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“No,” Bryan said. “I just remember he was a customer, not a co-worker. I’d say ask one of the other staff members at the restaurant, but I think the restaurant changed names and ownership in the past fifteen years. I doubt the same people work there.”
“Thank you, Bryan,” Rachel said. “If you think of anything else, you have my number.”
“I hope you find who did this,” Bryan said. “I think about Christy every time I look at my daughter. Thankfully, my wife understands. Christy was my first love. She’ll always have a special place in my heart. Don’t get me wrong…I love Lisa very much and feel blessed to have her as my life partner. However, Christy was an amazing woman and deserved to have a long and beautiful life. I hope you get the guy who killed her. I don’t think they did enough fifteen years ago.”
“We’ll do our best,” Rachel promised and ended the call.
“I’m heading back to Fool’s Gold,” Griff said.
“Good. I want to check something at my apartment.”
“About your apartment…” Griff looked her way for a second and then returned his attention to the busy road ahead. “I think you need to stay somewhere else until we can get the locks rekeyed.”
She grinned. “I can always go old-school and jam a chair under the door handle. And I have a bodyguard protecting me. What more do I need?”
Griff’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We need to pay a visit to Lost Valley Ranch, where the Brotherhood Protectors offices are. I’d like to see what we have available that could make our job easier.”
“After we go to my apartment, we can stop by the hardware store to buy new locks for my door. After that, we can head out to Lost Valley Ranch,” Rachel’s eyebrows rose. “Sound like a plan?”
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
Griff drove through Ute Pass, following the curvy road past towering rock walls. As they neared Fool’s Gold, the terrain smoothed into rolling hills with the incredible backdrop of fourteen-thousand-foot peaks topped with caps of snow.
“I see why Lindsay loved it here so much.” Rachel stared at the amazing scenery, imagining her sister’s delight at the beauty all around. “It’s stunning.”
“Yes, it is,” Griff said. “I wasn’t sure I would stay when I promised to come here for the interview.”
“I quit my job in San Diego to come here. Not for the view, but to keep up the search for my sister’s killer alive.”
He slowed to turn off Main Street, heading north toward Rachel’s apartment complex. “But now that you’re here, will you ever return to California and your career as a highway patrol officer?”
“I hadn’t thought past the investigation.” Her brow dented. “But yes. I think I will stay. There’s so much to do here, and most of it is outdoors. Besides, Sheriff Faulkner needs me.”
Griff chuckled. “And half a dozen more deputies.”
“What about you?” Rachel faced him and cocked an eyebrow. “Are you out of here when the job is done? Or will you stay working for Brotherhood Protectors?”
“Like you, I haven’t given it much thought. I want all my focus to be on keeping you safe.” He laid his hand on the console, palm up.
Rachel laid her hand across his, and he closed his fingers around hers. She liked how warm and strong his fingers were and imagined how they’d feel roaming over every inch of her body.
Heat rose from low in her belly, up her torso through her breasts and shot up her neck into her cheeks. Yeah, she’d been in a long, dry spell for a while, not interested in sex just for sex until she’d met Griff.
Now, she wanted all the sex, over and over. Not with some random guy. She wanted Griff.
And with her desire mounting, so too did her guilt. She shouldn’t fixate on her own needs. She should be solely focused on finding her sister’s killer. The guy had stolen her life yet was living his own, free from consequences.
Tamping down the heat at her core, she squared her shoulders.
When Griff pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, Rachel was once again in control of her thoughts, actions focused. She was out of the truck heading for her unit before Griff could shift into park and follow.
He caught up quickly, his long strides eating the distance between them. “I guess I’m going to have to run to keep up with you.”
“I want this to be over. It’s been six months since Lindsay’s death. Fifteen years since Christy’s. It’s been long enough.” She jammed her key into the lock and twisted. “I don’t know why I even locked the door. It didn’t slow him down one damned bit.” Her anger burned so hotly that her hands shook as she pushed open the door. “I just want to get my hands on him and make him pay for what he did.”
“Hey.” Griff laid his hands gently on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “We’re going to get him. Between your exceptional investigative skills and all the people working to see this through, it’s going to happen.”
“I don’t want my sister’s case to be like Christy’s.” She looked up into his eyes, her heart squeezing so hard inside her chest she could barely breathe. “Fifteen years,” she whispered. “Her parents have suffered for fifteen years.”
