Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (33 page)

Regina hung up the phone
,
and Butch looked down at the disconnected call before he flipped it closed and looked up at Abby.

“
Butch, is there something you haven’t told me?
”
Abby crossed her arms over her chest.

Butch sighed and filled Abby in on everything that had taken place since she’d left. Regina, the baby, everything.

Abby looped her arm back through his and kept walking.
“Butch this is big. If she’s telling the truth, this is real big.”

Butch squeezed her arm and whispered, “I know.
Abby, I’m not going to let anyone hurt
Claire
, including Regina
.”

“Butch…”

“Abby, you don’t have to tell me. I know what Sam leaving you alone to raise a kid by yourself did to you. If there actually is a baby and it is mine, I’ll step up and take responsibility for it, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting Claire go.”

“Butch, even if it is true, Claire isn’t going to leave you, not over that. If she loves you, she’ll be there for you just like she was for me and John.”

Butch knew that what Abby said was true, but it didn’t make him worry any less. As it was, Regina was screwing with his ability to keep Claire safe and his head wasn’t in the game. “I know.”

“I’m comin
g back with you guys this time,” Abby said and nodded her head.

“Oh no you’re not
. Y
ou’re going to stay here with Sam and stay safe.”

“Butch Edwards, you don’t get to tell me what to do. Besides, how are you going to keep her safe in
a room full of
two hundred
of her colleagues
and supporters?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The
c
ancer
b
enefit on Saturday,
Einstein
.
Have you already
forgotten
?
She isn’t going to cancel it, and
besides
,
there are a few places where only another woman can follow her. You don’t have the right equipment.” Abby glanced down at his crotch and laughed.

“Uh
-
uh, she isn’t doing it. She’s going to have to cancel it.” Butch pulled his phone from his clip. “What’s Jenny’s number?”

“Oh no you don’t, and if you kn
o
w what
’s
good for
you
, you wo
n’t
ask her to. Do you know why that
b
enefit out of all the ones she throws is the most important to her?”

“No, why?”

“The funds are donated in our mother’s name. She died from cancer. If you don’t want Claire to get hurt, then you’re going to have to find a way for her to attend the party
and stay safe
. Call in whoever you need to, have them do patdowns at the door, bring in a metal detector, but under no circumstances, and I repeat, under no circumstances are you to tell her she
c
an’t
have it.”

“Why not?”

“Those are fighting words to Claire. No one tells her what she can and can’t do. Let her think all of these extra precautions were her idea and she’ll never complain.”

Butch threw his arm around Abby’s shoulders. “What would I do without you
?
”

Abby glanced back up at him. “If I had to guess, a lot of begging, a lot of groveling, and you’d still be single.”

Butch was laughing as he walked back into the house. Everyone was
already seated
around the table
,
and they were filling their plates.
John and Sam nodded in his direction. “
Come have a seat and grab a plate.”

Abby pulled out a chair and started piling food on a plate.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I just want to check on Claire.” Butch walked down the hall and peeked in on Claire. She was sound asleep. Butch closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar so he could hear her if she
called out for him
.

Butch walked back into the
dining
room
. A
ll eyes were turned to him
,
and everyone was smiling. “What?”

They all started shaking their heads, mumbling “Uh…nothing” as they continued eating, drinking
,
and talking
amongst themselves
.

He felt so transparent. He wasn’t trying to hide how he felt about Claire
. H
ell
,
if he w
ere
honest with himself, he loved her more than anyone he’d ever loved before. No one held a candle to Claire, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that no one ever would. Butch walked over to the table and fixed a plate. He glanced at Abby
.
“Did you
guys
find anything in the files?”

“Nothing that stands out
. D
ad put a lot of people behind bars. He was a good cop. Sam called in a favor from a guy he worked with
at
the FBI
. T
hey ran all the names
,
and out of the twenty files we have, most of the guys are
dead, still in prison, or haven’t been in trouble since. No one stands
out
. T
hey didn’t have any trouble finding all of them, so I’m afraid we’re at a dead end.”

“Damn
.
”

Abby lifted the fork to her mouth
.
“If I ever find the guy that shot
D
ad, I’m afraid I’ll
end up
kill
ing
him.”

She took a bite of her food and continued with her conversation. Butch s
e
t his fork down on his plate and stared at her. She looked up and noticed
.
“What?”

“You’re a genius. Repeat what you just said.”

Abby glanced around the table. Everyone had stopped eating and was staring at her. “I said if I ever find the guy that killed my dad, I’m afraid that I’d kill him. What’s wrong with that?”

Butch stood and kissed the top of her head as he pulled the phone from his clip and dialed. The room stayed silent as they listened in to his half of the conversation.
“
Thompson
, this is Butch
,
and I need a favor.”

His phone connection wasn’t the best, so he was going to have to make it quick.

“How’s Claire doing?”

“She’s holding up
,
and she’
s safe for now, but I
need you to go through the files we left at Claire’s house
and see how many of those criminals
had children. We need to
know
how many
, and
anything and every
thing
you can dig up on them.
”

“Butch, just because their parents were pieces of shit doesn’t mean they followed down the same path.”

“I know that but think about it. Who else would be holding a grudge and have anything to do with their father
?
If it wasn’t the actual criminals, it h
as to be one of their
kids
or wives. Someone close.”

“Damn
,
Butch, I never knew you were smart too.”

“
Ha h
a
…
Actually
it was Claire’s baby sister
,
Abby
,
that figured it out.” Butch glanced back at Abby
and winked. Her
mouth
hung
open. “Yeah, and she’s already married
,
so don’t even think about it.”

Thompson
laughed. “I’m on it. I’ll call you if I find anything.”

Butch hit the end button on his phone and replaced it on his clip. He hadn’t thought
this asshole
might not be the actual guy their dad had put behind bars, but it made perfect sense that it was someone who’d want to inflict the same type of damage.
Now all they had to do was figure out
which bastard it was
before it was too late.

Butch sat back down and returned to his plate. He listened as the conversation ensued about his latest theory. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought about the possibility sooner.
Abby pushed from the table and grabbed her phone from the kitchen island. He didn’t know who
m
she’d be calling, so he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. He let all of the other conversations around him fall to the
background
. He concentrated on Abby. She was a smart cookie
,
and he had a gut feeling she was up to something.

“Yeah
,
Ted,
it’s Abby. I’m calling in another favor.”
Abby giggled. “No, you can’t go undercover.
” Abby
smiled
. “
The
type of favor I need is your computer skills.
”

“Yeah
,
I know, I know
. B
efore too long, I’m going to owe you my newborn.”

Ah, Butch figured out
whom
she was talking to. She’d called
Ted
, h
er trusty sidekick that even the feds didn’t have the skills to match.
Smart girl.