Chapter 34

Declan enjoyed book club, but he couldn't shake loose the nagging feeling he'd had since he got home. Hearing Kim refer to him as a cabana boy shouldn't have irked him. She was teasing. He knew that.

But Renee hadn't corrected her.

That was the real problem. Shouldn't she have said something?

Anything?

He gathered plates and glasses while Renee said goodbye to her friends.

When she joined him in the kitchen, she said, "You don't have to clean up."

"I know."

"So," she started, leaning against the counter. "The girls suggested we let you pick the next book club book."

He froze. "What?"

"We take turns choosing the books we read, and they said if you're going to keep crashing book club, you might as well pick the next book."

His smile was huge. He probably looked ridiculous.

"But you have to choose fast, so we all have time to read it."

"Anything?"

"We obviously prefer romance, but we've read thrillers and mysteries. Just don't pick something boring."

"As if I could."

She took dishes out of his hand and loaded the dishwasher. "You might want to get to bed. Sadie's counting on pancakes in the morning."

"I remember. It's not that late."

"What happened at Ronan's? You said you'd tell me later."

He stopped and turned to her. He wanted to see her face when he told her. "We're starting a business together."

Her eyes popped wide. "What? Really?"

"Yeah. He's been thinking about it with everything that's been happening with the Cahills. He wants to build something big to rival a company like Cahill. I'm going to start building it up while he's still working there."

"Oh." Her face fell a little, but she tried to hide it.

"I'm going to finish the painting here. That's all that's left right now anyway. I won't leave you hanging. And when you're ready for the kitchen, I'll take care of it."

"No, no. I'm not worried about the house. Congrats. This is huge. I had no idea you wanted to run your own business."

"Neither did I. Not until I did the work here. Then when Ronan asked, it just felt right, you know?"

"That's awesome." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

When she released him and moved to step away, he pressed her against the counter and kissed her. It wasn't long, but it was thorough.

She placed a hand on his chest. "I'm going to let you get away with that because this is a big deal. But you're not supposed to do that."

He rolled his eyes. One day soon, she wouldn't even consider this an issue. "Let's finish the dishes fast and you can help me pick out a book."

"Deal."

They worked together seamlessly. He liked all of this. He finally felt like he was making the right moves in life.

Renee was key.

For the next couple of weeks, Renee's life felt off. She and Chloe still hadn't met up, but Chloe was supposed to come over soon, while Declan and Sadie were at breakfast as they had been doing every Wednesday morning.

Renee had figured out as much as she could about the books. Maybe the unsettled feeling came from missing the hunt she'd found in those books.

Things with Declan were good. Kind of. They'd fallen somewhat into a routine. At least when he was around.

He'd been spending a lot more time with Ronan, which made sense. Getting a business off the ground was a lot of work. He'd been trying hard to juggle finishing the painting and minor things on her house while he was meeting with potential customers.

All of that meant their alone time—both naked and clothed—had diminished. And she missed it. Not just the sex—although that was pretty spectacular—but all the little things, too.

It felt like he was pulling away. Unfortunately, it was a phenomenon with which she was familiar.

She tried not to be hurt by it. She'd thought she'd prepared for it. Of course, it had been inevitable. She'd been telling herself that all along.

She struggled to come to terms with that and the fact that Declan was being true to his word. He was still doing all the jobs on the house he said he'd complete. And he hadn't missed a weekly breakfast with Sadie.

She'd tried to get Sadie to understand she shouldn't come to expect it. Not that a five-year-old could understand lowering her expectations. Maybe it could become a special mommy-daughter breakfast.

Renee laughed. As if that were any different than any other meal they shared.

The doorbell rang. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Ronan and Brendan with Chloe. "Hey."

As she stepped through the door, Chloe said, "I hope you don't mind these two tagging along."

"Not at all. Come on in."

"Where's Declan?" Ronan asked as he closed the door.

"He took Sadie out to breakfast."

Ronan gave a short nod. Renee didn't know how to interpret that.

"I have everything on the table over here." She led them to the dining room table. "Can I get you all coffee?"

"That'd be great," Chloe said.

Brendan followed her. "I'll help."

"That's not necessary."

"You don't need to act as our waitress. You have two hands and so do I."

She filled three cups and Brendan doctored two of them with milk. She topped off her own cup.

He scooped up two mugs and she grabbed the other two. She couldn't help but feel like he wanted to say something else to her but changed his mind.

Once they were all settled around the table, Renee explained what she'd found.

"When I first started with the books, I worked backward and while nothing stood out as odd, I had a feeling like I was missing something. I considered I was imagining it based on you asking me to look."

"But?" Brendan asked.

"Money laundering. I don't have real proof. This purely circumstantial. But I know what it looks like."

"Fuck," Chloe muttered.

Ronan laid a hand on her thigh and squeezed.

"Here's the weird thing. It was pretty regular for years. Then it stopped. Except for two random entries this summer."

Chloe inhaled deeply. "How do you know it's money laundering?"

"On the surface, nothing is a red flag. But when you look at money in, money out, there are patterns. That's what caught my attention. The two entries this summer. While the bar tends to be busier during the summer, there are two entries where the income for the night was excessive. I could chalk it up to a party or advertising. Whatever.

"But it's the money out that's suspicious. There are entries for invoices to an A.C. something. I can't make out the name on the invoice in the ledger. You don't have it in your spreadsheet. The amount spent on the invoice to A.C. is about the same as the increase that was labeled income."

Ronan held up a hand. "You need to explain this to me like I'm Sadie. A bar has money coming in and going out every day."

Brendan cut him off. "She's saying someone has been using the Rose as a front. They put extra money in and then create a bogus invoice to get it out. No one knows where it really came from."

"Exactly."

"And you said they're all labeled A.C?" Brendan asked.

"Yep."

"Like Alan Cahill?"

Chloe, Ronan, and Brendan all stared at one another. Renee didn't know what to say. Then they all turned to her.

"I have no way of knowing what or who A.C. is. I have a list of all the entries." She slid books aside and pulled out her notepad.

"We can find something else for you to buy," Ronan said to Chloe.

"I want the Rose." Her eyes locked on Renee's. "What's the likelihood a bank would find this?"

She shrugged. "Little to none. I'm not sure I would've found it. I did because I was looking. Most banks are just checking the financials to make sure there's nothing wonky. And with the exception of this summer, it's been clean."

Brendan rubbed a hand over his jaw. "So it was dirty when Alan was in office. And when Danny decided to run, it started again. This is their election corruption."

"Whoa," Renee said. "I don't know that. There is zero proof. You'd have to cast a much wider net for that type of investigation."

"But it's a starting place."

Turning back to Chloe, she said, "I'm sorry I don't have better news. That said, I don't think this should be the reason for you to walk away. In general, most banks and investigations are only going to go back seven to ten years. It's a gamble, but it might be worth taking. Only you can decide that."

"Thanks." Chloe stood and gathered the piles of books and notes Renee made.

The front door swung open and Sadie came barreling through. She skidded to a halt in front of Renee.

"What's the hurry?"

"Declan said I could play outside."

"It's a little cold out."

"I'm wearing my jacket. Bye!" she yelled as she sped through the house. A moment later, the back door slammed and bounced.

Renee growled. "She's gonna bust that door one day."

Declan came in and asked, "What's all this?"

"Chloe came to pick up her books. I explained what I found."

Chloe smiled. "Thank you again."

"I'll be glad to see that stuff go." Turning to Chloe, he added, "No offense. It just has a bad vibe."

Declan leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Breakfast might be a little cold."

"I told you not to bring me anything."

"And I know if you're not feeding Sadie, you won't eat."

He wasn't totally wrong.

"Aw..." Chloe said. "They're so cute."

"Yeah, yeah," Ronan said, and he shuttled her toward the door with a hand on her hip. "See you later, Dec."

"I'll be there this afternoon and we can go over bids."

After Ronan, Chloe, and Brendan left, Renee took their cups to the kitchen. "Bids already, huh? That's a good sign."

"Ronan has a lot of connections."

She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "Do you have a business card? I have connections, too. Lots of moms in the pickup line would love to have you come over and work on their houses."

"Nothing to worry about, babe." He curled his fingers in the waistband of her jeans and tugged her close. "You're the only mom I have my eyes on."

She melted a little against him even though she knew she shouldn't. The back door slid open.

"Coming?" Sadie asked.

Declan slowly released his grip. "On my way."

Sadie turned back to the yard.

"Do NOT slam the door."

Sadie inched the door closed with wide eyes. If sarcasm was an expression, it was the one her child wore at that moment.

Declan chuckled. "She's gonna be a handful."

"Gonna be?"

"Even more than she is now. I love it."

He truly sounded excited at the prospect of Sadie growing up and being bolder and snarkier.

Again, he wasn't wrong. As much as she dreaded it, Renee also looked forward to her daughter being fearless.

"So I shouldn't count on you for dinner tonight?" she asked as he neared the door to follow Sadie.

"Probably not. But I should be back early enough to read."

"Sounds good."

She watched him head to the yard to play with Sadie. This might not last, but she was going to enjoy every moment of it she could.