Bound to Forever - Book ll

Death Comes in Three's

Simon's Point of View:

My phone rang just before dawn – five a.m. to be exact, and it was from an unsaved number. Usually, I don't answer unsolicited calls, especially if they woke me up, but by the 406 area code and a caller I.D., I knew it was in my best interest to answer it, especially when it would lead me one step closer to who killed my mother-in-law. "Hello?"

"Mr. Riley. I hope I'm not bothering you," Finley sighed from the other end, his famous sense of sarcasm (or lack of common sense) immediately making me fume.

"Oh, not at all. I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after four a.m." I scoffed.

"Well, that sarcasm certainly doesn't take a break. I need you."

"For what?"

"I need someone to talk to for my morning coffee, or would you prefer tea? No, there's been another murder. My Police Chief Ramirez."

I sighed heavily through my nostrils, Kiera moving slightly against my chest when her body reacted to mine, and I hated that I was going to have to tell her that she would get a few more minutes of her favorite past-time as well as mine.

This was going to be a long day.

"I'll be there in a couple of hours."

"A couple of hours?"

"Considering I live an hour away and another hour to get myself ready, it'll be a couple of hours before I get there."

"It takes you an hour to get ready?"

"When you have a wife that takes two hours to get ready, you take an hour to just relax. You should try it sometime."

"I do relax."

"I meant getting a wife."

I was pleased when I struck a nerve with him – as he deserved, in my opinion. After all, what did he expect when he called me before the sun even came up and started shooting off sarcasm? He's not my superior, so who does he think he is?

"Just get here. I'll text you the address."

I didn't even bother with replying. Instead, I just hung up. He'll be lucky I even show up in the first place, but I promised Kiera that I was going to do everything I can to bring justice to Eva, and even though I felt like the sudden murder of another town's police chief didn't have anything to do with me, my gut told me that it could be another step further to finding the truth.

My lips pressed a warm and soft kiss to Kiera's forehead before I forced myself to get up out of bed, throwing on my undershirt and slipping on my work pants before I made my way to the bathroom, contemplating on if I'd rather wear a hat today or take the time to actually comb my hair. Though it was short, I still hated it. I didn't know how women constantly kept their hair long. If it were up to me, I'd just shave it all off and not worry about it, but I know Kiera likes my hair, so I keep it for her.

After checking on the kids, wishing I was still asleep myself, I then made my way to tell Kiera that I was leaving, "Love, I gotta go."

"Hm? Where are you going? What time is it?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her groggy voice as I pushed her hair back away from her face, "I got a call. There's been another murder. Finley wants me there."

"Does the station know that you're working out of your jurisdiction?"

"Yeah, my chief is the one urging me to be on call and help Finley," I scoffed. "Hopefully, I get a new step further into finding out who did this."