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“Why don’t we hang out with you tonight instead?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Maybe I could come with you?” She ran a hand down my arm, and I shook my head, taking her hand. “Come on, Ty. I’ve always had a thing for you.”
“Good lord, Melony, I never knew that. Besides, I’m seeing someone, and my life is way too complicated for you.” I tried to be nice. “You deserve better than someone like me. My life is and always will be about the military.”
“Ty, you don’t date, and seriously, that’s a rejection if I’ve ever heard one.” She chuckled. “But okay.” She went to leave, but something bothered me, so I hooked her arm.
“How did you and Rivera meet?”
“We were here having drinks, and he approached me. Well, he and his buddies. One of them was a real cocky ass, but Don was nice. He asked a lot of questions, but he made it seem like he and my cousin were close.”
“They’re not, believe me,” I hissed. “Did he ever say anything about Brown?”
“Not really, but his cocky-ass friend kept trying to show off. He was doing anything to get my attention. He bragged like he was God’s gift to the Army.” She thought for a second. “He was really nasty to one of the other guys, too, named Duncan?”
“Dustin?”
“Yeah, that was it. Every chance he got, he made fun of him. I kinda felt sorry for him.”
“What was Rivera’s reaction to it all?”
“He ignored the whole thing. He was focused more on me. He honestly seemed nice.” She sighed.
“Trust me, he’s not, and they were playing you. Promise me you’ll stay away.”
“I will.” She leaned in for a hug. “Thanks for caring about me.”
I patted her back in a friendly way, but when she glued herself to my body, I pulled back.
“Okay, I have to go, and you and your friends need to hit up a different bar.” I eyed her in what I hoped was a parental way. “So, at least for now, stay away from here, right?”
“I will.” She reached up and touched my face tenderly. She really was sweet. But I gave her a little push toward her friends, and she laughed at me over her shoulder as she left.
She reminded me a bit of Demi. She knew exactly what she was doing, but she was kindhearted.
I heard Ivy’s voice and turned to find her talking to a guy at the bar. I made my way toward her, but when she saw me, she slipped off the bar stool, said goodbye, and met me. She handed me a piece of paper.
“Friend of yours?” I glanced at the guy, who watched us as we walked away.
“No, I was just waiting for you to finish up talking to your friends.” She pointed to the paper. “These are a few more soldiers we should talk to, and I think I have an idea of how we can do this without being obvious.”
“Great.” I glanced at the paper again. “I know a few of ’em, so we’ll have to play it carefully.” I tucked it away and took her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah, I’m ready to leave.”
Once outside in the cool night air, I shifted gears from watching for Hill to watching for Ben Oliver. I hailed a cab, and we settled in the back while the driver took us back to the hotel. Ivy suddenly put her phone to her ear and mouthed Doc Roberts, then she turned away to look out the window as she spoke quietly, leaving me to my thoughts.
The lobby of the hotel was quiet, and she pointed to the cart at the edge of the bar and poured herself a glass of water as she ended her call.
“Sorry about that.” She sipped the lemon water. “He wanted to hear how Mom is.”
“Is your mom his sister?”
“Yeah, but he’s really more like a father to me than an uncle.” I nodded and looked over at the few people who hung out near the bar.
“Did Pam say anything else after I left?” I followed as she made her way toward the elevator.
