Page 11 of Hard to Lose

“No obituaries. Not that I could find.”

“And your purpose again in doing this is what exactly? I mean, I see you trying to one-up Finn in the public display arena, but it sounds like you’re on a wild goose chase.”

“Where exactly should I go?” I ask, nipping in the bud this same damn line of questioning that I got from both Dekker and Lennox. I guess they’re doing tag team little-sister therapy, and I’m not here for it.

“Jeesh. Testy. Testy. You’re obviously still pissed at us for the meeting last week.”

“Not at all.” I feign indifference.

“Oh.” She sounds surprised. “In that case—”

“That conversation is over. No need to rehash it.” My hands clench the steering wheel. “Where do you think I should look?”

“A bar.”

“What do you mean a bar?” I ask, breathing a sigh of relief when I see a decent-looking hotel. So far it has been slim pickings and not that I’m high-maintenance or anything, but—

“You’re silently freaking out about finding a place to stay, aren’t you?”

“No,” I answer too quickly.

“Because you’re distracted and I can all but feel your panic attack through the phone,” she teases.

“I am not having a panic attack. In fact, I just pulled into the parking lot of what looks to be a respectable one.”

“You are such a freak.” That has my spine straightening.

“I am not. Once you find a bed bug crawling on the pillow next to you in a hotel room, you’ll never look at them the same.”

“Jesus. Chill. I’m just teasing you.”

I exhale an audible breath and put the car in park. “Can we stay on track, please? Why do you say a bar?”

“It’s a small town. The bar is where the locals hang out. Where they’ll gossip. My bet is you mention his name and you’ll find someone who knows him or knows of him and so on.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” she says, and I can see her gloating smile through the phone. “But here’s the thing, you can’t go in there asking everyone about this guy.”

“Um, why not?”

“Because you’re in a small, military town. They like to protect their own. If you go in there with guns blazing—pun intended—I guarantee they’ll clam up and not give you any information whatsoever. Besides—”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Make friends.” I don’t respond, because the thought is annoying. Why do I need to make friends here? It’s not like I’ll ever be back in this town again. “Look, I know you’re used to blowing into town, making your pitch, winning a client over, and flying back out, but this is going to take finesse. This is going to take earning their trust. The coach said this Ryan guy’s not a fan of agents, so this slow approach might help win you what you want—whatever that may be.”

“That’s annoying.”

“What, the small-town vibe or the fact that New York Chase has to adjust how she does things?”

“Both.” I laugh. “Thanks for the advice. I don’t know if I’ll heed it—”

“You will if you want to find this guy and then you’ll be thanking me,” she says in a singsong voice.

“I’ve got to go.” I reach for my purse on the seat next to me.

“Don’t think we didn’t notice you chose to go rogue in this month of all months.”