“Auntie texted him Friday, but he didn’t reply, so she called him yesterday. He didn’t answer and he didn’t call her back. Can you check on him?”
“What about Kayleen?”
“Auntie doesn’t have her number. The Alphabet serial killer has everyone on edge.”
“Kurt’s safe,” Rebel said. “The killer’s going after young women.”
“Even so, they’d feel better if you checked on him.”
“I’ll stop by this morning.” He ended the call, bit into the buttered toast.
“Everything okay?” Brit asked.
“Looks like you’re not the only one with an overprotective fam,” he said. “No one’s heard from my cousin in a coupla days. I’m gonna swing by his house.”
“Where does he live?”
“Arlington,” he replied. “Come with me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you like hangin’ with me.” He finished his orange juice. “Seriously, the fam doesn’t like his fiancée. You’re a good judge of character. Meet her, lemme know what you think.”
“How do you know I’m a good judge of character?”
He flashed her a smile. “You’re hanging with me, aren’t you?”
This time, she smiled back. “I was brought here against my will.”
“Admit it, you love it.”
“A rogue agentandcocky. You just keep on getting better and better.” While sarcasm dripped from her words, the fire in her eyes told him what he needed to know.
She was there because she wanted to be.
“What doyouthink of her?” Brit asked.
“Kayleen runs hot and cold,” he replied. “The last time I saw her, she kinda bit his head off, but she makes Kurt happy.”
When they finished eating, Rebel said, “I gotta grab my weapon.”
In his bedroom, he pulled his gun belt from his walk-in closet and slipped his Glock inside.
Movement caught his eye. Brit stood in the doorway. “Why are you armed?”
“I’m doing a welfare check, plus I’m usually armed.”
After shrugging into their coats, he shouldered her backpack, and they left in her SUV. The cold rain hadn’t let up as he drove to Arlington, then made his way into Kurt’s neighborhood.
“Does your cousin have roommates?” she asked.
“Kayleen moved in with him.”
Rebel pulled to a stop in front of Kurt’s. From the front, the two-story bungalow looked undisturbed.
He knocked on the front door. Nothing. He called Kurt. No answer.
“I think I hear his phone ringing inside,” Brit said. “Do you have a key?”
