He went downstairs and started setting up his equipment for the day. He wanted to get the stairs finished today so he could get started on the kitchen cupboards. He’d ordered some refurbished appliances from the appliance place in town.
The salesman had given him a good deal on a refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher combo. He was expecting them to be delivered by the end of the week, and the kitchen needed to be ready by them. Luckily, there wasn’t that much to do.
Hector put in his earphones, turned on his music, and got to work. There was something soothing about sanding. The motions were pretty much the same, and he had to work carefully so he wouldn’t damage the wood underneath all that paint, but the constant back and forth with the sander was pretty easy.
Unfortunately, it gave his mind a chance to wander. He couldn’t stop thinking about the man tucked up in his bed. While he was little more on the thin side than Hector would have liked, Will Jacks was actually quite the handsome man.
He had a lithe physique. Slender, but Hector detected some muscles under his baggy shirt. His hair was brown, but it was a very unusual shade of brown. Not really light brown, but not dark brown either. There were shades of both, but they blended together, giving him lots of hues.
It was the soulful eyes that truly got to Hector. Every time Will’s eyes met his—which admittedly wasn’t often—Hector had to stop himself from reaching for Will.
Considering he had technically known the man for only a few hours, he knew he had no business obsessing over him like he was. Stalking laws were implemented just for this sort of fixation.
Hector cocked his head to one side when he heard a noise. He reached up and pulled out one of his earplugs. A deep frown spread over his face when he realized someone was knocking on his front door. They weren’t pounding on it, but just barely.
He turned off the sander and set it on the step then turned off his music. He looped the headphones around his neck then stood and headed for the front door. Expecting the sheriff, Hector was surprised when he opened the door to find two men in suits standing there.
They were obviously not from Cade Creek. For one, Hector had never seen them before a day in his life, and he’d lived in Cade Creek for quite a few years now. The second clue was the fancy suits they wore, not to mention the sunglasses.
Who wore sunglasses on a cloudy day?
“Can I help you?”
“Hector Cruz?” one of the men asked.
Hector wasn’t about to answer that one. “Who are you?”
“Agent Frisk and Agent Abrams.” A badge was flashed in front of Hector’s face so fast, he couldn’t tell what agency these guys worked for. “We have some questions we’d like to ask you.”
Hector crossed his arms. “So ask.”
“Have you seen this man?”
Hector tried to keep his features neutral when a picture of Will was held out to him. He grabbed the picture and stared at it. He tried to look as if he was giving it a good going over before handing it back.
“He doesn’t look familiar,” he said. “Who is he?”
“His name is Wilson Jacks.”
Hector growled as he pressed a hand to his chest. “Wilson Jacks was responsible for me getting shot. If I’d seen him, I’d be behind bars right now for wrapping my fingers around his throat.”
He wasn’t about to tell either of these men that Will was sleeping upstairs in his bed.
One of the agents gave him a slight nod, but it was hard to see what he was thinking when he was still wearing his dark glasses. “It’s very important that we locate Wilson Jacks, Mr. Cruz.”
Hector’s brow furrowed. “Why? Did he get someone else shot?”
“I’m afraid we’re not at liberty say, Mr. Cruz.” The man handed him a business card. “If you see Mr. Jacks, please give us a call.” The man glanced at the fading paint on the outside of the house before looking back at Hector. “There might be a reward in it for you.”
Hector believed that like he believed the sky was purple.
He stood there on his porch and watched as the two men walked across the yard then climb into a black Lincoln Town Car. He didn’t go back into the house until their car drove down the driveway and disappeared from sight.
Once inside, he shut the door then reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Something seriously fishy was going on, and he wanted to know what. That was twice in one day that someone had come by his house looking for Will. Hector wanted to know why.
“Sheriff, it’s Hector Cruz. You got a minute?”
“Sure,” Sheriff Riley replied. “What’s up?”
