Slade smirked. “I knew you had a fun side. It’s just takin’ me a while to dig it out.”
Evan could’ve argued, told Slade there was nothing fun about him, but why bother? They’d spent enough time working together that Slade would’ve picked up on it by now.
An hour later, Evan was sitting at a table with a margarita the size of Texas in front of him. He’d somehow let Slade talk him into this Mexican food place rather than the sandwich shop Evan had been hoping for.
“What’s on your mind, city boy?” Slade said as he shoved a chip in his mouth.
Evan glanced at his partner, considered shrugging off the concern he heard in Slade’s tone like he always did. He had a rule about getting close to people, and if Slade kept at it, Evan knew they were going to cross that line between business and friendship.
He took a sip of his margarita and wondered if that was all that bad. He hadn’t had a real friend in years. Not since he left Miami and relocated to Texas, trying to get as far away from his old life and the pain and misery that had become his constant bedfellow.
“She was murdered,” he heard himself say before he could stop the words.
Slade’s lazy expression sobered, his smile fading as he sat up straight and gave Evan his full attention. “Your wife.”
Evan nodded, stared down at the vibrant green liquid in his glass. “But not before he raped and tortured her.”
“Fuck, man,” Slade hissed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s been seven years,” he admitted. “Sophie was just a baby.” He looked up, met Slade’s gaze. “We believe he targeted her. Knew her routine, waited until she was alone. She was just his type. Petite, blond. Like all the other women he’s raped and killed.”
“They haven’t caught him.”
It wasn’t a question, but Evan shook his head anyway. “He vanished into thin air.”
“And you haven’t stopped lookin’ for him.”
He wasn’t surprised that Slade had picked up on that. The man came across as not having a care in the world, but Slade Elliott wasn’t an idiot, he merely portrayed one to keep everyone at arm’s length.
“I’ll never stop lookin’ for him,” he admitted, his voice raw with emotion. “I will search for him until either I’m dead or I’ve put a bullet between his eyes.”
Slade leaned in, his eyes serious. “If you ever want help, just say the word.”
Evan swallowed, realizing for the first time in a long time that he was no longer on his own. He didn’t have to forge this path by himself. He was building friendships, despite his efforts not to.
And maybe, just maybe, that was part of the reason the spark that had died inside him was flickering back on, returning him to the land of the living.
***
JJ’s hour turned into two, but Bazfinally talked her away from her desk. She needed to eat, and she knew if he didn’t intervene, she’d be snacking on cheese puffs from the vending machine, and afterward, she’d still be starving. Since she’d made no progress on her hunt for the elusive Toby Land, she welcomed the idea of getting out of the office for a little while.
With RT promising to keep an eye on Tesha for a little while, Baz took her to lunch at one of her favorite Mexican food places close to the Sniper 1 Security offices. It was a popular place today because across the way, she could see Evan and Slade chatting over a basket of chips and margaritas. She was a little envious of their drinks, but being that she had months and months to go before she could have one, she shoved it to the back of her mind and focused on Baz.
They discussed what they knew so far about Toby, which was a whole lot of nothing, and he listened while she speculated about the nature of Toby’s relationship with Reese’s mother. He seemed content to listen to her try to work things out in her head, to unravel the mystery in the only way she knew how.
“What I can’t figure out is how he ended up in Hartwood’s crosshairs,” she mused, forking off a piece of her enchilada. “I mean, I know how their paths crossed, but beyond that, I’m lost.”
“The strip club,” Baz inserted. “That’s where they met.”
“I agree. In my head, Toby visited because he enjoys the scenery and probably became a regular after meeting Serendipity. They get to talking, she flirts for the money at first, then things heat up between them.”
“You think it was real?” Baz asked, sipping his iced tea. “Their relationship.”
“Depends.” She smiled. “Define real.”
“You don’t think she was playing him, stringing him along for the money?”
JJ shrugged. “It’s not like he had much. The guy bounced from one job to another.”
