But Sam always seemed to be at the forefront of any storm.
“I gave them your contact information, but I just wanted to… I didn’t want you to be blindsided.Dad assumes…”
“They’re my father’s remains.”
“Maybe.Based on what they told me, and what Dad said about… what happened.It’s been a long time, but I didn’t know…”
“Thanks for calling me, Tinley.I appreciate the warning.”
“Of course.I don’t know that it means anything, but…”
“Probably not.Strange it happened after so long.”Fucking bizarre.“But I don’t want you or Uncle Mike to worry about it.I’ll handle it.”
“Oh.Well, of course.You’re a police officer yourself.I forgot about that.”She sounded almost relieved.“Dad’s kind of worked up, but if he knows you’re handling it, I think it’ll ease his mind some.Maybe you could call him?”
Jake also couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his uncle.Uncle Mike wasn’t a bad guy.Jake could remember, a few times since Dad had died, Mike trying to make an effort.An invitation to this family get-together or that family outing.
Jake had never taken him up on it.He’d been… a pissy teen and had leaned into his mother’s family rather than try to keep ties with his dead dad’s.
“Yeah, once I have a better handle on what’s going on, I’ll call Mike.”He gathered a few more details from her—who’d called, what they’d said.
He wasn’t waiting around for some Gallatin County cop to show up with bad news.He was going to sniff it out himself.
And figure out why his dead father was suddenly a ghost in his life.
Chapter Sixteen
Honor’s Edge Investigations Office
“We’re going togo over there and tell them,” Nate told his brother.
With the wedding over, and Landon and Aly back from their mini-honeymoon, it was time to tell them about the threat to Cal.
Sure, another threat hadn’t shown up.Nate still maintained it was less countdown and more symbolic—days being numbered.But who knew by how manydaysthat meant.Time between threats concerned Nate that an escalation would be next.
So everyone needed to be aware.
Nate didn’t truck in secrets anymore.
“What’s the point of telling them?”Cal demanded.
He stood on the stairs up to the apartment—where Nate had waylaid him.
“What’s the point of not?”Nate replied equitably, pretending like standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at Cal wasn’t putting a damn crick in his neck.
“Aly not worrying?Landon not being annoying as hell?”Cal returned.
Superiority and petulance shining through in his voice enough that Nate was reminded of being a kid, and having his big brother look down at him like he was perpetually dim-witted.
It shouldn’t grate.They wereadults.Nate had to work very hard not to let his hands curl into fists.
“What if this threatdoesconnect, and us telling them means they’re watching out for something weird… and see it before something bad happens?”he managed to say to Cal without sounding petulant himself.
“You got a lot of worst-case scenarios going on in that brain of yours?”Cal asked in that way he had that was somehow meant to be annoying—and succeeded—but also cut straight to the heart of something Nate hadn’t realized was still a sore spot.
Luckily, he knew how to deal with his brother’s unwavering ability to hit a soft spot.Lean in.He tapped his temple.“Twenty-four-seven.All that military training.”
Cal was silent for a moment—Nate always considered that a point scored.
