"Hi Mandy. And yes, Marc, I have. I've sent an email to your office account with the details. That was the only one I had, but I can give you the abbreviated version if you like."

"Go ahead." He reached for Mandy's hand and held on.

"Your mother's name was Elizabeth Cole Marchand. Her nickname was Bett. She was the daughter of Marilee Alice Watts and Barnabas, aka Buck, Rogers Marchand." He spelled it out and added, "p.r.o.nounced Marshawn, both from Boston, Ma.s.sachusetts. Marilee was a young socialite and Buck was pretty much a professional playboy. They both came from money. I can't find any records of either of them ever working. Your mother was their only child. Marilee and Buck-your grandparents-were killed in a plane crash when she was eight years old. Buck was the pilot and they went down off of Cape Cod. The plane and their bodies were recovered-they're buried in a cemetery in Bedford. I'm not certain why, though I think the maternal grandmother's family is buried there. She is as well.

"Bett was raised by her maternal grandmother, Alicia Coburn Watts, widow of Jerome Watts, which I a.s.sume is the source of your middle name, Marc. Anyway, Alicia died in 1979 when Bett was twenty-five. Your mother married Steven Reed a few weeks later. I don't know if they'd been dating or had known each other very long, but I did learn that your mother went into the marriage with a very large c.u.mulative trust fund, the only heir of both her parents and her grandmother. I don't know if your father was aware that the way all three trusts were written, she was unable to access the money until she was thirty years old. We also don't know the date of her death, but she was very close to thirty if she died when you were four years old. She would have just turned thirty, or have been about to turn thirty."

There was nothing but silence. Mandy watched Marc, but his face was absolutely blank. She had no idea what he was thinking. Finally, he glanced her way and then stared at the phone. "Were you able to find out anything about the money? Did he get it?"

"No. The three trust funds are still intact. Attempts have been made to access the money on numerous occasions, but the persons claiming to be your mother could not prove their ident.i.ty to the court's satisfaction. The money is still intact." There was a long pause. "Marc, I know how much money you have, and the amount of funds in these three trusts makes you look like a pauper. I imagine your father thought he would be able to get his hands on it, or maybe he lost his temper and killed her without planning to. Does he have that kind of temper?"

"Explosive. Yes. That makes sense, though. He was so close. Has he ever tried to have her declared dead?"

"Nothing I can find, and there's a provision in the trust that keeps the funds intact for her 'issue.' Her children, and that would be you. Look, I'm going to come out ahead of schedule, if that's okay with you. I'll just get a room at the same extended-stay I stayed in before. My testimony is through for the proceedings here for now, and I'd really like to be closer to this material. How have you done with the memories?"

"So well it's scary, Ted. I think we're close."

"Be careful. Your father is in some serious financial trouble. There might be gambling involved. I'm not positive, but it's not looking good for him. He's got some fairly important people angry with him. He's pulled a few scams that left some really p.i.s.sed off folks with more power than I think he realized at the time. He's probably feeling pretty desperate about now. Watch your back."

"Advice taken. Mandy and I are making a quick run by my office and then we're headed back to the winery. I want to do some snooping around. Ted, I might know where he buried her."

"How the f.u.c.k did...?"

"Call me as soon as you get in."

"Do you mind going by the office before we head back to the winery?" Marc kept his eyes on the road, but his mind was spinning. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d. His father might have planned his mother's death from the very beginning.

"Not at all. You need to download the information Ted sent."

"Thank you."

Mandy grabbed his hand and he held on. He'd been holding on to her a lot over the past few days. She'd become his anchor, so solid and strong, someone he'd quickly grown to count on. Did she have any idea just how much she meant to him? c.r.a.p, she certainly hadn't signed on for anything like this.

"When do you think Ted will be here?"

"Not soon enough." He tried to laugh. Sounded more like a snort. "I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up tomorrow or the next day."

"I hope so. I'm not used to Lola and Ben being gone, and with Kaz and Jake out of the country, there's no one else to bounce ideas off of." She shot him a smile. "We're all pretty good at collaborative thinking."

"I don't know, Mandy. You're pretty good all on your own."

"Do you think so? I feel like I'm just dead weight, like I'm not helping you at all."

He didn't say anything. Not until he'd pulled into the parking garage and turned off the car. Then he unhooked his seatbelt, turned, and wrapped his arms around Mandy. "Babe, I can't imagine doing any of this without you. Think about it ... those dreams have haunted me for years, and then you come along and suddenly I've got answers, I've got a chance to find out the truth about my mother, and maybe even a chance to lead a decent life without fear or guilt or, most important, hating a woman who deserved so much better. Because of you, Mandy. You are the furthest thing from dead weight I can imagine."

He kissed her and wondered just how private this garage actually was, but he quit thinking with his d.i.c.k long enough to carefully end the kiss and back away. "I hope you appreciate how hard it was not to start unb.u.t.toning and unhooking just then."

She practically exploded in laughter. "And here I thought you were the shy, quiet type."

"A carefully manufactured facade, my dear." He leaned close, kissed her quickly, and then got out of the car, walked around, opened her door, took her hand, helped her out. "Let's go on up, see what we can catch Theo doing, grab the notes from Ted, and get back to the winery. It feels much more sane there, don't you think?"

"Agreed." She grabbed his hand and the two of them raced up the stairs.

As soon as they hit the foyer in front of Reed Industries, they both heard shouting coming from inside. "What the h.e.l.l?" Marc reached for the door.

"Be careful. That sounds like your father."

"You're right." He paused by the door and listened, but it was difficult to make out what they were saying. "Will you wait here?"

"Absolutely not."

Marc just shook his head. "That's right. I've heard how you faced down a guy with a gun."

"C'mon. We go in like you own the place. Because you do."

He was actually laughing when Mandy shoved the door open. The argument was coming from Marc's office. Clearly, Theo had had enough of whatever Marc's father was telling him to do.

Marc and Mandy paused just outside the door. Steve Reed had his back to them, and Theo never even blinked when the two of them stepped into his line of sight. Instead, he leaned closer and got into Reed's s.p.a.ce.

"I asked you, Mr. Reed, how you got into this office. You've been told you're not welcome here."

"I have every right to be here. My son gave me permission to come on the premises to pick up some papers. You are interfering with his orders. Now I am going to get what I came after, and..."

"And just what would that be?"

Reed spun around. "What the..."

"Get out of here now, before I have you charged with trespa.s.sing. As it is, I intend to get a restraining order if that's what it takes to keep you out of my life."

"What has gotten into you?" His father stalked across the room and poked Marc in the chest. "You've always been a p.r.i.c.k, but something's put a bee up your a.s.s. Is it her?" He glared at Mandy. "Get a little p.u.s.s.y and you..."

"Shut the f.u.c.k up." He'd always backed down when his father got aggressive. Knowing what he knew now, it was probably some form of PTSD from being beaten as a child. From witnessing his mother's death. From so many things he might never know, but on some level, Marc realized that whatever had held him submissive to his father, snapped.

He shoved against the man's poking finger, shoved him back and kept shoving, pushing Reed until he was backed up against the desk. Both Theo and Mandy merely stepped back, out of the way. Steven Reed looked perplexed-Marc knew the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had no idea what had gotten into his son.

"First, you don't ever speak to Ms. Monroe like that. Never. Do you understand me? And a bee up my a.s.s? I dunno ... tell me, anything about Rockpile Road ring a bell, Daddy? A long drive on a dark night with a four-year-old boy in the back seat? Something large and bulky wrapped in my mother's favorite comforter the same night she disappeared? She always loved that blanket. And she loved me. She had no need to take the money and run. She could buy and sell you ten times over, so what was it you did that night so many years ago? Don't want to talk about it, eh? Trust me, you will. Now get the f.u.c.k out of my office and don't come back. I don't want to see you again. Not. Ever. Got it?"

His father stared at him. The color had leeched from his face, and he looked crazy enough to kill. Marc grabbed him by the front of his shirt, twisted, and lifted him to his toes. Got right in his face, and very calmly said, "Get out. Now. And don't come back."

Reed's hands were clenched into tight fists and he glared at both Marc and Mandy. Then he shoved himself free of Marc's grasp, stepped around him, pushing Mandy out of the way before she had time to move, and stormed out the door.

Marc grabbed her arm. Steadied her. "You okay? c.r.a.p." He sucked in huge draughts of air. Felt as if he'd run a mile, been in a fight. Climbed a mountain. He'd never stood up to his father, but then he'd never known what a disgusting waste of humanity the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was.

It took him a few more deep breaths to calm down to a point where he could actually talk without gasping for air. He glanced down and realized he still had such a tight grip on Mandy's arm he'd probably left bruises. He let go as if she burned him. "d.a.m.n, babe. I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?" He brushed his fingers over the red marks on her forearm. "I didn't mean to grab you so hard. I was afraid you'd fall." He shook his head, feeling like a complete jerk. "I'm sorry. I guess I sort of lost it."

Mandy grabbed his hand. "That you did, but you did it with style." She planted an unexpected kiss on his mouth, but she pulled away before he could take it any further, and glanced over her shoulder at Theo. "You might want to explain to Theo what we've found out, just so he knows what kind of nut we're dealing with."

"Good idea. You had lunch, Theo?"

The big man had walked over to the front door and locked it. He turned and shook his head. "No, and I didn't have time to pack one this morning. I was going to order takeout. Get it delivered."

"Whatever you order, get enough for Mandy and me and put all of it on the company account. We have some work to do before it arrives, and then we'll let you know just what the h.e.l.l is going on."

"What do you want? Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Greek..."

Mandy laughed. "What I really want is a hamburger and fries. After this morning, I need greasy comfort food. Is that okay with you, Theo?"

"American food? I love it." He patted his flat belly. "Unfortunately, it loves me too well, but it sounds wonderful. And you, Marc?"

"Cheeseburger. I haven't had one in ages."

Theo went back into his office to order while Marc grabbed Mandy's hand and tugged her into his office. He found Ted's email and pages of attachments. By the time they had duplicate copies of everything printed, sorted, and stapled, their lunch was waiting by the locked office door. Marc held the door for Mandy while she retrieved the insulated carryall and brought it inside.

Grabbing the bag, he headed toward the rarely used conference room next to Theo's office. Mandy poked her head in the door. "C'mon, Theo. Soup's on."

Marc gave Theo the entire story while they ate their way through way too many French fries and huge hamburgers from a gourmet cafe a few blocks over.

Mandy cleaned up the trash while Theo grilled Marc on some of the details.

"Marc, I had no idea what kind of s.h.i.t you've been dealing with. None. This is actually kind of scary, and now the b.a.s.t.a.r.d knows what you know."

Marc shook his head. "That was such a stupid move on my part. Ted cautioned me not to tell him I was aware of anything, but I guess my adult brain wasn't in gear."

"It's understandable." Mandy stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders. "Everything we've learned so far is leading to one conclusion, that he killed your mother. Marc, the man is a murderer and a liar. Personally, I think you've behaved admirably. Although, if we'd been smart, we would have held off for a few more minutes and let Theo take a swing at him."

She smiled serenely at Theo. "You did have that 'I'm gonna kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.d' look on your face."

"That I did." He glanced toward the door. "I'd gone down to the parking garage to grab my cell phone. I left it in the car this morning, and I felt sort of naked without it. When I got back up here, I caught your father in your office. I have no idea how he got in here, because the door to your office and the front door had both been locked."

"Either he's got keys or he picked the locks. I'd guess the latter. I'll have an alarm put on both the front door and my office. Probably should have the place swept for bugs while you're at it. Do you want to make that call, Theo? I think you have better connections than I do."

"I'll take care of it. You headed back to the winery?"

Marc nodded. "Now that we have Ted's paperwork. You met him last month when all that mess was going down with Ben Lowell and Lola, didn't you?" He stood and began gathering up the papers.

"I did. h.e.l.l of a good guy."

"I'm glad you think so." He glanced at Theo. "I told you I've hired him. He'll be starting here as soon as he's ready. Have you had a chance to do anything about his office?"

Theo nodded. "A crew came by this morning to get measurements. They're going to use a prefab setup that's excellent quality. The computer equipment, screens, printer, the electronics and all the surveillance equipment he might need were delivered about an hour ago. d.a.m.n." Theo shook his head. "I bet that's how your father got inside. Just followed the deliverymen. They were in and out all morning carting stuff up here. Once in, your father probably picked the lock to your office. I wouldn't have even noticed him because I was working in the back, showing the guys where to set things. Anyway, the entire unit should be installed tonight. It's costing a little extra, but the manager a.s.sured me they could have the entire thing up and running by tomorrow morning. I figure it's the least we can do." Laughing, he added, "I still can't believe you're bringing in your own, personal FBI agent."

Mandy brought a damp paper towel to the table and wiped it down. "Why not?" she said. "Doesn't every young entrepreneur have at least one?"

Marc high-fived Theo. Mandy tossed the towel in the trash, and grabbed Marc's hand. "Are you ready? There's a winery calling my name. Specifically a large gla.s.s of zin."

"Mine too." He hugged her close. "Call the alarm company, Theo. I want this place covered so that anyone breaking in can't do it quietly, and I'll want it set up to report to my phone and eventually Ted's and Ben's if there's an incident. I really don't want Reed getting in here again. And thanks for moving so quickly on the office for Ted. I have a feeling he'll be here before we know it. If there's anything else you can think of that he might need, get it. Don't worry about the cost. I trust you to do it right."

"Thank you. Works for me. And you can put me on that notification list, too. I really dislike the guy. You sure he's your father?"

"When he was younger, he could have been my twin. But hopefully, the only similarity is our looks."

"He looks like h.e.l.l now."

Marc wrapped his arm around Mandy and held her close. "Yeah, well, he's definitely earned it."

CHAPTER 8.

When Mandy called to ask what they could pick up for dinner, Ca.s.sie told them not to stop, that Nate already had something planned, so they drove straight out to the winery. It was almost five by the time they pulled up in front of the cottage.

Marc had added a charging station for the Tesla in front of the cottage as well as one by the tasting room for customers, so Mandy unlocked the front door to the cottage while Marc plugged in the car. Then he followed her inside so they could get cleaned up for dinner. After the episode with his father, he felt dirty. As if the man's touch had somehow tainted him.

While Mandy went in to shower, Marc spread the paperwork across the kitchen counter and tried to make sense of all the info Ted had collected. He tried concentrating on the pages, but the only image he saw was the one in his head-Mandy's sleek body beneath the shower spray.

He held off as long as he could, which wasn't long at all. He stared at one of the pages for a moment, turned and headed to the bedroom, toeing his shoes off, pulling his shirt over his head and slipping out of his pants. By the time he joined Mandy beneath the spray, she was getting ready to wash her hair.

"Hey. Want company?"

She laughed. "Took your time, didn't you? I thought you'd never show up."

"I was trying to be a gentleman." He kissed her shoulder. "My inner horndog won out."

"Wow. I had no idea you even had an inner horndog. I'm impressed."

"As well you should be." He slipped in behind her and propped her hands against the tile wall, gently ma.s.saging shampoo into her scalp while trying to ignore her perfect bottom pressing against his erection. "But at least he's a very well-mannered horndog." He rinsed the shampoo out, added conditioner and worked that into her silky strands.

"That's only to be expected," she said, but then she wiggled her a.s.s against him, and her soft moan at the end absolutely blew the overall effect of her snarky comment.

He rinsed the conditioner out of her hair without another word, but he had to admit her moans of pleasure were good for his ego.

She turned off the water and he toweled her dry, starting at her wet head and slowly working his way to her toes. A mere week ago, he couldn't have imagined doing this with Mandy, feeling so comfortable loving her, touching her. He wanted to wallow in their natural intimacy, the fact that this felt absolutely right, but Nate and Ca.s.sie were expecting them.

He handed the towel to Mandy so she could return the favor. She started carefully, drying his hair, his shoulders, his back and chest. He noticed she paid close attention to the parts between his thighs. By the time she'd worked her way down his legs, she had to dodge his erection.

When they were together like this, he could forget all the other c.r.a.p. The fact his father was a cla.s.s A b.a.s.t.a.r.d while he had been a complete idiot. Why had he believed all the lies? Why hadn't he been able to remember the truth about his mother?

Mandy finished drying his feet, stood, and hugged him. "Let it go, Marc. Just for tonight. When you stepped in the shower with me, you were so relaxed, and now that you're out and dry, you're tense as a spring ready to snap." She glanced down at him, at his semi-erect c.o.c.k. "I don't think that's the whole source of the tension, do you? Stop thinking about your father." She ran her hand over his length and he immediately sprang back to life. "Of course, dealing with this takes care of all kinds of things. Wanna get back in the shower?"

He kissed her. "I wish, but we need to get over to Ca.s.sie and Nate's. You're right. I have to quit obsessing over the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I'm sorry. I keep wondering how I could have believed him all my life. I knew she loved me, and yet I swallowed his lies and because of that, I've hated her for years. It doesn't make any sense."

She looped her arms over his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. There was no hiding from Mandy when she wanted his attention. "None of this makes sense because most fathers don't kill their children's mother, Marc. A good father wouldn't take that traumatized child miles away in the dark of night and make him wait in the car while he buried the mother. Your father is an animal. He's a predator. If Ted's information is true, and we have no reason to doubt it, your father married her to get at that inheritance, which makes him worse than an animal. And think about it-the fact you didn't remember it for all those years is probably why you're still alive. If he'd thought you might have told someone that he killed her, I bet you'd be in the ground next to her."