Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 114820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Rus could get that, and he couldn’t.
He was with Moran. If you don’t cause trouble, he didn’t give a shit what you did or why you did it.
But the people of Misted Pines weren’t responsible for what Ray Andrews did. They also weren’t responsible for what several wives did to punish their husbands for breaking their marriage vows.
Rus knew a thing or two about women whose hearts were broken when their man’s mind wandered from their marriage and fixed on something else.
It was just that, in Rus’s case, it wasn’t another woman.
“Brittanie or her mother have anything to do with this, for lack of a better word to describe it, coven?”
Moran shook his head.
Since this had no bearing on Brittanie Iverson, he had interviews to do, he had an investigation to conduct, so it was time to get down to how they were going to work together in doing those things.
Before he could start, Moran asked a question that had been preying on Rus’s mind since he got the call.
“Do you think this is about Bohannan?”
These words came out of his mouth just as a knock came at the door.
Rus twisted that way, but before Moran could call out, the head of a woman poked through.
Rus’s guess from the efficient appearance of her helmet of hair and the low-key makeup, this was Polly.
Though, from where that head was located, it was clear the woman was petite.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said to Moran. “But I know you’d want to know, Cade is here.”
Speak of the devil.
Rus sat straighter in his chair.
Cade being Cade Bohannan, a man who had his own lore, and deserved it. Rus knew this from more than the stories, he’d gone to a class Bohannan taught.
This could mean a number of things, perhaps good, because Bohannan won his reputation by being one of the best in the business, or bad, because sometimes a retired agent who felt the need to meddle could fuck shit up.
Rus knew he was going to find out which way that would swing when Moran said, “Send him in.”
THREE
Blaze of Glory
Rus was not surprised at Cade Bohannan’s bearded, flannel-shirt-and-jeans mountain man appearance. He’d left the clean-cut FBI look behind when he’d retired, so this was the man who’d taught the class Rus had taken with about a hundred other LEOs.
That said, this man was tense and gave off a vibe as tweaked as Rus was feeling, and he made no attempt to rein it in.
Understandable, considering he was probably thinking what Moran was thinking. That being, whatever was now happening in this town was the same as what happened with Ray Andrews—Bohannan was being called out, his skill at catching killers versus a killer continuing to kill.
Rus was standing when Bohannan moved in, gave a dip of his chin to Moran, who had also taken his feet, and then he was all about Rus.
They shared coloring, both of them dark-haired and olive-skinned. Rus had an inch on Bohannan, but Bohannan had ten pounds on Rus. Both were about genetics, but that ten pounds was all muscle.
He didn’t know exact stats, but he did know Bohannan was around ten years older than him and did what Rus had decided to do that very day.
He retired early.
He had his hand out, and when he arrived, Rus took it.
“Cade Bohannan,” he said, his fingers closing in a firm hold. “And you’re Special Agent Zachariah Lazarus.”
“Rus,” he corrected. A quick squeeze, no unnecessary statements made, and they broke physical contact. “You made some calls,” he noted.
Bohannan didn’t beat around the bush. “Yeah, I did. My son, Jace, dated Brittanie.”
Fuck.
“Cade.” Moran entered the conversation, and his one word had warning dripping off it.
Bohannan didn’t miss it.
This was why he lifted both hands to his shoulders, palms out. “I’m here to offer my services. That’s it. I’ve told the boys to stand down. Jace is out, he knows it. But Jesse is ready if you need him.”
Rus shot an "explain” look to Moran.
He explained. “Cade’s sons, twins, are private investigators.”
He looked to Bohannan. “No shit?”
“No shit.”
He didn’t ask if they were any good. Any father would say yes. Bohannan wouldn’t be lying when he said it.
“You said ‘dated’, past tense,” Rus remarked.
“It lasted a few months. I met her. I liked her. Larue wasn’t a fan. But she doesn’t like any of the boys’ girlfriends.”
“A few months isn’t very long.”
“Jace is twenty-eight, and he’s not giving indication he’s ready to settle down.”
No more needed to be said about that.
Though, twenty-eight was young to be a PI.
There was a story there, but now wasn’t the time for it.
“He willing to talk to me?” Rus asked.
“Definitely. Though, not gonna tell you your business”—a quick side glance to Moran—“your first stop should be Cin.”
And again with Cin.
“That was the sheriff’s suggestion,” Rus told him.