“Maybe, but it looks like our friend’s not as competent as you.”
She glanced in the rearview. Twin beams tunneled through the fog, the right side noticeably lower. The chassis rocked, the bumper dipping as the front wheel clawed at the air.
Rowan shook her head. “That could have been us.”
Bodie merely grinned. “Never doubted you, sweetheart.”
One word shouldn’t spike her heart rate the way it did. His obvious approval fluttering her stomach.
Buck veered off onto another path, bramble and salal slapping the sides until they reached the main road, hopped on some asphalt. Rowan checked the mirrors, cycling through them as they headed back to town, finally turning into Bodie’s parking lot.
She pulled into the garage, let her head fall against the seat rest. “Did I miss a tail?”
Bodie leaned over, got impossibly close. “Nope.” He lingered for a few moments, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before, then opened the door, stepped out. “You were amazing.”
Rowan snorted as she closed the door. “Remind me to kick Buck’s ass for that trestle decision.”
Buck leaned against Bodie’s truck. “I’m standing right here.”
She glared at him. “I know.”
“It worked.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t plow my Tahoe into the water.”
“You didn’t even hesitate.” Buck straightened. “Are we gonna go through those files, boot up that hard drive? Or do you two have something else in mind?”
Rowan rounded the Chevy. “You’re an ass.”
“It’s a step up from what everyone used to call me.” Buck smiled. “And you wouldn’t be blushing if I hadn’t struck a nerve.”
He pushed off, headed inside.
Bodie came up behind her, his hand landing on the small of her back, the simple touch stealing her breath, just like Buck had hinted at. “You okay to go through everything, or do you want to get some rest? Start fresh in the morning?”
She looked up at him, his blue eyes far too mesmerizing for her own good. “No way I’ll be able to shut down after all that, so let’s see what these assholes have been hiding.”
Chapter Eleven
Rowan tamped down the anxious roll of her gut and followed Bodie inside. She’d meant what she’d said. Despite the fatigue tensing her shoulders, the lack of sleep for the past few days — hell, the past couple years — she needed to get a sense of what they were up against. If the risks they’d taken tonight had been worth it.
She gazed the length of Bodie. He looked strong, unyielding, and she couldn’t stop her stomach from clenching in another way. The kind that felt dangerously intimate. How she’d felt when he’d cornered her this morning, told her she’d kissed him in her sleep. What she’d been dying to repeat but hadn’t found the right time. Not that one would crop up anytime soon, especially with Dalton and Buck no more than a few feet away, though, Buck seemed determined to get them together.
Bodie held the door, and they headed for his office, Buck and Dalton each taking a file as she spread hers out across Bodie’s desk. Her father’s photo stared up at her, his vacant eyes nearly taking her to the floor.
Two years.
Held captive in some kind of facility having god knew what done to him, and she hadn’t found him. Had been wasting time dealing with bureaucratic red tape instead of busting down doors, taking risks.
Bodie shouldered up beside her, one hand landing on her hip. As if he couldn’t stand that close without touching her. “You okay?”
She brushed her fingers over her dad’s image. “He never would have left me to rot in some cell.”
“You didn’t even know he was alive.”
“But I questioned his death. Knew something was off.” She kicked at the floor. “I should have done more.”
He balked. “What more could you have done? You’ve been working the case since he vanished. Since everyone told you he was dead. It didn’t matter that you were alone. Outmanned. Outgunned.” Bodie stood his ground. “No one can ask for more than that.”
