“Don’t,” he spits out. “Don’t go there.”
Damn, he’s got it bad. And he’s not wrong. Leilani does look like she’s in a bad situation. Her hands fidget constantly, eyes dart around the room like they’re searching for exits, and every time Jax so much as moves, she flinches.
“You want me to find out why she’s with him?”
“I want everything,” Koby says, leaning forward. “How she ended up with him, why she stays, where her parents are—everything. Anything you can find.”
“You still haven’t told mewhy,” I point out. “You were see-through earlier inScarlettwhen you saw her.”
His shoulders stiffen and he downs the last of his drink. “I can’t explain it. I don’t know how... I see her, and I want to grab her and fucking run.”
“How are you so deep already? Did you know her before?”
“No. Never saw her until last week.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can find. We might need an informant or two on the case. And forthatyou need Carter’s approval.”
He nods but doesn’t move a muscle.
“You won’t leave until I’ve found something, right?” I sigh. “It’s midnight and you’re a pain in my ass.”
“Yeah, but you love me anyway.” He brightens up when I grab my laptop.
“This will be boring, won’t it?” Bianca asks, rising to her feet. She leans over me, pecking my cheek. “I’m going to bed.”
“I’ll be there soon, baby.”
Once the bedroom door clicks behind her, Koby leans over the back of my chair, eyes on the screen.
“You’re hovering,” I say, my fingers flying over the keys.
“Deal with it.”
I don’t bother arguing. He’s stubborn. He’s also restless and smells like a liquor store.
“Anything yet?” he asks ten seconds later.
“You realize these things take time, right? More if you keep interrupting. Even more if you keep breathing whiskey at me.”
He grumbles something sour as he moves away, pouring himself another glass. The bottle is near empty, and I’ve barely put a dent in my drink.
“She’s good for you,” Koby says, his voice quieter than before, like he doesn’t want Bianca to overhear.
I glance at him, surprised by the lack of mockery or amusement in his tone. Koby makes a joke out of everything, so hearing him this... sincere is odd.
“Yeah, she is,” I admit, fingers moving across the keyboard as I run Leilani’s name through every database I can access.
“Good. She’s calmed you down. Before her, you were wound up tighter than Carter.”
I huff a quiet laugh. “You should see you right now. You look ready to jump out of your own skin.”
The clink of his empty glass against the coffee table is his only response.
My laptop pings and a notification from the facial recognition software running in the background pops up on the screen. My heart lurches into high gear.
Match: Charles Vaughn.
“Fuck.” I click open the short footage.
