His beefy high school baseball player body had been whittled down to heavy bones and lean muscle. He used to look like he enjoyed the odd cheeseburger and weekend lounging on the sofa. Now he looked like he moved his body all day, every day.
At eighteen, he’d been trying to grow facial hair. But it’d been thin on the sides and a little scraggly under his chin. Now his beard was thick and shiny and a shade darker than the stuff on his head, which reminded her of a rich, dark chocolate.
He still preferred Chicago Black Sox T-shirts and jeans, she noted. But he’d traded in his Vans for chunky biker boots. And he’d gotten a tattoo. A stylized eagle feather peeked from under the sleeve of his T-shirt. It covered the upper part of his muscled arm and ended at his elbow.
He still smells the same though, she thought a little giddily.Sweet and earthy, like salted caramel and blackberry musk.
He’d been a boy on the cusp of manhood before. Now he wasallman.
Unfortunately, he seemed to have missed the part where she’d grown up to be all woman. For the last hour, as they’d sat at the conference table on the second floor of the old factory building that housed the famous Black Knights Inc. custom motorcycle shop, of all things—and while the Feds had been executing their warrant—he’d been telling the woman, whom he’d introduced as Eliza Meadows, stories about Hannah as a kid. And, as if to really drive home their buddy-buddy, pal-pal status, he’d kept punching her in the arm like she was still thirteen. He’d even reached over once to scob her knob.
At that point, she’d been sorely tempted to grab his head and shove it between her boobs. The only thing that’d saved him from a forced motorboating was the fact that she hadn’t wanted to scandalize his colleague. At least not on theirfirstmeeting.
“Well?” he asked the FBI agents who came to a stop beside the table, interrupting her disgruntled musings. “Are you satisfied she’s not here?”
“You could still be hiding her in that little house out front.” Greenlee frowned. “Or in any of those sheds outside.”
“We’renot,” Sam assured the agent. “And we’ll be happy to let you take a look to verify that once you come back with another warrant.”
“You know, innocent people don’t usually run when they find themselves crosswise with the law. And yet Agent Beacham rabbited the first chance she got. And innocent bystanders don’t usually require warrants before cooperating with the authorities. And yet here you are doing exactly that.”
Sam’s shrug was purposefully laconic. “Like I mentioned outside, I’m a stickler for the rules.”
The only indication that Greenlee was losing patience was the flare of his nostril as he pulled a notebook from the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket. “What time did you say she left?” He checked his notes.
“Right before you arrived. She said she was gonna try to clear up this misunderstanding you boys seem to be operating under with regards to the death of her partner.”
“Themurderof her partner,” Greenlee emphasized.
Sam cocked his head and Hannah watched his ice-blue eyes narrow. She’d drowned in those eyes the first time she’d met him.
It was safe to say, she’d never fully recovered from the experience.
“If you were able to break into her phone records to see who she called last, then surely youalsosaw the text message she received from a blocked number warning her some dude named Orpheus is out to get her.” Sam frowned at the agents. “Why aren’t you guys looking intothat?”
“We’re looking intoeverything,” Greenlee said with a sniff. “But if you ask me, that text was a red herring. Agent Beacham probably sent it to herself. Or had one of her friends send it for her.” He glared at Sam meaningfully. “As far as the bureau’s concerned, Orpheus is a myth.”
“Well, that’s convenient.” A line appeared between Sam’s eyebrows. “Is that how the FBI usually does things? Ignores any clues that don’t fit their narrative?”
Hannah had to suck in the sides of her cheeks to keep from grinning.
Physically, Sam had changed from the boy she’d known. But he was still as acerbic as ever.
His quick mind and even quicker wit had always left her laughing. Which was why she’d found his relationship with her sister so surprising.
Candy was theoppositeof quick-witted. In fact, Hannah was pretty sure her big sis had been absent from class the day they were handing out senses of humor.
But what Candy lacked in personality, she more than made up for with beauty. Five feet ten inches of perfect face and killer bod that’d cast a spell over eighteen-year-old Sam.
Greenlee’s lips tightened. “If Agent Beacham was worried about someone hunting her, the last thing she should’ve done was run. She’d be far safer in custody. So you can understand my skepticism. Now…” He glanced around the room. “Where is the cell phone Agent Beacham called?”
Eliza pulled a black smartphone from her pocket and placed it on the table without saying a word.
“Areyouthe one she asked for help?” Greenlee asked as he marched toward the table. When he reached for the device, Eliza slapped her hand on top of it.
“This isn’t part of your warrant.” Her tone was cordial but there was a warning in her eyes. Hannah decided then and there that Eliza Meadows was a badass.
Greenlee pulled back his hand and regarded the dark-haired woman closely. “How do you know Agent Beacham, exactly?”
