Jake flashed me his familiar, easy grin the moment he saw me, the one that had everyone—man or woman—turning their heads in his direction. It never worked on me. It wasn’t that I thought he was unattractive—Jakewasgorgeous—he just didn’t make my body, or more importantly, my heart hum with excitement, and I was completely over the mindless fucking.
A few inches shorter than my six foot, Jake had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Aside from his startling blue eyes, his arms and chest were probably his greatest physical feature, both of which were on full display in the tight heather gray tank top he was wearing. The man loved lifting weights or showing off on the pull-up bar and had the body to prove it. He was constantly pushing me at the gym, challenging me to do better, which is probably why I now had a similar build.
“Hey,” Jake said, running a hand through his dark blond hair. It was slightly longer than usual on top, but it suited his long face well. “Haven’t seen you in a while. I was about to stop by your apartment just to make sure you hadn’t croaked.”
“Ha, ha,” I deadpanned.
“So, what’s new?” he asked, curling up a barbell. “How’s my niece?”
I couldn’t stop my smile. “Feisty as ever,” I replied, reaching for a weight of my own.
“Of course, she is. I take my job as her uncle very seriously. Training her right, you know?”
Harper was about the only child on earth Jake spared a second thought about. He adored my niece, and even though he wouldn’t say it out loud, I know it meant the world to him when she started calling him Uncle.
Jake was assessing me with a look I’d seen him use many times on duty, both in the Army and his time as a cop. I hated that look because it always meant he was seeing things I didn’t want him to see. Sure enough, only a minute later, he started in with the questions.
“So, what’s going on, Beck? You look like shit.”
I didn’t bother replying, instead switching directions so I lifted the weight to my side.
“Seriously, man. You haven’t been around much the last few months, and you haven’t been returning my calls lately. Tosh said-“
“You talked to my sister?” I hissed.
“Shecalledme,”he amended defensively. “She said something about you being a grump at the last family barbecue? Even Harper noticed.”
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, not sure how to avoid talking about my problems. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Jake, I just didn’t see the point in telling anyone about the dreams that had been waking me up or the debilitating ache in my chest when I already knew what was causing it. I didn’t know why Riley was so heavy on my heart lately, but he was. Well,heavier.He was always there in some capacity. Every day. But lately, his memory had been almost suffocating.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
“I’m just more tired than usual,” I lied. “Not sleeping well with the storms and shit.”
“Yeah, I call bullshit, Beck,” he argued, changing arms with the weight, never taking his eyes off me. When I didn’t say anything else, he pressed on. “Is it a difficult case? You know I can help.”
I started to shake my head but changed my mind when I remembered he had been involved in the murder case. I quickly filled him in with the few details I did have regarding the missing heirloom.
“My client said the truck was registered to someone in South Carolina,” I finished, “but the police haven’t dug too deep into it. They’re not too concerned about tracking it down.”
He nodded. “The murder was pretty cut and dry, and since the stolen property went across state lines…” he shrugged. “It’s hard to follow through with things like that unless it’s considered significant. A small treasure box doesn’t carry much weight, if you get my drift.”
“It does to my client’s family,” I countered, more determined than before to solve this mystery.
Jake set the weight down. “So, does that mean you’re going to South Carolina?”
“I think I have to. I don’t have any other choice.”
He perked up. “Do you mind some company? I have some time off. Wouldn’t mind getting out of here and seeing the ocean.”
As much as I enjoyed Jake’s company, I wasn’t too excited about him tagging along for the ride. He was far too perceptive for me to hide my demons around right now and I wasn’t sure I had the patience for his carefree ways. Then again, maybe spending time with him would get my mind off a certain set of gray eyes.
“Sure. Heading out tomorrow though.”
“No problem. I’ll bring the coffee.”
“Donuts too?” I quipped. “You are a cop after all.”
