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She hesitated, and that told me so much.
I wasn’t totally surprised when she said, “I don’t trust Jordan and Zellman with Aspen.”
She hung up and the dread that’d been building since seeing her dad’s face pinned on this guy’s wall just doubled. Bren was choosing to step back, something Bren rarely did. The last time she did it willingly was the night she told me she wanted to be a normal high school senior for a night, not chasing after her drug-dealer ex.
Bren didn’t step back because she was a coward. She stepped back because of the unnecessary pain it’d bring, and I took a look, a good long look, at this guy as I parked and got out of my own vehicle.
He was leaning his shoulder against his ride, arms crossed over his chest, and he was in full bounty hunting apparel. Vest on. All their weapons they wore. His badge hanging around his neck. He had sunglasses on but flipped them up as I came around the back of my truck.
He nodded to me. “I clocked you watching me the other night. Knew you were smart. The others,” he waved a hand in the air, “they listen to you. All of them. You can tell, if you really watch. Bren, she relies on you. She smiles quicker, breathes easier when you’re near her. The others, they do the same. They’re a bit more guarded, then you come back and they all just relax. And you’re the leader. Noticed that, too, from the other night. Could tell because they all had to see you if they were wondering something. Joking. Telling stories. They don’t look at you in those moments, but the second another person or situation or a call came through and they were unsure, all of them checked in with you. A look. A question. Or a hand motion, like a wave or something. I was military, was in a special unit. I learned to read people in little motions that no one else even detects. I can learn a lot that way. I learned a lot that night you were in my place.”
“Yeah.” Fine. He wanted me to know he knew me. I’d show him me. “Me too. I looked up the records. You are the sole owner of both businesses, the bowling alley and the bounty hunting business, but you let the old couple be the beard. You do that for them? Is it a matter of pride, or you enjoy the cover? Other things I learned by watching you, you’re smart. Case in point, this entire conversation, but you’re a workaholic, hence why you were there that late at night still doing work. That paperwork wasn’t for the bowling alley. You were relaxed in the bowling alley. You enjoyed being in there, but you got tense when you walked into the other offices. That’s the work you were doing, since you got tense as soon as you picked up your pen. And if you were doing that paperwork alone, that means you sent the rest home. So you treat them good.”
A smile flared for a second. “You got that because I was doing paperwork alone?”
“That and Trundle offered to sneak us booze, but we couldn’t tell you. I watched him. He wasn’t really worried that you’d notice or even care. He poured Jordan a beer a couple times in front of you, and you didn’t blink an eye. That means you trust him.”
His smile fell. “That kid did that?”
I nodded.
He looked away, cursing. “He’s Hawk’s little brother. He’s also like my little brother, that punk.” He shook his head, his hand rubbing between his eyes for a moment. Then, as if clearing his mind, he refocused on me. A cloud seemed to settle over him, making the bags under his eyes a little more pronounced. “You did good. I almost would’ve not caught it, with the whole dropping Justin’s key card in the back, except that Justin never uses that door. That was your tell.”
I closed my eyes. Damn.
“After that, I went to the security cameras, and you know what I saw. Took me a bit to figure out who it was. You, and I’m assuming Bren was the other, you both were masked. Kept your heads down. Stayed in the shadows. I only really got you on camera a few times. Can see the flashlights, but it was so dark in there, that’s mostly it. The flashlight, your hands holding the lights, and your shapes every now and then. Saw the flashes, so I’m assuming you were both taking pictures.” His eyes got hard. “Pictures that I’ll want back, by the way.” Then he drew in a breath and waited a beat, glancing off a moment. “The only thing, Bren doesn’t know where the key to get into the offices was kept. That’s what tricked me up a bit until I remembered that I put the key there last night, and you were walking back from the bathroom. That was the only way you could’ve known, and you were good. I had no clue you saw me. Must’ve seen me the second you cleared the door. Probably happened in a split second.”
