Eddie palmed the back of Griffon’s head like a basketball and smashed the side of his face onto the counter with one hand while the other twisted the guy’s arm behind his back.
“Hey!” Griffon grunted and snorted, and blood from his nose smeared all over the paperwork beneath his cheek. The more he struggled, the tighter Eddie gripped his head and the harder he pressed him against the counter.
“Now perhaps your memory has cleared up a bit.” Cole flattened a hand on either side of Griffon’s head and leaned down. “What else did he buy?”
“Fuck you.” Griffon wiggled and tried to free himself.
Eddie jerked his head up about a foot off the counter, then slammed it back down again.
“Aaaaah!” Griffon howled in pain. “All right! All right! I’ll tell you.”
Cole nodded at Eddie.
He gave a last shove to Griffin’s head and stepped back, but he stayed close, just in case the guy decided to do something stupid.
Griffin straightened from the counter, hiked up his jeans, and grabbed a red bandanna from his back pocket.
“He bought a used Salem T82 tracking device.” He held the cloth beneath his nose and tilted his head back. “Guy was so fucking cheap. I told him the new ones were more reliable, but he didn’t want to spend the extra thirty bucks.”
Cole picked up the photo, exchanged a look with Eddie, who was already moving out from behind the counter, then they headed for the door.
“Who are you guys, anyway?” Griffon looked at them as he wiped blood from his mustache.
Cole stopped and slowly turned back to him.
“That’s none of your concern.” His voice was low and threatening. “And if I find out you lied to us, you’ll be seeing us again. And next time, we won’t be so nice.”
With that ominous warning hanging in the air like a bad smell, they walked out the door.
Cole pressed the key fob to unlock the doors, they climbed into the SUV, and he immediately dialed Hawk’s number to warn him they might have company soon.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tirescrunchedovergravel,and Hawk’s headlights swept across the house. He slowed to a stop in front of the three-car garage, pressed a button on the rearview mirror, and waited for the center door to roll up. The overhead light flicked on. He pulled in and shut off the engine.
Charlotte’s gaze skimmed over the large room, and she turned to him. “This is the cleanest garage I’ve ever seen.”
“Thanks.” One corner of his mouth lifted.
He hurried around to her side to open her door and helped her out. He swung her door shut and opened the back door for Remy to hopped out.
His dad had an impressive workshop that was always neat and clean. Growing up, whenever Hawk or his brother, Daniel, helped their dad with a project, he would turn it into a life lesson. They learned how to focus from using dangerous power tools, discipline from cleaning up their mess when they were done, and the importance of keeping things organized and always in the same spot.
“If you always put things in the same spot, you’ll always know where to find them” had been one of his father’s mantras.
Unfortunately, his brother either forgot or disregarded most of the valuable life lessons their father imparted.
If he hadn’t, maybe Daniel would still be alive today.
“Hey.” Charlotte set her hand gently on his shoulder. “Where did you go? I said your name a couple of times, but you seemed so far away.”
“Sorry, it was nothing.” He shoved the horrific memory of finding his brother lying face-down in the river to the back of his brain. “Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour.”
“Sure.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and her disappointment in his brush-off was obvious … and understandable.
“I’m sorry.” He’d gotten too good at avoiding the topic of his brother’s death. “I was thinking about my brother.” Now was not the best time to dredge up painful family history. But if he wanted her to share her secrets with him, he had to be willing to do the same. “Tell you what, let’s go inside so you can get your stuff put away. Then we can both share.” He placed his hand on her cheek, and she leaned into it. “Deal?”
“Deal.” Charlotte put her hand over his, turned her face, and softly kissed his palm.
