He looks so peaceful. Like he laid down to take a nap and simply didn’t wake up again.
West, who came upstairs moments ago, unbuttons Duncan’s light blue dress shirt as I gape at him. “No bruises.” Tugging at the man’s sleeves, he runs a gloved finger over his wrists. “No obvious signs of foul play. Could have been a heart attack. Or a stroke. His muscle tone is shit, but he is almost eighty.”
I want to tell him to leave the man alone. To have some respect. But he’s not unkind, even if his eyes are cold as ice.
“Got his phone. I’ll clone it, and Rip can check his call log.” West digs a cable and a small, black box out of his bag and starts fiddling with Duncan’s cell.
Ryker unpacks the small suitcase methodically, removing each item and setting it on the the small desk. “Three changes of clothes, his passport, a pair of slippers, and a blank notebook.” Rifling through the pages, he whistles when a tiny scrap of paper falls to the floor. “With at least one page torn out.”
I turn back to Duncan. West finishes righting the man’s clothes and steps back, his gaze sweeping around the space. “It’s a shitty room, but there’s nothing obviously out of place.”
“The chain wasn’t on the door,” Raelynn says. “He was worried about Nash comin’ here. Stands to reckon he wouldn’t be careless with his own security.”
“Do you really think someone…killed him?” I’d just started to believe Hidden Agenda could protect me. That I’d be able to stay in Seattle—with Raelynn. But if Duncan was murdered…I’m not safe here. And neither is she.
Ryker rubs his palm over the back of his head. “I’d lay odds at 50-50. But we’re not going to get any answers standing around here.”
“What’s the plan, boss?” Raelynn brushes her hand against mine, and I link our fingers. The strength of her grip is the reassurance I need to tamp down the panic threatening to pull me under.
Ryker and West exchange a look. One that says they’ve had this conversation—or one just like it—before. “We call it in. Pretend to be on the housekeeping staff and report a dead body. I’ll find someone in the Medical Examiner’s office to pay off so they expedite the autopsy and notify next of kin.”
A bribe? Fuck. I don’t want to owe this man—or Raelynn—anything. But I have all of a thousand dollars to my name, and I’m pretty sure Ryker’s going to need a lot more than that. “I’ll pay you back.”
He’s repacking the suitcase, and though I wasn’t paying attention earlier, he clearly was as he puts everything back exactly as it was. “No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Dropping Raelynn’s hand, I straighten my shoulders and try to look even a tenth as threatening as the man in front of me.
“I mean ‘no.’” He doesn’t elaborate.
Raelynn touches my back. “Let’s get out of here. Ry and West will have an easier time wipin’ the room if we’re not takin’ up space.”
“No. Not until he tells me—”
West steps between me and Ryker, and the intensity in his gaze has the protest dying in my throat. “This is what we do, Nash. Ry’s not going to go bankrupt for helping you. Or even notice the dent in his bank account. K&R isn’t…cheap. We do okay.”
“And Rip is a genius with investments,” Raelynn adds. “Damn helpful, since my house is a goddamn money pit.”
Pulling a thick, white cloth from his backpack, West starts to swipe it over the bedside table. “If someone did this, we’ll find them. You two head back to Raelynn’s. Stay inside and check in every few hours. We’ll know more soon.”
It’s an hour before we make it back to her place. Raelynn’s careful, winding through half a dozen neighborhoods, backtracking more than once to make sure no one can follow us.
We don’t say a word on the drive, though she steals glances at me from time to time. I’m numb. Shocked at Duncan’s death. Overwhelmed by how easily this group of people I just met accepted me, and how quickly they jumped into action to help. Terrified I’ll have to say goodbye to this woman I’m falling for.
Kiki comes running as soon as we walk into the house, meowing the whole way. Raelynn drops to her knees and scratches the cat behind the ears. “You’re a needy little thing. But you sure are cute. I’ll get you some food in a few minutes.”
Her smile lights up her entire face. When Kiki turns his attention to me, circling my ankles and butting his head against my shins, I set my backpack on the floor and join them.
“How’d you know?” Raelynn asks. With the cat flopped on his side between us, and the look in her eyes as she stares at him, I don’t need to ask what she means.
“Five or six years ago, I did a stint in Rio Vista, California. Small town, maybe ten thousand people.”
Her eyes light up. “I was stationed at Travis for six months. Way before your time. There was a burger place in Rio Vista with bottomless fries. Until my squadron discovered them.” She laughs, the sound almost wistful. “They stopped offerin’ refills after a couple of weeks. Probably for the best. We would’ve put them out of business.”
“One of the guys working at the hostel told me about them. He’d grown up there. Said he and his friends wanted to cry when they changed the menu.” Shaking my head, I wonder if there were other times our paths almost crossed over the years. “Some places, it’s easy to find work. Others…not so much. I needed something to do while I put up my flyers, and I started volunteering at the animal shelter. They’ll take almost anyone, and they don’t require a background check.” I shrug, unable to meet her gaze. There’s still so much of my life I haven’t shared with her. Kiki rolls over and starts licking my hand. “You can tell which dogs and cats have been there the longest. They look at every potential adopter with such hope in their eyes. I wanted to take them all home with me. But…when you don’t have a home to go to…”
“And Kiki had that same look?” she asks.
I nod, unsure how to tell her that the cat wasn’t the only one who needed love. Raelynn leans in and brushes her lips to mine.
