Page 91 of It Runs in the Family

“Because my contact said there was a woman named Selena involved, and your cousin fits the description.”

“What exactly are they involved in?”

He drew in a breath. “I need you to keep this to yourself, Iris.” He gave me a piercing look. “Can you do that?”

“Who am I gonna tell?”

“Your cousins.”

“I’m not gonna tell them,” I said. “They think I’m wasting my time, looking for Selena.”

“What about Garrett?”

I hesitated on that one. Depending on what Boone told me, there was a good chance Garrett would try to lock me in his house. “I won’t tell him either.”

“My contact says a cartel’s movin’ into the area.”

Stella had been right. Suck on that, Cal Pruett. But then his words sank in.

“Selena’s sleeping with a man in a cartel?”

He grimaced. “That’s what I heard.”

“What’s your brother’s part in it?” I gasped. “Is he the one she’s involved with?”

“No,” he said with a half laugh. “Cody’s a kid. Twenty-three. He’s low-level. Your cousin is supposedly mixed up with someone higher up.”

Selena was twenty-six, so not that much older, but still, she’d never been into younger men. “I think I know who she’s with.”

His eyes widened. “You know who he is?”

“I don’t know his name, and I’m not positive it was him, but I’d bet money on it.”

“How do you know him?”

Crap. I should have thought this through. “He came into the convenience store where I worked.”

“Selena was with him?”

“No.” How was I going to explain this? “He came in about one a.m., and the minute he walked in, he gave me this super-creepy vibe. Honestly, he scared me, and I’ve never been that scared in the three years I worked there. He scared me enough that I pulled up Garrett’s number on my phone about to call him in case something happened to me, then I realized hitting the panic button would get help faster.”

Boone’s body tensed. “Did he threaten you?”

“No…” Was it okay to tell a little white lie to a cop? “He grabbed a case of beer and some chips and checked out. He gave me a twenty and told me to keep the change because I reminded him of his girlfriend … he said I looked like her.” I turned to look at him. “People say we look a lot alike.”

He was silent, keeping his eyes on the road.

“He was medium height, had black hair, and a mean look in his dark eyes,” I said. “Do you know who he is?”

He shook his head. “I don’t.”

“Garrett came by the next night and got a copy of the video footage. I have a photo of him on my phone.”

He shot me a questioning look. “Can you show me once we get to the coffee place?”

“Yeah. Now your turn. What else do you know?”

“That’s it.”