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Decker
Once I’d caught my breath after Mila’s announcement that she was going “home” and wanted to forget about everything in Texas—including me, evidently—I tried to unscramble the thoughts racing through my head.
It hadn’t occurred to me that she’d up and leave so quickly, particularly since I’d hoped to talk her into never going back.
Setting that aside, my first priority had to be Mila’s safety. If she returned to Boston now, the only way I could protect her would be to go with her.
It wouldn’t be completely out of the question. I could still work this investigation from there, especially since Rile, Edge, and Grinder were here.
“I’ll go with you.”
“What? No! Now you sound just like Adler.”
Jesus, this woman was giving me some mighty swift kicks to the gut. I walked over and boxed her in between the kitchen counter and me. “First of all, I am nothing like Adler.”
She looked down at the floor rather than at me. “I know you’re not.”
“Second, you may want to walk away from what’s happened in the last week of your life, rewind the clock, but that doesn’t mean you can. Whether you want to face the reality of your situation or not, you’re in danger. Someone killed your sister. Whoever that person is, was looking for something, and until they find it, they’re going to keep looking.”
“I don’t have what they’re looking for.”
“Are you sure? And, do you think it’ll matter? Maybe Sybil didn’t have it either.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. As much as I didn’t want to turn my attention away from Mila, there were too many irons in the fire for me to continue ignoring calls. I pulled it out and saw a text from Edge.
Headed toward Austin.
Jesus. What was Adler up to now?
“Call Adler,” I said, setting my phone down on the counter.
“Why?”
“Because enough time has passed without any word from him.”
“What should I say?”
“Ask him where he is.” I doubted Adler would answer Mila’s call, but it was worth a shot. “If he says he’s still in Texas, tell him you want to meet.” It was a long shot, but if the man was headed to confront Judd—or worse—maybe we could waylay him.
Mila’s eyes opened wide.
“You won’t be alone.”
She nodded and pulled her phone out of her bag. I stood close so I could hear the conversation if Adler answered.
“Mila? Where are you?” Adler said before I even heard the phone ring on the other end. I nodded when Mila looked at me.
“I’m at King-Alexander Ranch. Where are you? I didn’t hear anything from you.”
“I’m back in Boston, Mila. I went to Bluebell Creek. You never answered my calls or texts, so what choice did I have?”
Shit, I swore silently. So much for waylaying him.
“I didn’t get any messages from you, Adler.”
“Right. You’ve been pushing me away for years, and yet you practically fell into a stranger’s arms. Maybe you should ask him about my messages. My guess is he deleted them before you saw them.”
I quickly wrote something on a piece of paper and pointed to it. When Mila raised her eyebrows, I nodded.
