Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(71)

“No,” Aaron said.

Joe turned to Sharp and Olivia and gestured toward two chairs to the left of him. “Please, sit.”

Olivia eased into the seat next to Joe. Sharp sat next to her. Aaron backed to the wall and leaned on it. Sharp did not like having Aaron outside his direct view. He shifted his position until he could see them both.

“I apologize for the drama,” Joe said. “My son takes no chances with my safety. I’ve been betrayed many times. In the end, only family can be trusted.”

Sharp’s gaze darted between Joe and his son. Aaron stiffened, his posture angry. Was he mad because others had betrayed his father? Or for some other reason? Maybe pissed-off was just Aaron’s normal state of being.

Joe continued. “I survived my sentence. Plenty of people want to kill me. I couldn’t have you see where we are. Nor could I have anyone see you come in here. The parole board turned down every one of my petitions. I served my whole sentence. I am not required to report to anyone. No one knows where I am, and I intend to keep it that way.”

Sharp nodded. “We understand.”

“Then you’ll also understand if I ask you not to make any sudden movements.” Joe set his cigarette in the ashtray and produced a long, thin knife from somewhere.

Sharp had not seen him pull the weapon, which disturbed him.

Joe twirled the knife in his hand—not in a showy manner but alternating between a forward and reverse grip. “I am no longer a young healthy man.”

Yet Sharp did not want to fuck with him. Joe kept his eyes on Sharp while the knife smoothly snapped forward and back, his grip secure, strong, and experienced enough that he could handle the knife deftly without looking at it. Sharp had no interest in learning how fast Joe could put that knife to use.

“You wanted information about me,” Joe said, his voice low and chilling.

“How does it feel to be released from prison after all these years?” Olivia began.

Joe’s chin lifted, and he met her gaze with a long, hard stare, the knife still in a reverse grip. “Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know? Why you really came here?”

The hairs on the back of Sharp’s neck lifted. He did not like the direction the conversation had taken. It felt as if Joe were interviewing them instead of the other way around.

Showing the first crack in her confidence, Olivia swallowed. Her lovely throat shifted, looking as delicate and breakable as a swan’s. Smoke rose in a skinny plume from the lit cigarette to the ceiling.

“Why do you think I’m here?” She tossed the question back at him.

Joe’s murky eyes narrowed to cruel slits. “To find out if I am responsible for the murder of my daughter’s husband.”

Olivia didn’t miss a beat. “Are you?”

The woman had a brass set.

The old man clearly thought so too. He snorted with amusement. “No.”

“How do you know that’s why we came here?” she asked.

“I know everything,” Joe said slowly, pausing to let that fact sink in. “I know where you live, and I know where Tina lives. I follow the news in Randolph County. Her husband’s murder was a big story.”

Sharp figured the pretense was over, so he jumped in. “How long have you known where she was?”

“I tried to find her for the first year after she disappeared. I was angry with her, as you might imagine.” Joe stabbed the table with the knife. Leaving it quivering, he picked up his cigarette and took a drag. The embers burned close to the filter. “She was very good at hiding and kept a low profile for a very long time. After I’d been released, I found that technology was very much my friend. Changing her name was clever. Those records are not as readily available as marriage and birth certificates. But it was only a matter of time and persistence until I found her. Once my agent discovered her new identity, her recent marriage and home purchase made tracing her very simple. Marriages and real estate transactions are public record. Most are accessible on the internet. It is much harder to stay hidden these days, isn’t it?”

A sudden chill flashed through Sharp’s bones. Had Joe been watching Tina since he was released?

As if he could read minds, Joe stubbed out the cigarette and said, “If I had wanted to hurt her, I could have done so many times.”

The fact that he’d been incarcerated had not affected his ability to communicate with his men and give orders. Criminals thrived in prison. There was a profitable drug trade behind bars. In fact, some experts considered prison to be a form of higher education for aspiring young criminals.

“Why didn’t you?” Sharp asked.

Joe considered the question for a few seconds before exhaling loudly through his nose. “If I had found her immediately, I would have made a different decision. I was angry, and I had plenty of time to imagine the ways I could take revenge. She was not the only one to turn on me. But the others were not smart enough to get away, and they paid for their betrayal.” Cruelty twisted his mouth.

Who else had Joe killed around the time of his trial? The detectives who had stolen his money? Had they been working with Joe and double-crossed him?

“But you didn’t find Tina,” Olivia said.

“No.” Joe’s voice filled with reluctant respect. “I made a mistake. I didn’t pay enough attention to her. She was only a girl. She barely spoke and spent most of her time cowering in the corners. But I should have expected her to be smart. She is my daughter.”