t get married and divorced twice—cheating on at least one of your wives—and be devoted, let’s be real.
So what if his relationship with Kat wasn’t all that great? She’s benefiting greatly from his death. A house, a business, a seriously large amount of money... It would stand to reason that the “ruthless, undercutting” businessman she portrayed to me didn’t necessarily stay in the world of business.
What if he wasn’t such a sweet father?
I put the water down and move to the coffee machine. It isn’t really that loud, and if I wake Drake, he’ll just come down with his gun out and then leave me to it. I hope, anyway. Just as long as he doesn’t shoot.
I quickly make my coffee. The machine buzzes what seems like loudly, but isn’t. It’s only because the kitchen is deathly quiet. The light raindrops pitter-pattering against the windows are louder than the machine giving me my caffeine.
I sit back at the table with my steaming-hot mug and wrap my hands around it. My eyes travel around the kitchen until they land on the window, and I watch the rain as it falls. I can only see the water droplets as they hit the glass pane, when they’re illuminated by some magical light that has no source.
Then, like tiny little tears, they trail down the glass, leaving clear streaks as their only marker of existence, before disappearing into nowhere.
Like this investigation. It feels like a window, and all the facts are the raindrops falling upon it. Some are quick to fall, some are slow, and some don’t even move at all. It’s getting to the point where I just want to grab a cloth, wipe it clean to start all over again, and see what sticks the second time around.
“You know, sometimes, I look at you and think I’m crazy. Then other times, like this, I look at you and know I’m crazy. But I also know that I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in this town, because I get to wake up at four a.m. to find you sitting in my kitchen with your hair a mess and your makeup smudged, still looking totally fucking beautiful.”
I smile and look at Drake out of the corner of my eye. “You’re still in a sleepy haze. It’s too early for your brain to work properly.”
“Probably,” he agrees, his lips twitching up. “That’s why I said it. Because you’ll probably never hear it again.”
“Be still my beatin’ heart. The romance. I can’t take it.”
He laughs and, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, gently kisses the top of my head. It’s a lingering touch, and I close my eyes as warmth floods through my body from the small yet meaningful action.
“Did I wake you?” I ask as he turns the light on and dims it.
“No. I felt you get up, and when you didn’t come back, I figured you were overthinking again, so I left you for a while. Then, when three turned to four and you weren’t back, I was afraid you’d been swallowed by the demon at the end of my yard.” He grabs a mug and puts it under the coffee machine. “You were watching the rain for a good few minutes before I said anything.”
“I