“Easton—”
“Not a discussion, sugar.” His voice gentled, but it left no room for argument. “You can glare at me all you want. I’ll be right over there.”
I glared anyway, because it was easier than saying thank you. But as I turned back to the counter, pretending to measure coffee grounds, I couldn’t stop the tiny smile tugging at my mouth.
As the first light of morning broke through the fog outside, I caught him watching me over the rim of his coffee cup, eyes dark and unreadable.
By the time the shop opened up and he’d slipped out, I hadn’t even realized that I didn’t even think about the break-in once.
12
Easton
Oregon rain wasn’t dramatic like the summer storms in Boise, where thunder cracked and lightning ripped the sky in half. Here it just… lingered. Here, a steady mist could soak through everything, softening the edges of every pine and carrying sharp, earthy smells.
I pushed through the glass door of the police department and shook the water off my jacket. The front desk was manned by Viola, whom I’d met just the other day. She seemed nice enough and attractive in a girl-next-door way, but I wasn’t sure she was great at office work. The desk was piled with reports that appeared to need sorting and filing, and she seemed overwhelmed to say the least.
Giving her a nod and a smile, I kept going through the building until I reached Wade’s office. His door was half-open. He was bent over a stack of forms, pen in hand, theline between his brows deep enough to hold water. When I stepped closer, he looked up, his expression guarded, like he already knew what I wanted.
“Can we talk?” My voice sounded rougher than I intended, but I didn’t bother softening it. The whole situation with someone breaking into Lila’s house had been getting to me. I’d tossed and turned all night until I finally got up and drove to Sage’s, sitting outside in my truck and kicking myself for it the entire time. There was no good reason that I was so hung up on Lila Merrick, but for some reason, she had wiggled herself under my collar.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing at the back of his neck before gesturing me inside. “Shut the door.”
I did, then dropped into the chair across from his desk. My knee bounced as if I had been hopped up on caffeine, though all I’d had was a single black coffee and leftover stew. I’d been replaying the night of the break-in too many times, my mind circling the image of Lila’s face—her cheek flaming red, her arms wrapped tight around herself as if holding the pieces together. Someone breaking into her place was unacceptable.
“You got any leads?” I asked.
Wade sat back, pen still between his fingers, but he didn’t answer right away. He studied me for a moment, his eyes sharp and measuring, the way he did when he was trying to decide how much to say. Finally, he exhaled through his nose. “Not much. Like you had said, any boot prints in the back were washed out by the rain—no usable fingerprints on the door. Well, we got a partial … but it wasn’t enough. I sent it to Rhodes on the side.”
I clenched my fists against my thighs, hard enough that the muscle ached. “So basically nothing.”
Rhodes Collins was a friend of Wade’s from his time in the military. I hadn’t met him, but Wade talked about him often, and I knew he was involved in some security business that he’d started with some friends. Redhawk Security, I thought it was called. It would probably get Wade in trouble with the chief if he knew he’d sent the print, but he was the golden boy around here—basically in charge most of the time anyway. Chief Wheeler was one step away from retirement and enjoyed his share of lazy afternoons and lazier weekends. He had a good crew here, and it wasn’t like Wildwood Meadows was a hotbed of crime normally.
“Basically.” His tone didn’t soften. Wade didn’t sugarcoat things, and I wouldn’t have believed him if he tried. “It’d take a miracle to pull a solve on this one. I’m going to do my best.”
The silence lingered. “You think it was random?” I finally asked. My nerves were shot. I knew my brother was good at his work. It’s not that I doubted his abilities or his desire to do right by anyone here in town, especially Lila.
He didn’t answer right away, just looked at me, steady and unblinking. His silence was louder than words.
“No,” I said for him. “You don’t.”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “No way. Whoever that was, that wasn’t a random occurrence. I already said as much to Lila, but I think she’d rather think it was. Sometimes it’s easier that way.”
I leaned forward, forearms on my knees, feeling restless in my own skin. “Anyideas?”
Wade picked up the pen and turned it between his fingers. He clicked it once, then again, like he was buying time. “You know I can’t go throwing personal information around, East. I’m not talking to you as your brother right now. I’m talking as an officer. There’s a line I don’t get to cross.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. I’m not asking you to write it in a damn report. I’m asking you straight, face to face.”
His eyes softened, but he still shook his head. “Doesn’t change anything. Everyone in this town deserves privacy. I need to be professional.”
I ground my teeth. He was stonewalling me, which meant there was something to hide. “So it could be someone she knows,” I pressed. “Fuck professional, Wade.” My hands tore through my hair.
He didn’t respond. The silence was answer enough.
“Who’s Derek?” The name came out before I had a chance to think about it. I’d heard it whispered enough in conjunction with Lila that I’d wondered about the guy.
Wade froze, the pen still in his hand. It was only a fraction of a second, but I caught it. Then he leaned back slowly, folding his arms over his chest. “Where’d you hear that?”
