Chapter Thirteen

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The next morning Jason peeked in on a sleeping Brinley before getting to work. Lying with her cheek pillowed on her hand, she looked peaceful and worry free. Not at all like the woman of last night who had been first angry with him for investigating her background and then obviously scared of the two of them moving too fast.

He had pushed too much but the fire that burned between them was too hot to ignore. One way or another, he was going to end up in bed with the pretty Miss Snow. It was only a matter of when, not if.

A knock on the door and Huck barking had Jason jogging down the hall to answer it before Brinley woke up. They’d both stayed up until about two in the morning and he wanted her to get some rest. He was used to not sleeping so it didn’t bother him as much.

“You’re late,” Jason said as he opened the door to his business partner and best friend Logan Wright. Logan had been a small town sheriff when Jason had met him but now he was a full-fledged partner in JLJ Consulting, doing most of the field work. Today he was going to watch over Brinley while Jason and West went to talk to Anita Hazlitt. “But I’ll forgive you if you have donuts.”

Logan, with his patented grin, held up a white paper bag even as he scratched Huck behind the ears. “Would I disappoint you? Now get out of my way. I need a cup of coffee stat.”

Jason stepped back to allow Logan to pass. “I just made a fresh pot. Help yourself.”

Dropping the bag on the counter, Logan reached into the cabinet and pulled down a mug, Huck right beside him.

“So all you need me to do today is a babysitting job? Sounds too easy. There must be a catch or something.”

Jason bit into the glazed cruller with relish before tossing a piece to Huck, who downed it in one gulp. “No catch. West and I are going to talk to Roger Gaines’s supposed girlfriend and I don’t want to take Brinley along. For all we know Anita is the killer. A crime of passion, so to speak. I don’t want Brinley in the line of fire if things go south.”

“So Jared found her? That man needs to sleep more.”

Logan was the father of twin toddlers so he didn’t have much room to talk.

“The way you’re slurping down that java it looks like you could do with a little more shut eye too.”

Logan grinned over his coffee cup. “I do okay in that department. But on those rare occasions both kids are actually asleep, Ava and I have much better things to do than rest.”

“I’m a poor, lonely bachelor so spare me the details.” Jason held up his sticky hands in surrender.

“With a pretty houseguest to protect you don’t sound too lonely to me,” Logan shot back with a laugh. “Be careful or you’ll end up like the rest of us. Married with kids and driving a minivan.”

“Don’t give me that shit. You love being a family man. And you don’t drive a minivan. You drive a truck.”

“By the grace of God,” Logan said dramatically. “But didn’t Jared tell you? He bought Misty a minivan last week. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes the default transportation for them. Poor bastard.”

“There are worse things,” Jason chuckled at the look of dismay on his friend’s face. “Although none come to mind at the moment.”

Logan leaned forward as if to say something very private. “Don’t tell anyone this…but the other day I was watching something on television. I don’t remember what it was. But a commercial for a minivan came on and I actually found myself thinking that it looked like a nice vehicle. Holy shit. Luckily I caught myself in time and told Ava to slap the crap out of me if I ever say the ‘M’ word. Of course she said she’d be happy to.”

“Your secret is safe with me. I’d hate to ruin your reputation as a pain in the ass alpha male stud.” Jason popped the last bite of donut into his mouth, the sugar rush just what he’d needed this morning to get going. “I told Brinley before she fell asleep that I was going to have my partner stay with her today so she won’t be shocked when she wakes up and I’m gone. Since we don’t know if she’s in danger don’t let her out of your sight. She may not like it but until we know more she’s going to have to deal with it.”

After refilling his cup Logan sat down at the island and rummaged through the bag for a chocolate frosted. “What is your gut telling you?”

Logan was an instinctual lawman, eschewing rules, regulations, and often evidence that pointed in a certain direction. He trusted the little voice inside of him more than anything.

“You sound like West. The thing is I’m not sure my gut can be trusted. It almost got me killed,” Jason admitted. He’d been following his instincts when he was captured by the drug cartel.

“You told me the story but I’m not sure I believe it. Your gut was telling you where the bad guys were. It was just shit luck you were captured. You saved some lives that day.”

“My gut is telling me there’s a lot more than we know about this case. We haven’t found the true motive.”

“Generally people kill for one of a few reasons.” Logan began ticking them off on his fingers. “Love. Money. Revenge. Anger. Maybe self-defense. Which one are you leaning toward?”

“None of them. That’s why this case pisses me off.” Jason slapped down his coffee cup in frustration. “Did the brother kill Gaines because of money? Did Enright kill for revenge? I don’t think it’s self-defense or anger as there were no signs of a struggle. That leaves love. And that’s why you’re watching Brinley today. Just in case Anita Hazlitt murdered Roger Gaines in a love gone wrong scenario.”

“Personally I like this Enright guy for it, but then I’m not following the case very closely. I only know what you’ve told me.”

“Right now he’s number one on my list as well.” Jason heaved a sigh and rinsed out his cup in the sink. “Jared is checking the man’s finances and West – in between all the other shit he has to do – has been looking into how happy that marriage is. Hopefully he’ll know something today.”

Logan pointed out of the front window. “Speak of the devil. He’s pulling into your driveway.”

Jason was in a hurry to get to Anita Hazlitt, who lived about an hour out of Tremont in Harper. Seth Reilly was the sheriff there so if there was any trouble, Jason knew that backup wouldn’t be far away.

“Take care of Brinley. And Huck.” Jason gave the dog a pat on the head. “I should be home before dinner.”

Logan popped a piece of donut into his mouth. “Jesus, will you just go find a killer? For someone that’s just supposed to be your neighbor you’ve got your tighty whities in a bunch. Huck and I will take very good care of your lady friend.”

Of course Logan would, but now that Jason was heading out the door he was finding that he didn’t want to leave Brinley behind.

He was going to miss her today. And that was ten different kinds of messed up. He shouldn’t be so attached to her this quickly.

But then last night’s kiss hadn’t been your regular garden variety first date kiss either. It had been so hot it about singed his eyebrows. Brinley Snow might look innocent, but she sure as hell didn’t kiss like one.

“See that you do,” Jason growled as he headed out the door to join his brother in the SUV. “And tell Brinley I’ll call her later.”

“Why bother? I can just pass her a note before study hall. Do you like Jason? Check yes or no.”

Jason slammed the door but could still hear Logan’s peals of laughter as he descended the porch steps. When he returned tonight he needed to remember to punch Logan right in that gut that he trusted so much.

Chapter Fourteen

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“This is it,” West said as he pulled into the apartment complex parking area. “I hope she’s home.”