So their tryst hadn’t been a one-time thing. I wasn’t surprised to hear her mother had influenced her to end it. It sounded like she ran Lula’s life from behind bars. “Do you know how often Lula goes to see her?”

“Her mother? Never. She kept in touch with letters and the occasional phone call she accepted at Max’s.”

Obviously Lula hadn’t shared much with Bingham, making me wonder how close they actually were. “How long were you together?”

“What is this, twenty questions?” he asked, sounding irritated, but I could see a hint of concern in his eyes. “Three months, but it was on-again, off-again the entire time. We broke up this summer. I wanted to keep it quiet and Lula had no problem with it.”

“Why’d you keep it a secret?” I asked.

“To protect her. I already knew that people looked down on her, and this would only add fuel to the fire. Besides, it was nothin’ serious.” But the look on his face suggested otherwise.

Once again, I found myself thinking about Rose. Her relationship with Skeeter Malcolm had been a carefully kept secret. I suspected Skeeter cared about Rose more than he let on too, and he’d made dangerous choices because of it. “Did you take the breakup well?”

“Hell no, I didn’t. It was a stupid-ass reason, but I couldn’t force her to be with me, now could I? So I had to accept it.”

But did he? It sounded like his father’s way of treating women was to abuse them into doing whatever he wanted. What if the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree?

“So why was she anxious around you last night?” I asked again.

“Hell if I know,” he barked. “You should have asked her.”

“I did and she refused to tell me. She only told me not to piss you off because you kill people or make them disappear.”

The sly Todd Bingham I knew slipped back into place, and he gave me a lopsided grin. “Well, you know that firsthand, now don’t you, Ms. Moore? Seems to me I helped you and Hank make someone disappear as a favor.”

“Seems to me that Hank did you the favor,” I said, risking a glance at Marco to see if he’d heard. If he had, he wasn’t reacting. Bingham had disposed of the body of the intruder Hank had shot, but he’d benefited from the situation too. He’d wanted to know which of his men had turned traitor. Turned out the man who’d helped kill Seth and tried to kill me was one of his guys.

“I don’t know why Lula was afraid of me,” he said in a low, rumbling tone that let me know he’d about reached his limit. “I only know I treated that woman like a queen when we were together, and she ended it for a bullshit reason. Did I treat her like peaches and cream after? No, but I wasn’t going to make her disappear, if that’s what you’re insinuating.” He took a step closer, puffing out his chest. “Now I think it’s time for you to leave.”

I stared up at him. “I’m going to find out what happened to her.”

“Good luck with that,” he said. “If she already left, she might not be comin’ back this time.” Then he turned his back on me and walked through the door.

Chapter Eleven

When I got back in Marco’s SUV, he didn’t waste any time pulling away from Bingham’s house.

“The fact you’re still alive is a good sign,” Marco said, flying down the long driveway. “Unless he’s comin’ for you later.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s not comin’ for me later.”

“Did you really ask him to buy your car?”

“I did, and we were workin’ out a deal before we got sidetracked…dammit.” I really had wanted to sell him my car.

“Well, I’m sure as hell not goin’ back, so you’re shit out of luck.” He shot me a glance. “Did you find out anything?”

“He admitted that he and Lula had a thing that lasted about three months. Lula’s mother made her break up with him. He said that he wanted to keep their relationship quiet.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Ruth apparently didn’t even know about it. You didn’t tell her or Max?”

“Hell, no. I’m no gossip. The only reason I’m tellin’ you now is because it might play into her takin’ off.” He hesitated, then said, “But there’s more.”

I shifted in the seat to get a better look at him.

When he was sure he had my attention, he said, “Lula seemed off a few weeks after I saw her and Bingham. I could see something was eatin’ at her, so I started askin’ questions. She confessed she had broken up with someone and was worried about his reaction. I wondered if it was Bingham, but she didn’t volunteer, and I didn’t ask. I told her she could hang out at my place for a few nights, and she looked relieved.”

Lula had broken up with Bingham about six months ago, and she’d spent several nights with Marco, which meant…

“Marco,” I said in a tight voice. “Did you sleep with her?”

“You’re seriously askin’ me that question?” he asked, sounding offended.

“I’m not judging, but your answer is important.”

“I still don’t see what business it is of yours.”

“What’s the big deal? You’ve admitted to having multiple partners,” I said.

“Just because I’ve slept with more than a handful of women doesn’t mean I’m gonna go posting their names on social media.”

“I’m not asking for a roster, Marco, and it’s not like I’m going to tell Bingham, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Why is it so important to know if I slept with her last summer?” he asked, growing irritated.

“It just is, Marco,” I said, torn between my promise to Lula and the need to know if he was a potential father to her baby.

He shot me another look, and then his eyes widened slightly. “Wait. You know something. What aren’t you tellin’ me?”

I countered his question with my own. “Will you help me find her?”

“Do you have any more leads?” he asked in frustration. “Because this seemed to be our only one. Unless you tell me what you’re holdin’ back.”

“You have to swear you won’t tell another soul.”

“Okay.”

“No, you have to swear it, Marco.”

“Okay, I swear.”

I still wasn’t sure if I should tell him, but I needed to find Lula, and he was the only person liable to help me. Which meant I had to take the risk. “Lula’s pregnant.”

The car swerved to the right as he jerked his head to face me, but he quickly corrected it. “She’s what?”

“She’s five or six months pregnant. She’s not sure how far along she is because she hasn’t gone to see a doctor…which means she doesn’t know when she got pregnant. So Bingham could be the father, or if you slept with her…”

He shook his head. “It’s not me.”

“So you didn’t sleep with her?”

“It’s not me, Carly,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road. “Let’s just leave it at that.”