“They were odd,” Renee said.
“But you haven’t seen them since?” Calian demanded.
“No.”
“I’ve been watching for anything strange,” Matto said. “I haven’t noticed anyone follow Renee.”
“You believed me?” she asked. “About the men, I mean. I’m telling the truth about Hunter too. We were never more than friends.”
“You didn’t go to his funeral,” Kansas commented.
“The police told me they couldn’t guarantee my safety. I left Los Angeles before Hunter’s funeral.”
“Are you going to run again?” Calian asked.
“It’s difficult to get a flight during polar bear season,” Renee said. “I need to go to work.”
Matto stood. “Come on. I’ll take you now.”
Renee walked out without another word.
“Are you angry at me?” Matto asked.
“Because you slept with me even though you suspected me of coming between a husband and wife? Hell, yeah,” she snapped in a furious undertone. “I told you before I never mix work and pleasure. I meant every word.”
“I liked you from the first moment we met, and that is the reason I asked you out. Look, we were doing Misty a favor. I doubt your friends spoke to anyone else. They only talked to us because of Misty. Even then, none of them gave us details. We still had to check every lead. When we got here, we had the wrong name. It was only the photo that gave you away and the fact you fly helicopters.”
Renee climbed into the passenger seat. “No more talking. Just take me to work.”
“I want to see you again.”
“I’m too angry at the moment,” Renee snapped as Matto pulled up in front of the helicopter office. “What will you do now that you’ve found me? Let your sister loose on me? She has only my word Hunter, and I were never more than friends. I have no proof.” She sucked in a harsh breath and jumped from the SUV. “Just stay the hell away from me. You and your brothers.”
Renee strode away without a backward glance.
Dispirited, Matto drove back to the café to join his brothers. They were drinking a second coffee when he joined them. “That went well.”
Dakota snorted. “What did you expect?”
“Do we believe her?” Matto asked.
“I watched her closely,” Calian said. “I believe she’s telling the truth.”
“Misty will be harder to convince.” Kanas tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “She’s made up her mind already, and you know how stubborn she can be.”
“There is another alternative,” Dakota said. “We could ask Hunter’s army buddies.”
“They won’t speak to us.” Calian sipped his coffee. “Hunter was close to those in his squad. I doubt they’d tell us anything.”
Kanas tap-tap-tapped again before leaning back in his chair. “They might if we give them honesty and show them the photos. Tell them Misty has just given birth. She’s not thinking straight and is making our lives hell with her weird ideas.”
Calian set down his coffee mug with a decisive click. “I’ll text Misty and ask her to email us a list of names and addresses if she has them.”
“Some of them will be out of the country,” Dakota said. “On active service.”
“We can still email them.” Matto’s gut jittered in turmoil because of Renee. The expression on her face before she’d walked away.Damn it.
The weight of a stare snared his wolf, and he glanced up to find Calian’s focus on him. The big-brother glower that used to make him quiver in his boots. Age had rendered the gaze less effective. In the past, he’d prickled like a porcupine. Now, he patiently waited.
