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Sawyer shook his head. “Not yet.”
“How badly was she injured?”
“Broken bones in her face and a few broken ribs.” Sawyer recalled what his father told him when he first arrived at the hospital. “Stitches in her lip and the back of her head.”
“Jesus Christ,” Kyler bit out.
Sawyer’s strength drained out of him; listing her injuries aloud made the situation even more real. He dropped down into a chair that was sitting up against the wall, loathing how helpless he felt.
Andrew’s firm hand squeezed Sawyer’s shoulder. “Take time off to be with your sister. I’ve informed your SWAT captain that you’re on short leave. Let’s start at two weeks. If you need more time, call me.”
Sawyer looked up at him and saw the empathy in his chief’s eyes. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”
Andrew nodded at Sawyer. After nodding to Kyler as well, he turned and strode down the hallway. To most, it might appear that, as a boss, Andrew possessed a kind heart, which he did—but there was more to it, Sawyer knew. “Was that your doing?” he asked Kyler.
Kyler gave a small smile. “I thought you’d rather be at the hospital than at work. My father agreed.”
“Thank you.”
“Please don’t thank me. It’s the least I could do.” He sat next to Sawyer, his arms resting on his knees. “But it’s certainly not enough. What else can I do?”
Sawyer stared off into space, not sure what to say. He finally shrugged. “Fuck, I don’t even know what to do. We need to take Ash’s statement. Then we can go from there.”
“What will you do if we don’t find him?”
Sawyer considered the question. His thoughts spun for a moment longer, and then everything settled in his mind. Purpose rose within him as he got up from his seat. “I’ll hunt the fucker down myself.”
—
I love him. I love him not.
People chattering and laughing among themselves funneled through the small coffee shop on the Las Vegas strip. The café was a charming nook of a place in between a five-star restaurant and a pharmacy. Nothing made any sense, but Chloe Nash thought that was the magic of the city. Whenever a space became available, something went in it, whether it made sense to put it there or not.
For as long as Chloe could remember she’d gone to the café, where singers and songwriters played at night. As she sipped her vanilla latte, embracing the warmth and inhaling the comforting hints of cinnamon sprinkled onto the foamy milk, she realized how much time had passed since she’d graduated from university.
Years ago she’d come here to drink coffee with her good friends, but that circle had dwindled. Two of her best friends had relocated for their jobs, Jenny to California and Erin to New York. Only one person she’d met from high school had stayed in Las Vegas.
She lowered the mug from her mouth, staring at the cutie across the table from her.
Josh had kept his baby face throughout the years. Now that he was twenty-eight years old, it made him even more attractive. In high school, Josh had been the football team’s quarterback. He had that all-American look, with handsome features. And he had a gentle heart.
But he’d become her life, and Chloe wasn’t sure she liked that.
The friends he made working as a lawyer for Henderson LLC became her friends, too. Chloe worked as a private investigator for Marshall Investigations, but she’d never made as many long-term acquaintances on her job as Josh did on his. Until a month ago that had never bothered her. Now she realized she was defined as part of a couple, Josh’s girlfriend.
Thinking of all this made her remember the night she’d met Sawyer Quinn. One meeting with him had changed her self-perception. His presence had awakened her in unique ways. He’d also made her question things she’d never before questioned—like her relationship with Josh.
“Chloe.”
She blinked, finding Josh frowning at her.
“Welcome back to the world of the living,” he grumbled, his chocolate-brown eyes narrowing. “Did you hear anything I said?”
“Sorry.” She placed her mug on the table. “I’m tired.”
The second the words left her lips she regretted them, as she noticed Josh’s eyes narrow further. “Did you go to the doctor, like I said you should, to get your blood work done?” he asked.
She nodded, running her fingers around the rim of her mug. The excuse about being tired had run its course, she realized. “Yeah, I did. My tests came back fine.”
