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Hunter scrubbed his hand over his face. “This is so fucked up. Does that mean he knew Morgan before he met you and Blayze?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “That’s the part I can’t figure out. But I fucking know that Rich Bradford didn’t just happen to stumble into our lives.”
“Rich?” The question came from Rose, who now stood next to Hunter.
I threw the bag over my shoulder. “That’s his name. Rich Bradford. He likes to be called by his last name.”
She looked away and stared at nothing as if in thought, then her gaze snapped back to me. “Morgan told me about some weird guy she met at a frat party, Halloween of my freshman year. She said he was dressed in a really cool costume, but his face was painted so she couldn’t see what he looked like. He asked her to dance, then asked her for a kiss. She thought it would be a harmless peck, but he was…um…he pulled her close…and she said he was aroused. She shoved him away, then luckily her best friend showed up and they left. I think she only told me the story because it creeped her out so much. But she warned me to be wary around guys I didn’t know. She happened to mention his name was Rich.”
Hunter and I looked at each other. “There’s your connection,” he said. “He knew her from college.”
The room felt like it tilted. “There’s no way it could be the same guy. All these years later?”
Hunter gave me a look. “Just like there was no way it could be Bradford less than fifteen minutes ago?”
My phone buzzed with a notification. Nox was here. “I need to go. Hunter, make sure no one tries to follow me.”
“Why can’t I go with you?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Because it’s too dangerous.”
“Do you even know where to look?” Rose asked.
I knew if I told them Nox had already found records for a certain purchase Bradford made a year ago, everyone would go swarming after me with guns blazing, including the police. There was no way I was going to risk Morgan’s life like that.
“No. But I’m going to find her and bring her home before the fucking sun comes up.”
Pushing past them both, I made my way through the apartment.
“Ryan? Ryan!” Detective Billings called out.
Ignoring her, I gave Blayze a nod and started out the front door and down the steps. Before I climbed into Nox’s truck, Detective Billings called out my name once more.
Stopping, I turned to look at her. “I can’t wait around anymore. I need to find her.”
Her eyes went to Nox. “Listen, I don’t even want to know who this guy is, but it’s pretty damn clear he has some kind of military background. What I do need to know is that you’re not going to do anything illegal.”
With an impatient shake of my head, I said, “We won’t do anything illegal.”
“Then if you know where she is, why won’t you tell me?”
I prayed that the next words out of my mouth would sound convincing. “We don’t know. Listen, if I find anything out, I’ll call you. I won’t do anything illegal, but I can’t promise I won’t kill him the moment I see him.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Uh, murder is illegal. Why would you tell me that?”
“Tell you what?” I climbed into the truck, but she grabbed the door before I could shut it.
“You will let me know if you find anything, right?”
“Of course I will.”
She looked over at Nox. “If you need someone to have your back, just call.”
Nox nodded.
Billings looked back at me and exhaled. “If I discover where she is, I’m heading out. Even though I have a feeling you’re already heading there now.”
Nox leaned over me to talk to the detective. “Sirens come racing in, and you know damn well what’ll happen.”
All she did was give him a single nod.
Before I shut the door, I promised, “I’ll text you.”
Billings shook her head, turned, and walked back to her car. Nox put his truck in drive, and we pulled out.
“What did you find out?” I asked.
“Like I told you, he bought a cabin right on the outskirts of town a little over a year ago. It used to be a rental. Looks like he stayed there several times before he purchased it from the couple who owned it. Talked to the woman briefly. She said whenever he was in town the year prior, he’d stayed there. When he made them an offer they couldn’t refuse, they sold it to him.”
“Fucking bastard. He must have had this planned for at least a year.”
“Where the fuck is he getting his money?” Nox asked. “Chefs get paid shit wages.”
“His dad. Or maybe his paternal grandparents. He mentioned his dad’s parents both came from money. The grandfather’s family hit it big in the railroad industry, and the grandmother’s in oil. His grandparents live here, and his folks are in Billings.”
