“My turn,” she said, not trying to disguise her desire to hurt me. “How big is he?”

“Excuse me?” I choked out.

“How big is Mason. I suspect he’s got a python under those sexy pants.”

I shot a quick glance at Neely Kate. Her face said it all. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it. But it was. I suspected Kate’s involvement in this whole mess was tied up with her lost love. All I had to do was get through this answer, and then I could ask my final question, and we could start researching the rest without her.

I channeled some inner strength and gave her a sexy smile. “Oh, he’s big. Plenty big enough to get the job done over and over and over again.” When she started to protest, I added. “Let’s just say your reverse cowgirl would leave you sore—but satisfied—for days.”

A wicked grin spread across her face. “Something to look forward to.”

Not if I had anything to do with it.

I gave her a coy smile. “The man you were in love with—what was his name?”

She blinked, the only sign I’d gotten to her. “Why would you want to know his name?”

“I don’t know . . . Maybe so I’ll know what to call him when I start asking about his sexual preferences.”

She grinned, but her eyes were cold. “He liked it rough and kinky. If you’d like, I can demonstrate later. I have a pair of handcuffs and a dildo that survived the fire.”

I couldn’t hide my shock, but her belligerence only proved I was digging into something she didn’t want to share.

“While that sounds fun,” Neely Kate said in a dry voice, “you’ll have to pencil us in for later this week. We can’t be double-booked for tonight.”

She tapped her fingernail on the table. “What could be more pressing than learning kinky ways to be sexually satisfied?”

Was she serious? I forced myself to hold my gaze on her. Did she really not know about her father’s little get-together tonight? Had J.R. double-crossed her? Or was she just bluffing?

“You didn’t answer my question,” I said. “His name.”

She broke eye contact and glanced down at the table.

“His name,” Neely Kate barked.

Kate glanced up with a defiant look in her eyes. “I could lie.”

“But you won’t,” Neely Kate said in a low voice. “Rose was honest with her answers, and you will be, too. Otherwise, you’ll be walking away without those blue streaks in your hair, and I won’t use scissors to take ’em off.”

I expected Kate to get even angrier, but it was like all the fight oozed out of her, leaving her in a puddle of sadness. “Nick.”

“Nick what?” Neely Kate asked in a softer voice.

“Nick Thorn.”

“What happened?” Neely Kate asked. “What did your father do to him?”

Her gaze shot up. “Who said my father did something to him?”

“It’s pretty obvious.”

Tears shimmered in Kate’s eyes. “He thought he could buy Nick off, that Nick would take money over me. Because my father only value things based on their monetary worth. Everything has a price tag for him. He couldn’t fathom that a man would pick me over a few hundred thousand dollars. So when Nick didn’t take the deal, it only confirmed to Daddy Dearest that he was unworthy of a Simmons.” She spat the name in disgust. “And things that are defective must be eliminated.” She turned her gaze to me. “Surely, you’ve figured that out by now.”

J.R. had killed Kate’s boyfriend. No wonder she’d taken off. No wonder she was bitter. But how could she be working for her father?

“So what did trying to get me and Joe back together have to do with it?”

Anger filled her eyes. “Because you were my one shot at getting even with the bastard. You were the only one with the guts to stand up to him and tell him to fuck off. But you wouldn’t leave that stuck-up prick in the courthouse. You just kept falling deeper and deeper into my father’s trap.”

“Rose was your revenge,” Neely Kate said.

Kate shook her head. “You couldn’t just go along with it, could you?”

The hate in her voice was shocking.

“How close were you to Roberta?” Neely Kate asked out of the blue.

Kate’s head swung to face her. “Who?”

“Roberta. Your housekeeper.”

Her face scrunched in disgust. “Why in the hell are you asking about her?”

“Her granddaughter is working in Rose’s nursery. Why is she there?”

Her eyes widened in mock surprise. “Do I look like I’m in charge of the personnel at my brother’s pet business project? Ask him.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Neely Kate said. “How close were you to Roberta?”

“She was a great nanny, but she had a soft spot for Hilary, which made me distrust her.”

“Why?” Neely Kate asked.

Kate’s eyes filled with rage. “Because I hated Hilary. She spent nearly as much time at our house as we did. She and Joe were allies, leaving me out of everything. Do you have any idea what it was like growing up in that house?”

“No,” Neely Kate said softly. “None at all.”

“I didn’t wish Roberta gone, but I wasn’t sorry to see her go either. Hilary was devastated, which made it all the sweeter.”

I stared at the woman in front of me in disbelief. How could someone carry so much hatred?

“But Hilmonster’s about to get what’s comin’ to her,” Kate said with a grin.“ And she’s going to be plenty surprised.” Kate stood. “I think we’re done here.” Then she walked out the door without a backward glance.

Chapter 27

We sat in silence for nearly half a minute. I was trying to process everything Kate had said, and I was sure Neely Kate was doing the same, only through a slightly different lens. She had to be thinking she’d dodged a bullet by not growing up in that house. I know I sure would have felt that way.

“I think she just threatened Hilary,” I finally said.

Neely Kate laughed. “That’s your takeaway from that conversation?”

“It seems the most pressing.”