Dylan’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know something, Wyatt?”
He shook his head. “No, just worried about you two. And I won’thave time to ride tomorrow. The bull riding is at five and I have to be there at two. You guys are coming to watch me, right?” he asked.
“We wouldn’t miss it,” I replied.
“Good.” His smile fixed on me. “With you cheering for me, I know I can’t lose.”
I could almost feel the heated rage coming off Jake, and I’ll admit I basked in the glow a bit. He dumped me. He deserved it.
Wyatt climbedback into his truck and headed out, while Dylan herded the rest of us into the motel room to talk.
Jake sat down on the chair by the window and I put distance between us. “What’s this about needing a cop?” he asked. Dylan got out two bottles of water and offered them to the guys. “We’re trying to get information from a couple of pawn shops in Klamath and we’re running into roadblocks, mostlybecause we don’t have shiny badges to flash.”
“We could just go there and show them our PI badges, Dylan,” I countered.
“They probably won’t give you confidential customer records though,” Jake said. “Assuming that’s what you’re looking for.”
“They might,” I countered.
“Ba—” I glared at him, cutting off his endearment, and he dragged a hand through his hair. “Sorry.Addison. They’ll be moreresponsive to my badge, so it would be a good idea for me to go in person.” He turned to Asher. “Up for a longer road trip?”
Asher shook his head, pulling Dylan back to him. “You’re on your own on this one, bud. I just got my girl back in my arms. I’m not letting go for a while.”
“Addison, you should go,” Dylan said.
“I am not spending hours in a car alone withhim,” I snapped. Turning towardJake, I asked, “What are you even doing here? I thought you were trying to find the Spiders who want us dead and couldn’t bear to be around me now that I have a job.”
“We’re working on some leads, and I have some buddies who are coming at it from a different way.”
“Well, bully for you, sunshine. Maybe your buddies can help you find the missing jewelry. Or a clue.”
“But you know what the jewelrylooks like,” Dylan argued, glancing at her phone. “It’s already almost four. If you go now, you’ll get there by six. This place says it’s open until eight. I wouldn’t recommend driving back tonight, though. The road between here and Klamath is pretty curvy, with limited visibility and lots of deer. You can stay at the Running Y. It’s much nicer than this place. Come back first thing in the morningwith the information to solve this case, and we’ll hit the rodeo in the evening to watch Wyatt ride. Then our event’s on Sunday, so we can head home on Monday. We can solve the case, win the race, and get the hell out of here.”
“You think you got this all figured out, do ya?” I ground out. It was difficult to be too mad, watching the way Dylan was snuggled against Asher, though. My bestie wasgoing through a lot and I knew she needed the type of therapy alone time with Asher would give her. I decided to turn my irritation on Jake instead. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
He shook his head, but I didn’t miss his slight smile. “Since I knowyouknow I’m not clairvoyant, I won’t answer that. But I do think it’s a good idea.”
“Ash, will you and Jake give us a minute, please?” Dylan asked,peeling herself off my brother and pulling me into her room.
“What?” I ground out after she closed the door behind us.
“You and I can go if you really can’t stand the idea of being with Jake,” Dylan offered, and I frowned. She would totally give up her alone time with Asher if I asked her to, but I knew she missed him and their relationship needed some tender loving care. “Your call, Addie.”
I sighed. “No. You two need time. But I’m going on record that you owe me. I’m totally taking one for the team.”
Dylan hugged me with a huge grin. “Thank you. I love you.”
I jabbed a finger toward her. “You better have a broken hymen when I get back.”
Dylan gasped, turning instantly red. “Ohmigod, you are so ridiculous!”
Feeling a small sense of smug satisfaction that Asher would have to worka little harder now, I stepped back into my room and grabbed my keys. “If we’re going to go, we should go now.”
Jake stood, holding his hand out. “I’ll drive.”
“I’lldrive,” I countered.
“Bab—”
