“Kenzie, right? Chase mentioned you were with her at some fundraiser he and Harper went to.”
“My date canceled at the last minute and Kenzie filled in for her.”
“I hear she’s a real stunner.”
Reese’s glance strayed toward her. Impossible to deny it. Kenzie was beautiful. “She’s sitting right here, you know. She can hear what you’re saying.”
“Hi, Hawk,” Kenzie said with a smile so warm he felt a little pinch in his chest.
“Nice to meet you, Kenzie,” Hawk said.
“You mind if we get back to business?” Reese grumbled, mildly irritated and not quite sure why.
“You know about Rico and Manuel Alvarez?” Hawk asked.
“Tabby brought me up to speed on the brothers. She says you have info on the copilot.”
“That’s right. One of the mechanics who works on Pelican Island is a guy named Tex Lovell. Wife’s name is Suzy. Word is Suzy gets around. Lately she’s been sleeping with Craig Bigelow, the copilot on the chopper that went down.”
Bigelow’s name was on his list. He cast Kenzie a glance and could tell she understood the ramifications, that maybe Bigelow was the target, not him.
“So aside from a dead drug dealer with some serious enemies, we’ve got a possible jealous husband who could have jimmied the gears in order to kill his rival.”
“That’s about it,” Hawk said.
“Anything else?”
“Not at the moment, but I’ve put the word out. I’ll let you know if something turns up.”
“Thanks, Maddox, I owe you.”
“No way. As I recall, you were the one who saved my ass last time around.”
Reese chuckled at the memory of the night he and Kate Gallagher—now Hawk’s wife—had rescued him from a Houston brothel.
The call ended, the food arrived, and they settled in to eat. He had two new leads to follow, both of which put him in the clear as the target of the crash. He looked at Kenzie and felt a little better about bringing her along.
Unfortunately, until he knew for sure what had happened, he had to keep digging. Which meant another night in Houston, another night with Kenzie sleeping in the room next to his.
Reese slid her a glance and thought how pretty she looked surrounded by colorful straw bonnets and bright yellow flowers, her mahogany curls loose around her shoulders.
Inwardly, he groaned.
ELEVEN
After lunch, Kenzie and Reese set off for their next destination, an address on San Marino Drive that Tabby had sent him, the residence of Tex and Suzy Lovell. The sky was still dreary, just a few weak rays of sunlight filtering through the layers of overcast, the air still hot, thick, and damp.
Before they had left the café, Kenzie had phoned Supervisor Brandt’s assistant, who had helped her before. Ryan had told her Tex Lovell was working at the heliport today. There was no record of him doing maintenance on the chopper, but if he was serious about eliminating his wife’s paramour, he could have been the guy who broke in the night before the crash.
Next Kenzie phoned Suzy Lovell and asked if they could stop by. Suzy had agreed. Everyone who worked for Sea Titan on Pelican Island knew about the crash and sympathized with the victims. They wanted answers, wanted to help in any way they could.
As the miles passed, Kenzie’s mind went from the upcoming interview with Suzy to the night ahead. Reese had told her he had plans for the evening, so he needed to be back at the hotel no later than six o’clock. Plans, she knew, meant another evening with a woman, either Arial Kaplan or someone else.
Kenzie told herself it was none of her business. Reese was the boss. He could do whatever he pleased.
He pulled the Rover to a stop on Jackson Street in front of a narrow blue house with white trim. The cottage sat on tall stilts with a carport underneath. An upstairs deck accessed the front door.
They climbed the stairs to the deck and Reese knocked. Since infidelity was a tricky subject, Kenzie was taking the lead.
