Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell #1)(86)

Like they appeared to be doing now.

Until Sam stepped in.

“I appreciate you’ve cottoned on, Essie,” he said with quiet understanding. “But there are things I need to share with the Sheriff and Ford that I need to keep confidential for now. It’s about what I do. What Ford can share with you, he’ll share with you later. But I need to be able to be forthcoming and the fewer people who hear this, the better.”

Although this could only make anyone more curious, and from the looks on everyone’s faces, they were, Sam’s rough-like-velvet voice coupled with the quiet understanding could not be denied, not even by my Mom.

She held his eyes for a scary moment though but she must have liked what she saw because she sat back down.

Without delay, Sam led me into the house then stepped aside and when Ozzie and Dad followed, Sam looked at Dad and muttered, “Private.”

Dad held his eyes this time, nodded then led the way through the kitchen, into the dining room and through to the living room. He closed the glass-paned doors to the dining room and the wood door to the foyer.

When we arrived, staying standing, Sam wrapped an arm around my chest and pulled the side of my back into the side of his front and his eyes leveled on Ozzie.

Before he could speak, Ozzie did.

“Know what you’re gonna say, Cooper, and I get you. The Deputy who took the call from your people heard your name associated with Kia’s, got excited, shared too much. I can assure you he did not do this with the reporters that called and I can also assure you he will not do this again.”

“That wasn’t cool but that is also not why we’re standin’ here,” Sam replied and Ozzie’s eyes shot to Dad before they went back to Sam and he didn’t shake his head “no” but his eyes screamed it.

Sam shook his head “no” and then explained it.

“You know he’s gotta know,” Sam said softly.

“It’s in hand,” Ozzie returned.

“It isn’t,” Sam shot back.

“What’s this about?” Dad asked.

“Cooper –” Ozzie started, leaning into Sam but Sam turned to Dad.

“Sorry, Ford, this is going to come as a shock –” he began but Ozzie interrupted him.

“Cooper, I don’t advise –”

Sam looked to Ozzie. “Due respect and understand, Kia has told me about you, she cares about you, she trusts you and she’s explained you’re a friend of the family so when I say due respect, I mean it. But with this, you are not makin’ the right decisions.”

“I got experience, son,” Ozzie retorted. “I know what I’m doin’.”

“Yeah, you do then look me in the eye and tell me since she got on a plane and until you heard Kia hooked up with me that you slept good at night,” Sam volleyed.

Ozzie snapped his mouth shut.

“What is… goin’… on?” Dad bit out, eyes narrowed, body tight.

“Shit,” Ozzie muttered.

Sam looked back at Dad. “Jeff Clementine and Vanessa Cloverfield hired a hit man to take out Kia.”

My body was already tight through the preliminaries but it got tighter at these words.

“Yeah, this isn’t news,” Dad said, again perplexed.

“No, Ford,” Ozzie put in quietly. “They didn’t conspire to do it, they did it.”

Dad took a step back, his face going pale. I made to move away from Sam and go to him but Sam’s arm tensed and I couldn’t get away.

Dad was staring at Ozzie and he whispered, “What?”

“Vanessa pawned a bunch of stuff and talked Milo into gettin’ a second mortgage on their house, sayin’ she wanted a new kitchen or somethin’. They found a broker who hooked them up with a man who could do the job they wanted done. They made contact, they paid and the hit was placed on Kia,” Ozzie explained.

“You are shittin’ me,” Dad was still whispering.

“I wish I was Ford,” Ozzie was now whispering.

Dad shook his head, looked at me, Sam then Ozzie and asked, “Okay, well, so? Clearly Vanessa called it off.”

“Unfortunately, no,” Ozzie replied, Dad blanched and his eyes shot to me while Ozzie kept talking. “The broker took a percentage, gave the contact details to Coot and Vanessa and it was all done electronically. Three e-mails. One to inform. One to confirm wire transfer of the money. One to confirm they wanted him to go through with the hit. They were warned that once they sent that third e-mail, that account would be made invalid, they would not hear from him again and could not call him off.”

Dad’s throat was working, his eyes, locked to me, were working and I tried to pull away from Sam again but his other arm went around me, caging me in.

Ozzie went on.

“We had a man on her, Ford, all the time. We don’t really have the resources to do it but we did it. And we’re doin’ everything in our power to track this guy down.”

“And you went off to Europe,” Dad said to me. “Jesus, God, Kia, what was in your head?” he clipped.

“She didn’t know,” Sam stated and Dad’s eyes sliced to him.

“Say again?” he demanded.

“Kia didn’t know,” Sam kind of repeated.

Dad’s eyes sliced back to me then Ozzie when Ozzie spoke quickly.