“True, but I’m not the one who doesn’t want to talk about it. Every time I try to broach the subject of what happened with us, she refuses. Not much I can do.”
“You can be patient. You’re the one who messed things up. You can’t just sweep in and expect to fix it on your timeline because it’s what you want.”
Chuckling, Lane shook his head. “Damn, dude. You keep saying shit like that and it’s throwing me off. I’m used to the arrogant smartass who’s more apt to slam a fist in a guy’s face than talk about feelings and be all wise about stuff.”
It was Duke’s turn to shrug. “You never really got to know me. Just saw me as some guy you could grab a drink with after a ride.”
Lane settled against the hard wood of the rocker and pushed his feet against the wide planks. He cupped his hands around his bottle, the condensation sliding on his palms. “Looks like we should fix that now that we’ll be in business together.”
“You’re probably right.”
“How’d you get into bull riding?”
“Same as you, I suppose. Spent my childhood on a ranch. Pops put me on a bull when I was a kid, and I fell in love with it—the adrenaline rush and excitement. And hell, I was good at it. I got on the circuit when I was still in high school. Nothing more to it than that.” Duke clasped his hands on his lap and stared in front of him as he spoke, as if seeing something that wasn’t there.
“So why’d you stop?”
“Told you. Wasn’t as much fun without your ass around to kick. Doesn’t mean I won’t go back. But for now, I needed a break. Being here, starting this new venture with you, just feels right.”
A beat of silence lingered between them with only the sound of crickets and critters filling the air. “I call bullshit.”
Duke kept his gaze fixed straight ahead. “That’s your prerogative, I guess.”
“I won’t push,” Lane said, studying the outline of Duke’s profile. “Some wise guy told me I need to learn how to be patient. But know I’m here. You know, if you need someone to talk to. It’s actually been nice having you around the last few days.”
“That had to be hard to say,” Duke said, grinning.
“You have no idea. But enough of this sappy nonsense. Any thoughts on Celine’s situation? We haven’t heard a word from the sheriff’s department regarding Kevin, so my guess is the douchebag’s still missing. In my book, that shines one hell of a suspicious light his way. But the question still remains, why?”
“That’s been bugging me,” Duke said. “They’ve been divorced about a year, right?”
“I think so.”
“So why would some goons come after her if her ex is the one who owes money? Does she have access to his funds?”
“She hasn’t mentioned that, but we should verify. Still, wouldn’t it make more sense to beat him and make him pay what he owes rather than going after her?”
“Sounds more logical to me, which is why this whole thing seems like one giant maze with no clear path to the truth. What if we’re wrong about Kevin? What if he’s not at the center of this at all, and we’re searching in the wrong direction?” His mind flashed back to the trashed house and spots of blood in the other man’s bedroom. “But that just doesn’tfeelright.”
“I think your gut’s right on this,” Duke said. “We follow Kevin, we find the answers.”
“Can’t follow him if we don’t know where he is.”
Duke pointed at the computer on Lane’s lap. “We keep sniffing out his digital footprint. Social media. Call old friends. Speak to his parents. I’m sure the sheriff’s department is doing some of that, but they might miss something. Or Celine could notice something they don’t. Either way, we need more dirt on this guy.”
“He had a ton of files in his home office. Maybe Celine and I should go through them. If he was misappropriating funds from work, there could be a trail there. Clients to investigate. Hell, maybe even someone associated with whoever he’s tangled up in. A man whose livelihood is tied up in accounting would keep records of what’s owed.”
“Did the deputies take in his computer as evidence?”
Lane shrugged and finished off his beer. “Not sure. We left before the house was processed. We were told the department takes all missing persons cases seriously, regardless of the length of time someone is missing, but that doesn’t mean they spent a lot of time pouring through the house.”
“Well, looks like we have another step to take. I’ll start poking around online, you and Celine should head back to thehouse. See if there’s anything left behind that could lead to answers.”
Lane stared out into the darkening sky. The sun dipped low over the horizon, bathing the land in dark purples and pinks. Parker would need to be put down soon, and he didn’t want to press Celine more tonight. “We’ll head out in the morning. I don’t want to put her in danger by lurking around Kevin’s place at night.”
Duke arched his brows high. “Gonna keep on avoiding her, huh?”
He could lie, stick to his story about wanting to look out for Celine, but what was the point? Duke was his partner, and if they wanted to get closer, he had to be honest. “Yep.”
