Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“But if he’s causing you issues, he’s probably making more work for you,” Eli pointed out.
“Yeah, he is. Right. Back to this drug. Why are you telling me? So I can keep an eye out? That hardly warrants a personal visit from you guys.”
“Well, we’re talking to a few different county sheriffs in the area about this.” Eli brought out his laptop and connected it to the projector, showing Jake a map of Texas. “These are all the cases we’ve discovered so far.”
They stared at the map for a moment.
“From this, it seems you should be everywhere else but around here. There’ve been no cases close to Haven or surrounding counties?” Jake asked.
“Doesn’t that seem odd to you?” Kellan asked.
“What are you trying to say?” Jake frowned. “Perhaps we’re just good at keeping drugs out of our town.”
“Or maybe the production of this drug is happening here or the surrounding area,” Eli pointed out.
“That seems ridiculous. Why would you think the drug is even being manufactured in Texas? Let alone here? Isn’t it more likely to be imported?” Jake asked.
Eli shook his head. “We’ve got no reports of this drug being manufactured south of the border or from Asia. In fact we’ve got no reports of this drug being in circulation anywhere other than Texas.”
Jake’s face tightened. Finally, he was getting it. It seemed like this drug was being made locally. And that Haven or somewhere near it could be the epicentre of production.
“This is still speculation,” Jake said.
“Right. Which is why we’re just going to do some quiet observing in the area while we’re helping out family,” Eli said.
The family part was a bit of a cover now. They were definitely on this case. Especially as there was a lot of suspicion around some high-profile deaths.
There was a knock on the door and Eleanor popped her head in. “Jake, Arabella Bridges is here to talk to you.”
Eli frowned and shared a look with Kellan. His brother was trying hard not to show any interest, but he could see it in his face.
Eli had planned to go check on Arabella after this. He hadn’t felt good about how the other night had ended and he wanted to make sure she was all right.
He should have called her but he’d been pulled into meeting after meeting. And he’d decided it was better to talk to her in person.
He hated that they’d upset her. And he knew Kellan felt the same even though he hadn’t said anything. Just because his brother didn’t talk about what he was feeling didn’t mean he didn’t feel anything.
Their father had loved doing whatever he had to in order to get a reaction from Kellan. No matter what that reaction was.
“What does Arabella want?” Eli asked.
“I’m sure I’ll find out in a minute,” Jake replied. “Can you tell her to come in, please, Eleanor.”
“Sure thing. See Deputy Dummy has left.”
Jake sighed. “You can’t call him that.”
“I’m just calling it like I see it.” She disappeared and Jake looked at them both. “Thanks for this, I’ll let you know if I spot anything or hear about this drug.”
Eli nodded.
But neither he nor his brother moved. If Arabella had something to talk to Jake about they wanted to hear what it was.
Arabella walked in and stilled as she saw them both. A wary look filled her face, which killed him.
“I’m sorry,” she said coolly. “I didn’t realize you were busy.”
It was clear that she was uncomfortable. Whenever she felt out of her depth, she reverted to that haughty mask. The cool tone. The one that tried to keep people at arm’s length.
But Eli wasn’t having it.
And neither was Kellan, apparently. He stepped in front of the door, closing it and blocking her way.
“Excuse me,” she said to him, her gaze on his chest.
“No.”
“What?” She glanced up at Kellan, then away. Next to her, Horse let out a low bark. It was like he could sense how she was feeling and wanted to back her up.
“You’re not interrupting anything,” Eli told her. “Come in and tell us what’s going on. Is something wrong? Are you all right?”
She spun and glared at him. But her gaze didn’t meet his and he hated that.
“I’m fine. And I came to see Jake.”
“Yes, you did. Both of you can leave,” Jake said firmly.
She sent Jake a relieved look.
Anger filled Eli. If something was wrong with Arabella, he wanted to know what it was.
He needed to know so he could fix it.
What if she was hurt? Being harassed? What was going on?
“We can help, though,” Eli insisted.
“This is something private I wish to speak to Jake about.”
Frustration filled him until Kellan tapped him on his arm and shook his head.
Fuck.
He was right. Eli had no right to insist on anything when it came to Arabella.
Which was fucking annoying.