Page 115 of Kylie

“Really?”

I nodded. “I’m not all that fond of bein’ alone right now.”

He stared and I could tell he wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“I’m sure you know what happened to me.”

“I’ve got the case details,” he said. “So, yeah. I’ve got the gist in that context.”

“But you want to hear my version? To see if it’ll help your case?”

He shook his head adamantly. “No. No, that’s not… I didn’t come by to hear your horror story, Kylie. I swear it. I … shit, I am totally screwin’ this up.”

Yeah, he was definitely adorable. Which was an odd way to describe such a big man. And Archer Halligan was huge. Hell, he made Travis appear small and that was saying something.

“Well, if you don’t want to get details to help the case, maybe you could tell me how it’s goin’.”

Archer’s expression smoothed out. “Not as well as we want it to.”

“You haven’t found Cicily Rose?”

He looked sincerely apologetic as he shook his head.

“You can’t find Martin, either, can you?”

“Yes, and no. We know where he is, but…”

“You can tell me. I’m not nearly as fragile as I look.”

Archer stared at me for a moment and I saw the instant it clicked with him. Whatever came out of his mouth from this point forward would be the truth.

“Martin Calloway’s very … well-insulated is a good way to describe it. Kieran’s been workin’ to take him down for a while, but even with all he did to you, the guy’s untouchable. We’re choosing to keep our distance until we find where he’s keeping Cicily Rose.”

I didn’t like hearing that, but I had expected no less.

“Do you have any idea where she might be?” I prompted.

“Not yet.”

“But you’re still lookin’?”

“It’s the only case that Atticus and I are workin’ right now.”

I peered past him, glancing at the houses, thinking about all the people who’d been completely oblivious to what I’d been going through when they were living their normal, routine lives.

“I want to help,” I told Archer, my gaze swinging to him. “I want to help you find Cicily Rose.”

His eyebrows slowly rose toward his hairline.

“I’m not sayin’ I want to head over to HQ and pull up a chair.” I inhaled slowly, exhaled deeply. “But maybe if we talk about it, you might hear somethin’ that’ll help you figure it out.”

“You sure about that?”

I shrugged. “Are you sure you wanna hear it? It’s not a fun story.”

Archer stared back at me, and I could practically see the wheels turning. But what he said next was not at all what I expected.

“How about we talk … like friends. And when you trust me with your story, you can share it. And if you never want to, I’m okay with that, too.”