Free Winter's Knight by H.J. Raine, Kelly Wyre Page A

monologue, eventually.”
“Several, sir.” Clark grew calculating, and Lucian told himself it most certainly did not turn him on when the ex-marine did that.
“For a manto act like your boydid, there had to be an altercation. Probably a few of them. That would explain the muscle gain and the weaponry. He’s protecting himself from something. Said ‘something’ probably physically hurt him, so I called in a favor for some medicalrecords.”
Lucian lifted eyebrows. “Must have been a hell of a favor.”
“Guy has a daughter who used to have a boyfriend problem.”
“Ah,” Lucian chuckled. “I do love the way your world works, Maxwell. Continue.”
“Sure, Luke.” Clark grinned, and Lucian rolled eyes, waiting. “Three years ago, Shea did a lot more than start to build a house and sell his motorcycle. He changed doctors, dentists, banks, cell phone carriers, the works. Anythingthat could be swapped, he did.”
Worry and realization gnawed at Lucian. “Erasing...”
“Exactly. A lot of the transactions went down in cash from what I can cobble together, but Shea sold damned near everything he owned. Even clothing.” Clark’s gaze was bright. “And about two years and nine months ago, he had minor surgery. Seems he’d broken his finger, it healed badly, and he had it reset. He paid incash.”
“Work related?”Lucianasked.
Clark shook his head. “This was before he sought means of new employment. Speaking of that, however, I had an interesting conversation with Shea’s former boss this morning.”
“Oh?”
“It’s amazing what a jilted supervisor will tell a charming, obsequious inquirer looking to hire an exgenius. Mostly the man wanted to talk about how unreliable your boyis.”
Lucian bristled. Shea had issues with time, it was true, and liked to annoy Lucian’s exaggerated sense of punctuality by being late, but when it came to his work or other people counting on him, he set six alarms if necessary. Even for unpaid internships in college. “Explain.”
Clark’s focus intensified. “Toward the end of Shea’s stint at Arthur Stanton as a corporate finance associate, he took a lot of personal leave and vacation. Usuallyat the beginningofthe week.”
“Recovering fromthe weekend, not planning for it,” Luciandeducted.
“Yes, sir. His old boss seemed to think Shea had a drinkingproblem.”
“No,” Lucian denied. “Man dilutes fine whiskey enoughto make it flavored water.”
“I understand, sir,” Clark said gently. “But the impression is that Shea was unreliable, erratic, and troubled. He quit without notice.”
Lucian digested for a moment. “So what happened three years ago wasn’t about finally doing something for himself instead of his family’s expectations. He was hurt by someone or something, and it was bad enough that he felt like he needed to hide and disconnect from anybodyhe cared about.”
“Yes, sir. Appears that way.”
“And youhave no idea what did the damage?”
“Not a goddamned clue, sir,” Clark said, clearly impressed. “There’s not even so much as an unusual money withdrawal or expenditure. He pulled out an allowance for himself every couple of weeks, and there’s quite a bit of money missing from when he yanked it from one set of banks and put it in another, but that’s easily explained by moving, building materials for the cabin, that sort of thing. Whatever he’s covering up, he’s doingit well.”
“I suppose if anyone could hide fromyou...” Lucian began, pride flickering amidst the panic and formulating strategies.
“It’d be your boy, sir, absolutely.”
Sleet started to peck at the windows, and Lucian looked forward to engaging the storm. “Very well,” Lucian said, hands folding on his desk. Clark sat at attentionand met Lucian’s stare, awaitingorders.
“This is what we’re goingto do.”
***
Stopping just inside Clover Field Elementary School, Lucian took a moment to shake ice from his coat and wipe his shoes on a piece of