Fortunately he didn’t have to play nice with them. That was up to the chief who, after the first five minutes, looked like she was going to choke on her own tongue from restraining herself.

“I’m guessing since you two showed up on my doorstep eighteen hours after my little report hit your desk that you’ve already got an investigation going,” Darlene mused.

White slouched in his chair as if he were a bored parent at a band concert. Meanwhile Brice sat ramrod straight, flat brown eyes locked on Darlene’s.

Brick was used to men’s pissing matches. The female element made the contest more subtle and more terrifying.

“We need to speak with Mrs. Vorhees as soon as possible,” Special Agent Brice announced.

Chief Ford eyed Brick for a beat. “That can be arranged. While my sergeant here makes arrangements, you can talk to me about what kind of protection you can offer my witnesses.”

There was a special territorial emphasis on the “my” that had Brick’s lips quirking. He left the office and dialed his father’s phone number.

“Brick!” Once again, William sounded delighted that his son was calling. In the background, he could hear the happy chatter of women. The normalcy of it loosened the knots in his gut. He once again marveled that in the span of less than two months, he’d gone from being a bachelor living alone to sharing his house with so many people they’d blown a fuse with too many hair dryers going at the same time.

“Dad, I’m going to be swinging by the house with a couple of federal agents. They want to talk to Camille and Remi and probably you.”

“Okay,” his father said, waiting.

“I wanted to give you a heads up in case there’s any reason why you wouldn’t want to be questioned by an agent.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Are you worried about your old man?” William asked.

“No. I’m just giving you an opportunity to not be there if there’s going to be some kind of...conflict.”

“Son, I’ve been on the straight and narrow for years now. But I appreciate the concern. I’m more than ready to do my part to bring that son of a bitch to justice.”

“Okay then,” Brick said, not knowing what else to say. “I guess I’ll be by within the hour.”

“We’ll be ready,” William promised.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Brick stood in his own dining room while Special Agent Stick Up Her Ass and Junior Agent Compensating for a Small Dick faced off against Camille, his father, and Remi. Chief Ford sat at the head of the table.

Magnus and his new buddy Mega had been relegated to the backyard after hissing and barking at the feds.

Remi, an excellent judge of character, was already pissed off at something one of the agents had said.

“I’m sorry. I feel like I missed the part where you expressed concern to my friend here about the abuse she’s suffered for years at the hands of a monster. You kind of just jumped straight into the ‘tell me about the money’ part,” Remi said sweetly.