Sealed with a Kiss

CHAPTER THREE

FIRST THING MONDAY morning, Molly visited her father. She sat across a metal table from him, and looked him over, searching for changes though she knew there’d be none. A few nights in jail wouldn’t affect her strong, controlled parent and she admired his strength. His salt-and-pepper hair, cropped army-regulation short out of habit, looked too right with his orange jumpsuit. But he didn’t belong here and she would prove it.

“How are you?” Having been warned there must be no contact, she kept her hands folded on the tabletop.

“I’m fine. I promise. How are you?”

“Fine.” She squeezed her hands tighter.

“The rest of the family? How are they all holding up?”

Molly smiled. “It took a lot of convincing, but Robin went back to school for the week and the commander’s telling anyone within earshot you’re being railroaded.”

He burst out laughing. “And Jessie?”

“I think this is hardest on her.” Molly sighed, her heart breaking for the teenager despite their rocky relationship. “She’d normally turn to Seth,” she said of Jessie’s best friend and their next-door neighbor.

Seth’s father was Paul Markham, the man the general had been accused of murdering. Frank and Paul had been army buddies. They’d been honorably discharged and eventually they’d become partners in a real-estate-development business. The families had been close; Seth, his father and his mother, Sonya, living next door.

“But Seth is dealing with his father’s death and I know Jessie feels alone, not that she’d admit it. Or come to me for anything,” Molly said.

“This shouldn’t be happening to any of us.” Her father maintained his ever-present control, but his body tensed in frustration.

Molly instinctively reached a hand to his and the guard behind them, who she’d been trying to ignore, cleared his throat as a reminder. She shot her father a regret-filled glance and snatched her hand back.

“We’ll figure this out,” she promised. She just didn’t know how. She wasn’t about to mention Hunter to him and get his hopes up when the likelihood of the lawyer helping them were less than slim. “Are you sleeping?” she asked instead, leaning closer to study his bloodshot eyes and the tension lines in his forehead.

He nodded. “I’m trained to sleep anywhere. I’m fine, ” he said again.

She believed him and yet she didn’t. He had to be worried sick about his fate.

“I just miss you all. Even the damn mouthy bird. I don’t want you making yourself crazy trying to fix this, or Robin losing focus at school. As for Jessie…” His voice trailed off. Nothing more needed to be said.

Molly swallowed hard. “I just wish I’d specialized in criminal law so I could do more.” She hated feeling useless, and her stomach had been in permanent knots since his arrest.

“You know, when you first showed up here, I couldn’t have been more shocked if I’d given birth myself and then forgotten all about it. When your mother got pregnant, I was a kid with a plan, making the army my career like my father had. She said she wanted to give the baby up for adoption. I thought it was for the best and signed the papers. I believed she’d do what she said and you’d have a happy life.” He frowned as he always did when her mother’s lies came up between them.

“Let’s not rehash this. It does nothing except upset us both.” Neither of them enjoyed discussing the times they’d missed out on as father and daughter.

“Humor me, would you? I’ve had nothing but time to think over the last few days.” He grinned, but he had that determined look in his eye she’d seen more than once in her grandmother’s-usually when she was in commander mode.

“Go on,” she said, indulging him.

“I’m not saying I never thought about the fact that I fathered a baby, but I knew I was too young to do anything about it. The army was going to be my family and I had nothing to give anyone, including your mother. Though you should know I did offer to marry her.”

Molly couldn’t help but smile at his inbred chivalry. They’d discussed so much about the past, but each time something new and interesting came to light. “Let me guess. She said no.”

He nodded. “Didn’t want to trap me, she said.”

“More like she didn’t want to trap herself,” Molly muttered in disgust.

As they’d figured out by putting the pieces together, Molly’s pregnant mother had taken off for California, met the wealthy man Molly had believed to be her father and passed the pregnancy and baby off as his. For Molly’s mother, Francie, it had been the first in a series of money-dictated marriages. Whether the pregnancy had been a mistake or part of a grander plan nobody knew for sure, but one thing was certain. Francie would never have hitched herself to a husband with only an army salary to his name.

Until Francie returned from Europe and was willing to have a conversation that consisted of more than “I have to go, I have a spa treatment in five minutes,” they’d never know all the missing details.

“The day I realized you were my daughter and the day I found out you’d become an attorney, I was as proud as I could be. But the best part was when I realized just how much we had in common. You chose real estate law and I chose the real estate business. I didn’t have to raise you for you to be just like me. Finding that out gave me comfort and told me we’d get over the past and make it through the awkward beginning because we were family, and you were my daughter.”

Molly hadn’t realized her eyes were filled with tears until one fell and she wiped it with the back of her sleeve. He loved her. He wanted her. Emotional tears of joy, now those she could handle. She wished she’d had the general raising her, but she’d settle for being grateful he was in her life now.

“Even Jessie will come around in time,” her father said.

“Now I know you’re delusional.” Molly grinned.

“She’ll grow up eventually. I just hope I’m around to see it and not locked away in a damn cell.”

Molly’s stomach cramped in pain. “We’ll get you out of this mess,” she promised.

“It’s not your problem.”

“I’m not going to let you go through this alone.”

Her father rolled his head, stretching his tense muscles. “I should’ve seen what Paul was doing to the business,” he said, talking more to himself than to Molly. “I knew he could be an angry son of a bitch back in the service and I knew he was having personal problems lately. His behavior was more and more erratic and I shouldn’t have continued to trust him on the financial end. Now the damn police think I have motive to have killed him.”

Molly leaned forward. This was the first she’d heard of Paul having problems and it gave her hope that maybe more had gone on in that office than anyone knew. “What kind of personal problems?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

Molly frowned. “I hate that stubborn independent streak of yours.”

“At least now you know where yours comes from, young lady.”

She shook her head in frustration.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Her father trailed off, his tone suddenly uncertain, one thing the general never was.

“What is it?”

“Whether or not I end up in jail when this is over-”

“You won’t! ”

“Well, either way, I’d like you to consider coming into business with me. It’s not the greatest offer seeing as there’s nothing left at the moment. Paul drained us completely and Sonya needs a piece of the profits so she can live comfortably and raise Seth. But there is the existing real estate, mortgaged though it is. And I need a lawyer to try to undo some of the mess Paul created. You said, yourself, you’re licensed here. Then there’ll be the fixing of our reputation and the buying of new property,” he said, explaining to Molly what she already knew.

Her father bought and sold land and buildings, sometimes holding on to the property until the market brought a better price, sometimes turning it over quickly for a nice hefty profit. But the fast-moving nature of the business had enabled his partner to shift money around and hide his embezzling. Still, he envisioned a future for his business and for the first time she imagined being a part of it.

Since her move here, she’d filled her time with volunteer work with senior citizens, which had led to small jobs doing real estate closings and trust and estate work. She loved helping the older people and though they couldn’t pay much, their gratitude was worth everything. Rent hadn’t been an issue because she lived with her father, but she knew soon she’d have to move out and find a more permanent job.

Never in her wildest yearnings had she envisioned being part of a family business. “You really want me to work for you?” she asked this man who was constantly surprising her with fatherly gestures.

He shook his head. “I want you to work with me. At least you’ll be a partner I know I can trust.”

Molly began nodding before she could even think things through. “Yes!” She rose from her seat, eager to hug him, only to feel the guard move up from behind.

“We’re fine.” Frank waved the guard away and then met Molly’s gaze. “And here I thought you’d have better offers,” he said.

“Never,” she assured him.

And he’d needed to be reassured. Despite his teasing tone, Molly had caught the uncertainty in his voice when he’d asked her to join him in business, and she heard it again now. He still wasn’t sure of their relationship or where it was going, just as she still feared he’d change his mind about her and ask her to get out of his way like Molly’s mother always had.

Obviously they still had a lot to learn about one another and they needed time to trust in the other’s feelings and commitments. Time that, thanks to his arrest, might just be running out.

JESSIE SAT in her bedroom and sorted through her nail polish and picked Marshmallow, a white Essie brand color that she liked because it matched all her clothes, but she wished she’d bought the lavender Opi color she’d seen in Sephora instead. Purple was soothing, at least that’s what she read in Seventeen magazine, and Jessie needed something soothing right now.

Everything in her life was a mess. Her dad was going to spend the rest of his life in jail, her grandma was getting older and might die like her mother had, and her sister, Robin, would probably need to finish school. That would leave Jessie with nobody but her new half sister, Molly, to watch over her. And then where would she be?

Jessie’s eyes filled with tears and she wiped them away, working on her manicure instead. When she was upset she’d usually go next door and bitch to Seth, but how could she bother him when he was dealing with the death of his dad? Her uncle Paul? Her dad’s best friend. The same person her father had been arrested for killing.

The kids in school were whispering things behind her back and she had to get through lunch alone because Seth had been called to Guidance to talk to his counselor. Today had been really bad for Jessie. Even the girls she hung out with were being meaner than usual, avoiding her like they could catch what her father had done by hanging around her. So she’d come straight home from school instead of staying after for more torture, but there was nothing to do here. Her grandma was downstairs teaching herself to knit and Robin had gone back to school until the weekend. That left only Molly.

Jessie hated her, even if hate was a strong word, as the commander liked to say. She hated the way her dad looked at Molly. Like he could do it forever. And she hated how Molly got along with everyone in the house except for her. Even the bird talked to Molly and the stupid bird only talked to people he liked. Jessie didn’t see anything to like about Molly.

She pulled a tissue from the box by her bed and wiped her eyes, knowing she was messing up her mascara. Deep down she knew she was being a bitch to her half sister, and giving her grandma and her sister a reason to snap and be mad at her. She didn’t care. Nothing was going right. It was even that time of the month.

She flopped onto her bed at the same time the doorbell rang.

“Seth!” Jessie jumped up fast because she couldn’t think of anyone else who’d come by to visit. Excited to see him, she pulled open her bedroom door and ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She needed a friend and she needed one now.

She swung open the door and came face-to-face with a stranger. “Uh-oh.”

If the commander found out she’d opened the door without asking who it was, she’d smack her over the head with her cane, so Jessie immediately slammed the door in the stranger’s face.

The doorbell rang again.

“Who is it?” Jessie asked.

“Daniel Hunter,” the stranger said through the closed door.

She didn’t know anybody named Daniel Hunter, which meant he was still a stranger. She glanced around but neither Molly nor her sister or grandmother seemed to be coming down to see who was at the door.

“I’m a friend of Molly’s,” he said loudly.

Well, that changed things, Jessie thought, and she yanked the door open wide. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“You slammed the door in my face before I had the chance.” He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and grinned.

Jessie’s stomach fluttered like it did when the hottest guy in school winked at her as she passed by his locker. Not knowing what to say, she looked him over instead. He wore a black leather jacket and dark jeans, and behind him on the street she caught a glimpse of a motorcycle. Cool. She didn’t know anyone who rode a bike.

He studied her right back, looking at her for so long, she shifted from foot to foot. His eyes were really a golden color and he was cute for an older guy. Not just cute. Hot.

“Is Molly here?” he finally asked and the flutters in Jessie’s belly disappeared.

Molly. Jessie had forgotten that’s why he was here. It always came back to Molly. “Yeah,” she muttered, not pleased this cute guy wanted her half sister.

She turned toward the stairs. “Hey, Molly, there’s an old guy here to see you!” Jessie yelled loudly because when she’d passed it, the guest-room door had been closed. Jessie refused to think of it as Molly’s room. She couldn’t stay here forever. At least Jessie hoped not.

“Old?” He burst out laughing.

Jessie’s cheeks flamed. “Older than me,” she said, embarrassed.

Molly’s footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs. “Who is it?” she asked.

“A guy named Daniel who wears a leather jacket and rides a Harley. If you ask me, he’s too cool to be your friend.”

“I don’t know anyone who rides a motorcycle or whose name is Daniel.” Molly hit the bottom step and looked up at her visitor. “Hunter!”

“That’s what I said. His name’s Daniel Hunter and you obviously do know him,” Jessie said.

Because her half sister’s eyes had opened wide and she ran her hands through her hair as if she suddenly cared about what she looked like. Jessie’s gaze flew from Molly to leather-jacket man and back to Molly again. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Molly and vice versa.

Very interesting.

“You’re going to take my father-our father’s-case?” Molly asked him.

Jessie’s mouth opened then shut again. “He’s the lawyer? The guy you-”

“Do not say it,” Molly said, warning Jessie in a stern voice she’d never heard from her half sister before. Not even the other day when Jessie had deliberately crossed the behavior line.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to say…you know.” Jessie stepped closer to Molly.

For some reason, she didn’t want to piss off her half sister right now. She wasn’t sure she understood why, but she did know she wanted to watch what happened between these two. It was better than an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, she thought.

“Are you saying I don’t look like an attorney?” he asked.

Jessie turned toward him. “I haven’t seen many that look like you,” she said, feeling herself blush at her admission.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He treated her to that grin again, the one that made her feel all warm and special inside.

“So are you going to take my dad’s case?” Jessie asked. The guy might not look like a lawyer but he had loads of confidence and Jessie would bet he was good at what he did.

“Your…sister and I are going to discuss that.”

Jessie tossed her hands in the air. “So whatever you decide depends on her? That’s just great.”

The hunk raised an eyebrow. “Trouble in paradise?”

Molly sighed. “She hates me, just like you do,” she said to him. “And you’ve both got good reason, but right now the only thing I care about is clearing the general’s name. I’m asking you to put your personal feelings aside, listen to the facts and agree to represent my father. After you do that, I won’t ask anything else from you. Ever.”

“Do I get the same deal?” Jessie asked hopefully.

Molly turned Jessie’s way. She didn’t speak. She didn’t have to. The disappointment in her expression said it all.

IT HAD TAKEN Hunter a few days to wrap things up at work and reassign his cases to free himself up for an extended stay in Connecticut. Taking the time to organize his life had also given him the opportunity to build his walls and immunity to Molly Gifford.

Or so he’d thought. Just like he thought he’d seen all of Molly’s moods. But the mixture of outright hurt and exasperation in her expression when she looked at her half sister sucker punched him in the gut. He didn’t like that despite his vow to remain indifferent, he felt her pain. Didn’t like that each time he looked at her, all the old feelings washed over him.

The unexpected emotions meant one thing. He needed a new plan and he needed it fast. He swallowed a groan and accepted that he’d just have to admit and cope with the fact that he hadn’t put her behind him the way he’d hoped. But he would. By the time this situation with her father was resolved, Hunter promised himself that he’d bury his feelings for her once and for all.

Molly finally turned away from her sister and faced him directly. “You came,” she said, shock obvious in her tone and expression.

Hunter nodded, still off balance himself. “We need to talk.”

“I know.” She glanced at the teen who stared at them with undisguised interest. Apparently she had no intention of leaving them alone. “Jessie?” Molly asked pointedly.

The young girl flipped her long dark hair back over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Go away. Now.”

“Nice way to talk to your sister,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m only your sister when it’s convenient or you want something. Right now, I’m sure I hear the Internet calling you.”

She frowned. “Fine.” Jessie turned and stomped her way up the stairs with more force than necessary.

Molly sighed. “Okay, the Drama Queen’s gone and my grandmother’s busy learning knit one, purl two. We can talk alone for a while. Come into the kitchen.” She gestured for him to follow and they walked through the entry hall filled with pictures and past a decorated family room.

He absorbed his surroundings, admiring the very lived-in, nicely put-together home. The brief tour ended in a cozy kitchen and she settled into a chair, gesturing for him to do the same.

He sat in the chair beside her and decided to jump right in. “I’m not used to seeing you juggling family.”

“A lot’s changed.” She inclined her head, her gaze uncertain.

Considering how they’d parted in the parking lot of his building, he understood her wariness. But he’d already decided that in order to take this case, they had to make peace, and in order to make peace, he had to be civil.

Silence echoed around them and he knew the time had come to address the question that had been on his mind, the one that had kept him up nights.

He cleared his throat. “So, has finding your family given you everything you were looking for?” Everything she’d left him to find, Hunter thought.

She glanced away, obviously well aware of what he was thinking. “It’s been a whirlwind of ups and downs.”

Hunter resisted the urge to cover her hand with his, to tell her he understood, and that he wanted to help her through the turmoil. She didn’t want comfort from him. She never had.

“Was your real father happy to hear from you?” he asked, because he only had Jessie to judge by.

For his part he couldn’t imagine finding his parents after all this time. They hadn’t given a shit when he was a kid, and he didn’t need them as an adult. But Molly clearly felt differently.

She nodded. “My father couldn’t have reacted any better.” Her eyes lit up at the memory.

“I take it Jessie didn’t share the sentiment?”

“You noticed?” Molly asked wryly. “To say she hates me is an understatement.”

He wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so he changed the subject. “You two look alike.”

Molly crinkled her nose in a way he’d always found cute and endearing. “Do you really think so? I’m blond, she’s brunette. At a glance, we’re polar opposites.”

“In hair color maybe, but I see similarities in your profiles and expressions.”

“Really?” She seemed to mull over that notion for a while, running her tongue over her full lower lip.

His gaze lingered on the moist spot she’d created, the desire to taste her as strong as ever.

“I’ve actually been looking for similarities between myself and Jessie since I got here. I’m glad to hear you found some. It gives me a sense of family no matter how she feels about me.” Molly met his gaze with a warm, open one of her own, so different from the guarded woman he used to know.

It unnerved him. She unnerved him.

“So, to answer your earlier question more fully, in coming here I’ve found the pieces that were missing inside me.”

He was surprised by her sudden, personal revelation. And though he’d always wanted her to be happy, her words sliced deeply into his heart. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy,” he said, unable to control his curt tone.

“I didn’t use that word. I didn’t say I was happy.” In fact, that was one word she’d avoided, because in finding family, she’d still discovered that so much more was needed.

Seeing Hunter again reminded her of exactly what. Molly tried to hold his gaze, to make him understand, but he looked away.

She’d be an idiot not to know his unwillingness to even meet her gaze was deliberate. He didn’t want to have a personal conversation, but he’d asked a question and even if he hadn’t anticipated her being open and honest in her answer, he was damn well going to listen to her reply. He’d traveled all the way here and they had a lot of subjects to cover before they could clear the air and move on with her father’s case.

Her reasons for leaving him were one of them. “I’m sorry.” She let her words stand on their own.

He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. I’m over it.”

She narrowed her gaze. “Liar.”

“Tell me about your father’s legal mess.”

She rose from her seat and stepped closer to him. His musky scent invaded her personal space and she almost forgot to breathe. His scent was warm and familiar, comforting yet arousing at the same time. Her desire for him hadn’t diminished one bit.

“Don’t change the subject. We have unfinished business and-”

Without warning, he stood, too. His height gave him an advantage she didn’t appreciate, not only because of his attempt to be intimidating but because she was even more aware of him as a man. A sexy, gorgeous man in a leather jacket staring at her intently.

“I’m here because your father needs a lawyer. Don’t read any more into it than that.”

She tried not to wince, but she couldn’t ignore the pain in her stomach his cruel words caused. “In other words, there’s no reason to discuss anything personal even though you brought it up first.”

He treated her to an abrupt nod. “My mistake.” He stepped aside, walking across the room, adding physical space to the emotional gulf he’d already created.

“Fine.” Molly curled her hands into tight fists and dug her fingers into her skin, trying not to let him see how badly his attitude hurt her. “You’re here for my father, so let’s get down to business.”

The sudden thump, thump of Edna’s cane interrupted them, the sound growing louder the closer it came.

Hunter raised an eyebrow in question.

“My grandmother,” Molly explained, and her stomach churned. It was hard enough dealing with Hunter one-on-one. The thought of introducing him to the most inquiring mind in the family made her nauseous.

“There’s a hog parked out front,” Edna said as she entered the kitchen. “Think whoever owns it will give me a ride?”

Molly’s jaw fell slack and her mouth opened wide.

“Don’t look so shocked. I dated a biker back in my day. There’s something to be said for sitting on the back of a motorcycle, a solid man’s back pressed into your chest and the engine vibrating between your-” Edna stopped short when she turned and caught sight of Hunter. “Legs.” She finished her sentence despite the ruddy color in her cheeks. “I didn’t realize we had company.”

“You thought the bike out front belonged to who then?” Molly asked, well and truly mortified by her grandmother’s words.

Making the situation worse, Molly could vividly imagine doing exactly as her grandmother had described, riding the bike with her arms wrapped securely around Hunter’s back. The vibrating between her thighs had already begun thanks to the vivid imagery. It didn’t even matter that he hated her. His effect on her was too strong.

“I thought the neighbors had company. You know that Bell boy courts trouble,” Edna said. “Not that a motorcycle always means trouble. Although this one has bad boy written all over him.” She gestured Hunter’s way.

“I think I’ll take that as a compliment. Daniel Hunter,” he said, stepping forward and extending his hand.

“Edna Addams but my friends call me Commander.”

“Pleased to meet you, Commander.” Hunter grinned his aw, shucks, you’re cute and so am I grin as he shook the older woman’s hand.

Molly groaned. He’d left Jessie awestruck and now was charming the matriarch of the family. Robin would be a goner for sure and Molly had no doubt her father would admire Hunter, too. He’d definitely like all of them. She suddenly felt adrift in her new family, the lone pariah who Hunter would tolerate only out of necessity while he defended her wrongly accused father.

“So you must be the lawyer Molly was telling us about,” Edna said, beating Molly to the explanation. She leaned on her cane, edging closer to where Hunter stood.

“I hope her words were kind.” His hazel eyes flashed with laughter for her grandmother, but when his gaze fell on Molly’s, the warmth evaporated and ice formed once more.

Molly tried not to shiver.

Edna nodded. “I can’t remember what she said exactly but ‘the best lawyer in the state’ comes close.”

Molly closed her eyes. She was doomed to a permanent state of mortification while he was here.

“She’s right on target.”

“Not modest. I like cockiness in a man.”

Molly sighed. “How’s your knitting coming?”

“Right now it’s a lumpy, ugly scarf but I’ll master it. You’ll see. I had to break in order to heat dinner.” Her gaze zeroed in on Hunter. A guest.

Molly knew exactly what would come next.

“Lucky for you, I made a big dinner. You’ll stay.” Edna didn’t ask Hunter, she presumed.

Molly moved beside her grandmother. “I’m sure he has to get settled,” she said, hoping to make it easier for him to decline.

No way would he want to sit around the table with a bunch of strangers. He didn’t enjoy family, he’d once said when telling her about his years in foster care. And for as long as she’d known him, he’d seemed to be a loner, preferring his own company to that of others-except for Lacey and Ty, the two people he considered his family. The two he’d let breach his walls.

He offered you the chance to come to the other side and you blew it, a little voice reminded her.

“Well, I did reserve a room in a local motel, but I left my credit card number to hold the room, so there’s no rush to check in. I’d love to stay for dinner.” Hunter spoke to her grandmother without meeting Molly’s annoyed stare. “Getting to know the family will help in forming a defense strategy. Thanks for the invitation, Commander.”

“My pleasure. I hope you like pot roast because that’s what I’m serving.”

“It’s my favorite.”

Molly felt sure he was doing this on purpose, making her sweat and squirm as retribution for the pain she’d caused him. Dinner with the family wouldn’t help her father’s case. Proving him innocent by finding other suspects would. She and Hunter would have to have a long talk on the subject as soon as possible.

“Oh, and as for that motel you mentioned?” Edna’s voice brought Molly out of her private thoughts. “That won’t be necessary. We have a perfectly good pullout bed for you right here.”

Molly tried and failed to catch her grandmother’s gaze. Like Hunter, she was avoiding looking at Molly. In the commander’s case, that meant she had an ulterior motive in inviting Hunter to stay. She wouldn’t have thought matchmaking was on her grandmother’s agenda, but today was full of surprises.

She intended to put a stop to the other woman’s meddling now. “Hunter needs space to spread out and work, and besides, we don’t know how long he’ll need to be in town. It could be weeks or months depending on how long this farce goes on. I’m sure he’d be more comfortable in a motel.”

“Nonsense.” The commander slammed her cane against the floor for emphasis. “That’s exactly why he should stay here. The pullout couch is in your father’s office. Hunter would have a built-in place for him to work without having to travel.”

“The motel’s five minutes away,” Molly said through gritted teeth.

As much as she hated to admit weakness, she caught Hunter’s eye and silently pleaded with him to go along. They weren’t on friendly terms and having him here would be too much stress on her already frayed emotions. He couldn’t possibly want to stay here, either.

Hunter cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t want to displace the general from his office.”

“He’s still in jail,” the commander said. “Can you believe that? His asshole-I mean, his lawyer hasn’t been able to get him out.”

Hunter winced. Obviously he hadn’t realized how dire the circumstances really were, Molly thought. Well, now he knew. Now he’d want to go right over to the motel and get to work on strategy.

“We’ll rectify that first thing in the morning,” he promised her grandmother. “Since I’ll probably have a lot of questions that need answers if I’m going to get him a hearing, maybe it is best if I stay here.”

“Excellent,” the commander said. “Isn’t it excellent, Molly?”

“Just swell,” she bit out. Molly was surprised her grandmother didn’t break into applause.