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“That’s all on me. I should have warned you. I forget how intimidating they all can be. I should have told you that Logan and his friends are all former Navy SEALs. They can be a bit daunting to come up to at first, but I promise you they’re the nicest and sweetest guys you’ve ever met.”
“They certainly didn’t look it,” I admitted.
“Brody is very protective of everyone he cares about. I’m honestly not sure why he stood and looked at you that way. I’ve never seen him do that to a woman. I hope he didn’t scare you too much.”
I didn’t know how to tell Amber it wasn’t that he scared me; he did something else entirely different when I saw him. It was the same when I met him years ago. There was an instant need, an attraction to him that I had only felt towards him. I wasn’t scared by the man at all. I wanted to walk up to him, throw my arms and legs around him, and see if he could take me up against the nearest wall, something I never had done or would ever think of doing with anyone but Brody.
It didn’t help that the look that he was giving me made me think it was the last thing that he wanted to do with me. I had thought the attraction, that pull I felt towards him, would have dissipated after all these years, but I had been very wrong. Just like I had been wrong to come and talk to him.
“You tell me they’re all intimidating in one sentence and then ask if Brody scared me off?” I was worried she had seen more in my look and my reaction than I wanted her to see.
“Yeah. I wanted to know if it was him that had you running for the door or what you were going to tell them?” Amber asked.
“A little bit of both,” I admitted, and a short laugh came out of my mouth.
“I get it. This isn’t what you normally do. It wasn’t what you thought you were going to be doing, but I admire that you are. It’s a big step for you to come and talk to them. Your boss didn’t believe you, and you don’t think anyone else would. It was good of you to even talk to me. I can understand that you didn’t think you were going to be talking to three guys who look like they could crush a tank with their bare hands.”
“Is that what they do for fun on the weekends?”
“Usually just small cars, and only if they’re bored,” Amber said with a smile.
Her comment made me feel a little bit better, and she was trying to reassure me. I didn’t know how to tell her it was more the man and talking to him that scared me, not the information I had. Her comment about my boss not believing me just reminded me that I was on a fool's errand.
“This is insane. They aren’t going to believe me. I hardly believe myself. I’m sure I’m just wasting your time and theirs.” I turned and walked away from Amber, but I didn’t get two steps before she put her hand on my arm and stopped me.
“Can we be the judge of that? I don’t think you would have come to me if you didn’t think you had something. I think you do. Just because your boss is too busy or thinks you’re too small-minded to know what you have, that’s her problem, not yours.”
“She has a lot more experience in this than I do. What if she’s right and Blackwell is just pulling my leg to try and get a reduced sentence?”
“He wouldn’t be the first nor the last. There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to look into it. Eric has been trying to get information on his sister’s death for years now. Any information you can give him would be helpful.”
“Is he going to go and talk to Blackwell himself? I don’t think that would be wise,” I said.
“Nor do I. I wouldn’t think Brody or Logan would allow him to do it alone.”
“That comment doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“I was joking. Sorry. Once you get to know them, you will understand where my sense of humor is coming from. They’re a lot when you first meet them, but I think once you get to know them, you will see they are kind, reasonable, and funny guys, especially Brody.”
“Can’t you just tell them what I told you?” I asked.
“They’re going to have questions. Eric will probably want to bring in Sean, the guy who he’s using to look into Lauren’s death, to ask you some questions too.”
“Great, lots of questions I don’t have an answer to.” I looked to the sky. It was late, and I knew I should be getting home. I had a busy day at work the next day, and I liked to get home and settle in for the night.
“You may or may not. It doesn’t hurt for them to ask or you to tell them what you know. Sean is very good at what he does, and he might know the right questions to ask Blackwell so we can get the right answers. He might know how to get your boss on board so we can get those answers.”
“It still seems like a long shot.”
“Possibly. But we won’t know until we try. I think you have something. I think the guys will too. If I’m wrong, I’ll buy you dinner.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
“Come on. You said you were new to the city. It’s always good to have friends. Have you made many since you came to town?”
I hadn’t. I had taken the job at Project Reform because I wanted to help people, and my sister had convinced me that New York City would be a great place to go. It fit into my five-year plan, and after a disastrous breakup, it seemed like a good idea to get a change of scenery. New York was certainly different from living in the suburbs outside of Oregon.
So far, the city has been too much for me to handle. It was enough for me to get to work in the morning and then go back home. I had gotten comfortable enough that I could go to the grocery store and do other small errands that I needed to. I had not ventured out and explored the city, nor had I made any friends.
