Carefully, he slipped out from under her, almost groaning when she made a sexy moan and cuddled into the pillow.
Jesus Christ, if this wasn’t important, the asshole would get an earful. He tugged on jeans, grabbed his cell, and snuck out of the room.
Eastern’s name flashed on the screen. His brother would only call this early if he had information. Information about Lucian? Had he found the killer?
He didn’t answer the call until he was outside on the back porch. “Eastern.”
“Hey. Sorry to call so early.”
“What’s going on?”
“Oscar didn’t show up to his shift at the gas station this morning.”
A muscle in Lock’s jaw tensed. “What time was he supposed to start?”
“Four.”
Lock pulled the phone down. Seven. Shit. “I assume you made sure he didn’t just sleep in.”
“We’re at his house now. The front door was left ajar and the lock’s broken. No one’s here but it looks like there was…an altercation.”
“What do you mean, an altercation?”
“The coffee table legs are broken like someone fell onto it. There’s other broken shit on the floor.” Wind blew over the line. “He lives in a pretty remote part of town, so we’re going to check the mountains around his place in case he ran on foot, but I’m not sure how long that will take us.”
“Lucian shoves Callie and ends up dead. Oscar attacks her and goes missing.” Lock wrapped his fingers around the porch railing. “He’s watching her.”
“It definitely seems that way.”
“You said Hamish didn’t have an alibi for the night Lucian was killed?”
“Correct. And up until this point, I thought maybe it was him.”
“But you don’t think that anymore?”
“Oscar doesn’t seem like a great athlete, but I still think he’d beat Hamish in a fight.”
“Hamish is tall and broad—”
“He’s also awkward. Doesn’t really seem like someone who’d win a fight against another guy who’s awake and alert.”
It was true. But there were also too many reasons it made sense for this to be Hamish. “I don’t want you to discount him.”
“We’re keeping an eye on him. In the meantime, stick close to Callie.”
“Was planning on it.”
“I’ll let you know when we have an update on Oscar.”
“Appreciate it.”
When Lock stepped back inside, it was to see both Jesse and Antwan standing in the kitchen.
“We overheard. Oscar’s missing.” Jesse pushed off the counter. “This asshole’s escalating.”
“Correct.”
“Who’s Hamish?” Antwan asked.
