Page 11 of Condor’s Vow

Chapter 5

Clay and his team were working themselves day and night to try and find the killer and, in the process, had uncovered another victim who they believed to be victim zero. It had allowed them to create a timeline and piece together more information about the killer. Although it wasn’t enough for them to get a name.

The victims were different ages, men and women, nobody could determine a race or religious aspect, and none of the victims seemed to know each other that well, although three of them did have colleagues in common.

He was missing something; he could feel it. When he got time, they needed to go over all the statements again from the top. Perhaps he could get Omega to go through social media again to see if he could find links to and between the victims.

Clay had texted Hattie a few times needing to know how she was and to let her know he was thinking about her. He realized he could be coming across as a bit of a creeper, so he’d dialed it down a little, not wanting to scare her away. She was the first woman he’d liked in so long, and he could see this going somewhere. Where, he didn’t know, but this wasn’t just a quick fuck for fun. Whatever they were doing meant something, and he wanted to do things properly.

She had agreed to meet him at his friend’s horse farm where they could take the horses out and have a picnic. His friend, Henry, had actually been Reid’s friend first, but when he’d moved to San Antonio after falling in love, they had become friends too.

Clay wasn’t a Texan cowboy, but he could ride and was glad Hattie was up for it too. Chasing down the worst of humanity made him appreciate the little things in life more, and being outside was good for the soul.

He smiled when he saw her pull up, the pink fluffy dice hanging from her rearview mirror giving him a glimpse into her personality. He went to greet her, loving the smile on her face as she slid her cowboy hat on her head. Clay clenched his fist when he saw what she was wearing, knowing he was in trouble. Skintight denim jeans hugged her toned thighs, a short-sleeved red and white check shirt tied at her midriff, accentuating her amazing curves, and giving him just the hint of her smooth skin. Battered cowboy boots on her feet and her blonde hair wild around her shoulders completed her look.

She looked like every cowgirl fantasy he’d ever had and then some. He began to recite murder statistics in his head to stop his dick from getting hard at the vision she made. When she sauntered toward him with a look of desire on her face, before innocently licking her lips with nerves, he lost the battle and prayed his jeans were loose enough to hide his erection.

“Hey, cowboy.”

Clay took her hand and kissed her cheek in greeting, inhaling the scent of wildflowers and almost groaning with how perfect she was. He had zero chance of not fucking this up and jumping her like a horny teenager.

“You look absolutely breath-taking. I’m going to spend all day reminding myself that I’m not eighteen and am, in fact, a gentleman.”

Hattie laughed, and his jeans got impossibly tighter at the sound.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.”

He was wearing old jeans, a white vest, a blue chambray shirt with poppers instead of buttons, and old cowboy boots. Unlike hers though, his hat was new and looked it. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, I’ve been excited about this all week.”

“How was the rest of your week?” he asked as he made his way to where the hitched horses were ready to go. Henry had left everything they would need, and his wife had even done the picnic, insisting on it when he’d told them he had plans with a special lady.

She looked up at him, and he saw the tension bracket her mouth before she shook it off and smiled. “Okay, busy as ever, but I managed to start a bit of Christmas shopping early, which was good.”

“Christmas, wow. I haven’t even thought about that yet.”

Clay moved to help her mount her horse but stepped back when she managed with ease all on her own.

Hattie looked down on him, and he thought again how magnificent she was. Her body was petite but perfect in every way, perky tits that he couldn’t wait to get his hands on, a small waist, and full curvy hips that he imagined holding onto while he drove into her tight body. God, he was in deep, and he hadn’t even kissed her properly yet.

“You a Christmas Eve shopper, Clay?”

Clay mounted his own horse and grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

They walked for a while, talking about their week and the things that had happened. He told her a little about the case, leaving out the details as much as possible and she told him about some interesting injuries she’d seen come through the emergency department.

After about an hour they came to a spot overlooking a vast valley with a view of San Antonio in the far distance. There were a few trees for shade, and they decided to stop for some lunch.

Clay jumped off his bay and moved to help Hattie down, not because he thought she needed it, but because he wanted his hands on her and needed an excuse. He grasped her tiny waist in his hands and let her slide down his front. It was slightly risqué for a first date, but the heat in her eyes told him she wanted it too.

“You’re a distraction, Hattie.”

“A good one though?”

“Oh, yes, the best kind.”

He reluctantly let her go then and pulled the picnic from the saddlebags and set it up on a blanket that Cassie, Henry’s wife, had provided.