Something was off in a big way, and my gut said things were going to get worse before I figured this out. I was determined not to let it touch Ari, though.

As I climbed in my Jeep and drove away, my mind spun with possibilities.

First, I didn’t think my dad killed himself by wiring and blowing up their house. He loved my mom too much to be that stupid. That meant that someone else did.

Who had the most to lose if Dad were formally arrested and possibly given the opportunity to make a deal? The cartel insiders he had information on, and possibly anyone else in the police department who was dirty.

Any of those people could have done it.

I put myself into the mind of the sick fucks I was dealing with. If I were trying to keep someone on a leash, keep them from talking, I’d find some way to threaten them, and wiring their house with explosives was pretty damn effective. But why wouldn’t they have taken Dad out to begin with? Why let him live once the investigation started?

He must have had some sort of leverage on them. That was the only answer I could come up with.

So, how did any of this tie to the Sampsons? They lived next door. Heath was IA, but not on the case. The connections were tenuous, at best—unless I was missing something. Now I had to figure out what.

I only knew one person who’d taken on a faction of the cartel successfully, so it made sense to start there. When Rix didn’t reply to my text, I turned my Jeep toward the French Quarter and someone he would always answer.

Fifteen minutes later, I parked my Jeep along the side street a block over and crossed the uneven sidewalks to Noble Art. A familiar face was wiping down the glass windows of the door where the sign was turned to Closed. She unlocked the door and held it open.

“Well, well, Detective. Didn’t expect you to pop up around here. It’s been a while. You know my boss is thoroughly and completely taken by now, I assume?”

“It’s not detective any more, but I got that. Trinity, right?”

She nodded.

“Your boss around?”

“Not yet. She should be here any minute.” Trinity’s eyes narrowed. “Thought you said you weren’t sniffing around?”

“I’m not. I’m hoping she can tell me where to find Rix.”

“They had an appointment this morning. Should be here anytime.”

Ten minutes later, Rix hadn’t replied to my text, and I saw why. He parked on the side of the street and hopped out to help Valentina from her seat.

How the hell had I missed it before? Valentina wore a formfitting dress and she was clearly pregnant.

Neither of them saw me when they swept into the shop.

“Go to work,” Valentina said. “I’ll be fine.”

“The doc said you needed to take it easy.”

“And I will. But it’s not like I’m on bed rest, and Trinity won’t let me lift a finger anyway.”

“But when she has to leave for class—”

“I’ll tell anyone who needs a piece crated they can pick it up later. You don’t work here, so you’re not staying. Go do your job, and I’ll do mine the same way I did before your super-sperm knocked me up.”

I stepped away from the statue blocking me from their view. “Congratulations.”

Both of them whirled on me, but it was Rix who spoke.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Came looking for you, but I didn’t realize you had a lot more important things happening. I’ll find another way.” I wasn’t going to drag Rix into this after learning they were expecting a kid. I wasn’t that much of an asshole.

“Oh no, not you too. Whatever you need from him isn’t changing just because I’ve got a bun in the oven.”

“Duchess—”

When Valentina raised an eyebrow, Rix released a frustrated breath. “Fine. But I’m bringing you lunch at noon to make sure you eat, and you’re leaving on time today. No working late.”

“Deal.” She leaned forward and kissed him before turning toward me. “You get him into any trouble, Rhett, I expect you to get him out of it.”

“You got it.”

“Good. Now both of you, shoo. I have things to do.”

Rix took one last look at his wife before she disappeared into the back room, and then turned to me. “You must need something awful bad to be tracking me down here.”

“It wasn’t my first choice.”

He led me out of the shop. “Don’t do it again. I got my reasons, and now you know ’em.”

“Sorry, man. I wouldn’t have come here if I’d known.”

“Crazy to think I’m gonna be a dad in a few months.”

“Definitely crazy.”

I followed him to a blacked-out SUV and the lights blinked.

He nodded toward the passenger side. “Get in.”

After I climbed inside, Rix pulled away from Noble Art. “You wanted to find me, and you found me. What’s going on?”

I glanced around the interior. “You sweep lately?”

Rix nodded, and it was good to know some things didn’t change.

“Did you hear about what happened last night?”

“To Skip Sampson? Yeah.”

“You read the report?”

Rix shook his head. “Haven’t been to the station yet. Didn’t plan to at all today. Once I get a look at the report, I can fill you in, though.”

“Already read it, and from the descriptions he gave, it sounds like the cartel was involved.”

Rix’s eyes narrowed. “Do I want to know how you got your hands on that report?”

“Does it matter?”

“Guess not. But back up. Why the hell would the cartel have any interest in jumping a retired cop? Doesn’t make any sense. It had to be wrong place, wrong time.”

“Do you really believe in coincidences like that?”

Rix shot me a sidelong glance. “Fine. I agree it doesn’t seem random. But still, it could’ve been some low-level guys bored off their asses.”

“Which is why I need to find them. Need to interview them.”

“You’re not a cop anymore, Hennessy. This ain’t your case.”

My hands clenched into fists. “You think I don’t know I’m not carrying a badge? It’s not something I fucking forget. Ever.”

“Then why—”