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“I want to talk to him.”
Knowing there was no point in urging Lia to return to the Jeep to wait for him, Kaden crossed the front yard toward the boy. At the moment, Cord was distracted as he glared at the black car backing down the street. Good. It made it simple to pretend this was nothing more than a chance encounter.
The snow crunched loud enough to attract the boy’s attention as Kaden passed along the sidewalk. On cue, Cord rushed to stand directly in his path.
“Dude,” he breathed, a puff of mist forming in the frigid air. “You’re Kaden Vaughn.”
“I am.”
“Awesome.” The boy bounced from foot to foot, unable to contain his excitement. “I’m a huge fan. When you flipped your bike over that fountain in Vegas . . .” His words trailed away as if he was too overwhelmed to speak. “Man. Epic.”
The jump had been arranged to celebrate the opening of Money Makers as well as a spectacular ending to his career as a stuntman. It’d been one of his biggest, most elaborate jumps, and when it was over, Kaden had accepted that he was well and truly done with the surge of adrenaline and the screaming crowds that had once driven him.
He’d reached the age when he didn’t want to face death on a daily basis.
Still, he was willing to use his fame from the event to get Cord chatting.
“Thanks. A lot of people worked to make the stunt a success.”
“Just you on the bike, though.” The teenager stuck out his hand in an awkward motion. “I’m Cord, by the way. Cord Walsh.”
“Cord.” Kaden shook the offered hand, lifting his brow, as if surprised by the name. “Oh right. I think Wayne Neilson mentioned you when he was telling me about finding the skeleton near the railroad tracks.”
“Crazy, right?”
“You were the one to find it?”
“Yep.” The boy coughed, shifting from foot to foot. He looked nervous. Was it because he was still bothered by finding the skeleton? Or was it because he was talking to a famous television star? “We were sledding down the hill when Drew blasted through a patch of thornbushes. I thought he screamed because he was hurt. It wasn’t until I ran down there that I saw the bones.”
Kaden nodded, as if fascinated by the story. “Tell me about them.”
“Just bones, man.” He forced a shaky laugh. “And a skull staring up at us without any eyes. Creepy.”
“Did it have on clothes?”
“Oh, yeah. It did. A leather jacket. Everything else had just . . .” Cord waved his hands as if there’d been a tiny explosion. “Poof.”
Kaden studied the boy. Cord was trying to act casual, but there was a brittle tension just beneath the surface. Apart of Kaden knew he should walk away. It didn’t matter that the kid was eighteen and legally an adult. It felt like he was manipulating him.
Then again, if there was someone out there willing to hurt, and even murder, to keep their secrets, how could he not do whatever was necessary to get the answers? Cord might very well be in danger.
“And there was nothing else laying around the area?”
“I didn’t really look. Drew went back down with Wayne, but I’d seen enough.” Cord shuddered, his face paling at the memory. “I could show you where we found the bones, but I doubt there’s anything left behind.”
“No. That’s okay.” Kaden conceded. If Cord had any information about the skeleton, he wasn’t going to share. Time to try a different tactic. “I was just curious.”
“Is that why you’re in town?”
Kaden flashed a meaningless smile. “It’s personal reasons.”
“Oh.” A hint of curiosity rippled over the boy’s face. “Okay.”
“Nice to meet you, Cord.” With a nod, Kaden stepped forward, as if he intended to continue down the sidewalk, only to abruptly halt. “Oh. I almost forgot. I found this.” Reaching into the pocket of his coat, Kaden pulled out the pocketknife and held it toward the boy. “Maybe you’ll recognize it so I can return it to its owner.”
Cord grabbed the knife out of his hand before Kaden could stop him, holding it up as he studied the faux wood handle. “This is Drew’s.”
Kaden narrowed his eyes. He’d expected Cord to deny any knowledge of the knife. Instead, he’d quickly identified it. Too quickly?
