Gage walked up. “Guy needs more than a good stretching.”
A crowd had gathered around the bar, all the five o’clockers stopping in on their way home.
The bartender joined us, nodded to Jagg and Gage. “Howdy do, boys. Whiskey?”
“Doubles.”
“The usual. Got it. More water, Phoenix?”
Before I could shake my head?—
“IceWater?Phoenix Steele drinkingwater?Well, I’ll be a son of a?—”
Before the drunk cowboy behind us could finish his slurred sentence, Ax, Gage, and Jagg spun around, a chorus of barks at my back.
“You got a fucking problem with that, son?”
“Yeah, ice water; the same temperature of your girlfriend’s?—”
“Ever had a colonic, Conner? Bend over.”
The last one from Gage. Funny how the guy could work an asshole or a nipple into any conversation.
The old Phoenix would have been the first to throw a punch. Not that night. That night…
Create a calm environment for yourself…Rose’s voice.Again.
The crowd took a step back and the boys turned back toward me.
Jagg kicked over the stool next to him, signaling to everyone that no one else was welcome at that side of the bar.
I sipped my water, and for the first time, I felt proud of myself for not reacting. Rose would have been proud.
I turned my attention to Jagg—the entire reason I wasthere. “Did you get the name of the owner of that ranch house on the east side of Shadow Mountain?”
After Rose’s little midnight escape the night before—when she snuck out, drove to that isolated house, and washuggedat the door by someone I couldn’t see—I’d had Wolf and Jagg dig into the property. I needed to know who she was visiting. And more importantly, whether that person was a threat.
Wolf’s initial pull said the place belonged to an LLC that hadn’t seen any deposits or withdrawals in over a decade.
“The LLC belonged to a small vet clinic once owned by a guy named George Wallace,” Jagg said. “Veterinarian. Died fifteen years ago.”
“Dead?”
Jagg nodded. “According to state death records, yep.”
I frowned. “Someone’s living there now—and I need to know who. And if they’ve ever had a record.”
“Give me a few hours.”
“Thanks.”
His dark eyes narrowed. “Does this have anything to do with Rose Floris and the Kline and Associates client list Gunner gave me to run criminal checks on?”
“Yes. Did anything come up?”
“You’re asking if I found any criminal records connected to the clientele of a mental health facility?”
I deadpanned, letting him know I wasn’t in the mood.
