Fixing a blank expression on my face to hide my inner turmoil, I turned his way, arching a single dark brow.
“Did you hearanythingBrandon just said?”
I slid my gaze to my boss, instantly grimacing at his annoyed expression that was aimed at me. Clearing my throat, I shifted in the seat uncomfortably. “You were saying, boss?”
He held me hostage with his glare for a few more moments before repeating what I had missed, too lost in my own thoughts. “I was telling everyone about the new feature Juno created for the client booking system, then asked if you would sit down with her tomorrow to go over the details she needs for the fishing and boating options.” He studied me and then her with a weary expression. “Without it ending in a yelling match.”
“I don’t yell at women,” I said through gritted teeth. “Any man who does deserves to be eating through a straw the rest of his life.”
Juno looked shocked by my response, eyes wide and lips parted.
Hmm, that was interesting.
Interesting and concerning.
Well, concerning for whoever made my statement seem shocking to her.
Studying Juno while she explained the new addition to the program, I wondered if maybe it was time to do more than just watch her to uncover her secretive past. Maybe West was spot-on when he said she’d been hurt and was running from someone rather than from trouble that might follow her here to Anchor Bay and put my family at risk.
Absentmindedly, I traced the many scars decorating my knuckles while plotting how I could learn more about Juno Jones and uncover her darkest secrets without letting my guard down and falling for the mysterious, yet amazing and beautiful woman.
How hard could that be?
3
WEST
“I’ll make these few tweaks to the website and then send a link over with the changes for you to approve,” Juno murmured, face in her phone as her thumbs flew over the screen. Without looking up, she tucked her laptop under her arm and weaved around Brandon’s desk and past Hudson, blindly slapping at the door for the knob until her small fingers wrapped around the metal. Without even a goodbye or “see you later” tossed over her shoulder, she tugged open the door and strode out into the bright afternoon sunlight.
“Ten bucks says she sends over those changes for the site and more ideas for the scheduling system before we’re done with our meeting,” I commented with a wide grin. Juno was hyper-focused when it came to her job and an absolute badass with anything computer related. Which was good for Uplift, but I worried about her because of it too.
She would lock herself in her cabin for days working, not once coming out for air or food. Sometimes Finley or one of her other friends would pop in for a wellness check if we hadn’t seen her in a while. And if it wasn’t work, it was her online gamingobsession that kept her inside, staring at a screen for hours. That couldn’t be good for anyone.
“We’re lucky to have her,” Brandon said, rubbing a hand along his scruff-covered jaw. “Carl was always too swamped to do anything with the site, and that new system she built from scratch has streamlined our process, which benefits you all as well as our clients.”
“Lucky,” Langston grumbled while he rocked the chair back on its two back legs. The big fucker was on the verge of breaking another one if he wasn’t careful. Then again, he deserved to be sprawled out on the floor with a sore ass considering his foul mood. “Pain in the ass more like it.”
Though the way his green eyes kept finding the door she just disappeared through gave his grumpy ass away on how he really felt. Not that I was any better. It was hard to stay in my damn seat to find out why Brandon had called the meeting when all I wanted to do was follow her.
Langston stalked Juno for his own misguided reasons. I didn’t disguise that I wanted her. Well, that was a slight lie. She didn’t know that friendship was not all that I hoped for with her. That while we joked around and talked, or spent hours together while she played those crazy video games, I desperately wanted more. All of her time, focus, energy, attention—everything about her if I were brutally honest with myself. The fact that Lang wasn’t there yet had me holding back for now, but soon he would get over his irrational issues with her unknown past, and then we could both be all in on convincing Juno that she was our perfect match.
My attention dropped to my wrapped wrist and hand. Maybe it made me a sick bastard or just as delusional as Langston, but I’d offer something else to be crushed if that meant I got more of her time and gentle comfort like she’d offered the past few weeks.
“…with that evidence, Oliver and I agree it wasn’t a suicide like someone staged it to look like, but murder.” Realizing they had stopped talking about the website and shifted to Jasper’s death, I turned my full focus on Hudson as he paced in front of Brandon’s desk. “We just don’t know the why.”
“It has to be tied to the missing women cases. He was connected to Caroline, who’s still missing,” I stated tentatively, hating saying her name because of the devastated expression that flashed over Langston’s face. Yet another person he felt like he’d failed, as if the man could be everywhere at once protecting everyone from the unknown dangers in life.
“That’s where we landed too,” Hudson commented, coming to stop at the edge of the desk, tapping the firm surface with a single knuckle. He eyed Brandon for a moment as if debating his next words. “I’m thinking this is bigger than what Oliver and I can handle on our own. It’s time to pull in people with more resources and experience dealing with serial cases.”
“Do you have someone in mind?” Brandon asked, leaning back in his chair and interlacing his hands behind his head. “Because you’re the only connection I know who had the experience to help Oliver.”
Hudson slowly nodded. “I have a contact in the FBI who I’d like to reach out to.”
The corners of Brandon’s lips pulled downward before he pressed them into a tight line. “And how will Oliver’s dad feel about us bringing in the feds?”
“Who gives a fuck,” Langston cut in, allowing his chair to fall forward, slamming the front two legs to the floor. “This is bigger thananyonein this town can handle. We need help if we want it to stop and catch the bastard behind it all.” I nodded in agreement, drawing his attention across the small table. “I, for one, can’t stomach anything else happening to our family because of all this.”
His green eyes bored into mine, making my heart race.
