Page 46 of Alec’s Dream

He’d done that once—backed off and gave her what she wanted and look how that turned out. Macy bloodied and beaten, that was how.

It would not happen again.

“You’ve already said that. I listened and this happened.” He dipped his chin. “Now we do it my way.”

“Alec—”

He didn’t hear the rest of Macy’s argument because he was already on the move. He easily found Jonny among the deputies that milled about in the living room.

“Did she identify her attacker?” Alec asked, not bothering with niceties.

“She did.”

“You gonna tell me who?”

“Not sure.”

Alec’s eyes narrowed on his friend and his anger spiked.

“Why’s that, Jonny?”

“Because you look like you’re losing the last threads of your control. I tell you and you go apeshit, my investigation and arrest will be fucked.”

“Have I ever fucked you over before?”

The answer to that was no. Gemini Group had worked with the sheriff’s department several times as consultants. And never had Alec flubbed up an investigation.

“No. But you’ve also never cared about the victim the way you do for Macy.”

Did he care about Macy? Yes. He’d wanted to explore the off-the-charts chemistry they had. But stupidly he’d allowed fear of future—of the unknown—override what he knew: he wanted Macy.

But right then with Macy’s face looking like someone used it as a punching bag, and Rory vomiting, whether for a stomach bug or the trauma of the day, it wasn’t the time to think about it.

“We got two options. The first, you save me some time and tell me. The second is, you waste time while I investigate. Either way, I’ll find out.”

“Right, but option two buys me enough time to have him behind bars before you go gonzo on the motherfucker and I have to find a way to cover your ass for attempted murder.”

Christ, Jonny was annoying the fuck out of him with these stupid games.

“Where’s Doug?” Alec asked deciding on a different approach.

“He called Macy this morning and told her he was going out of town for a while. She called me immediately because Doug skipping town is never a good thing. I went by his place as his brother, not an officer, and let myself in. He’s not there. He also packed and left in a hurry.”

No, that was not good. Dickhead Doug had bought himself trouble and now he was running.

“Did she tell you her friend Becky Keene called her Saturday night and told her Josh Malone was at Doug’s house? And just to add, Caleb and Rory were there. It was his weekend.”

Jonny’s features tightened and Alec’s whole body went on alert.

“I pulled Josh Malone’s sheet,” Alec told Jonny. “I also did some digging. He and Doug are tight. Gambling buddies. Josh is also known to be a prick when he’s owed money. Word is he’d fuck over his own blood if they went in the hole and couldn’t pay him back on time.”

“Yep,” Jonny confirmed. “Josh and Doug go way back. The guy’s a fucking dick. Back in the day, he started with piddly shit betting on football and baseball with his buddies. Once he figured out there was money to be made, he expanded. Kept the sportsbook and let outsiders put down bets. Then he started card games. They used to be once a month. Now they’re weekly.”

“You’re leaving out the loans,” Alec reminded him. “More money to be earned in interest.”

“There’s that, too,” Jonny sighed.

Alec’s pulse pounded as the pieces started to click into place.