Chapter 24
Hunter
We didn’t leave the cabin for three days.
It had been just Jada and me with the kittens—Sir Pounce, Biscuits, and Moose. Three days of peace, three days of talking, three days of making plans together.
Three days of absolutely mind-blowing sex.
We both knew it might be too soon to be feeling the way we did, but we were both tired of fighting it. We’d rather fight the world back-to-back with each other instead.
Now, I was two states away, back in Denver, a city I’d only ever tolerated on a good day, and my skin itched like I’d left something behind. Which, yeah, I had. Jada.
I missed her. A feeling I wasn’t used to but surprisingly didn’t mind.
She had finally gotten access to her savings account, thanks to Jace working whatever cyber voodoo he did. I watched the tension melt from her shoulders as we’d transferred the funds into something she could access. For the first time in nearly a month, she had some independence. Didn’t need to ask for money if she wanted something. Didn’t feel completely powerless.
That look on her face—that breath of relief—it gutted me. I should’ve realized earlier how hard this had been on her. But I wasn’t sure she’d even been aware of it herself.
We’d decided it was time to close down the rest of her old life. Get what we could and let her decide if it would go with her into her new life. That involved me flying to Denver. I’d be driving her car back. She couldn’t fly since we still needed to get her an ID, but we were hoping there were some items in her apartment—a passport, birth certificate—that would help with that.
We hadn’t wanted to wait, so I’d come alone. Forty-eight hours and I’d be back to her. Even if I had to break in to her apartment.
I hadn’t.
The building manager was a sucker for a good smile and a laminated badge.
I’d walked into Jada’s apartment complex in jeans and a button-down, fake credentials—thanks to Jace—clipped to my belt, and my most forgettable body language on display. Just another city maintenance guy who happened to be having a good hair day.
By the time I reached her floor, I had a spare keycard in hand and a scribbled visitor log that read “building inspection.” Jace had worked his magic with the badge and the access. All I had to do was smile and not look like I could kill a man with a pencil.
The door clicked open without a fuss.
I stepped into the quiet stillness of her apartment.
It didn’t feel like anyone lived here.
Most places told you something. A scattered jacket, framed photos, an overflowing mug rack with obnoxious slogans. But this place…it was surface-level clean. Staged. Like she’d been playing house in a life that didn’t belong to her.
I found the firebox first, which was probably most important—birth certificate, passport, social security card, deed to her car. Those things would make getting further IDs much easier.
Then I started to search for things she might want.
I moved through the rooms methodically. The bedroom closet held clothes—decent brands, a lot of black and navy, like she was trying not to be noticed. I grabbed everything that looked like it might fit, folding them into the duffel I’d brought.
A couple pairs of running shoes. A hoodie that still held the faintest trace of perfume. That went into the bag too.
There wasn’t much else. No framed pictures. No bookshelf. No trinkets or old ticket stubs or anything that hinted at a life she’d loved.
I checked under the bed, behind drawers, even the freezer. Nothing.
I’d been hoping for something—a journal, a dream board, hell, even a Post-it note. Something that could give Jada a piece of herself back. But there was nothing. Like she’d scrubbed her existence clean even before she lost it.
I found her plants last. A sad little lineup on the windowsill. Most were drooping, under-watered, but stubbornly clinging to life. I grabbed those too. Jada tried to care for something once. That meant something.
It didn’t take long to load up the car. I wished there were more I could bring with me that she might care about. But hopefully this would be enough for her to feel she wasn’t starting from zero. But maybe completely fresh was a better way to go. She hadn’t been talking about taking the antidote again, so maybe she could build her life from the ground up.
I wanted to be with her every step of the way.
The other reason I was in Denver was still ahead of me, waiting behind concrete walls and security gates. Jada had asked me to see Caleb.
“Tell him I’m sorry,” she’d said, curled up on the couch with little black Moose pressed against her ribs. “Tell him I made a lot of mistakes, but he’s not one of them. And if he still wants me in his life…I’ll be there. As soon as it’s safe.”
She’d looked me straight in the eye when she said it. No hesitation. No shame, even though she carried plenty of that around.
It didn’t take me long to get back to visit him, Jace’s burner ID in my pocket, my name and past scrubbed clean for the day. Once again, the guards barely glanced at the paperwork.
Caleb was already seated when I got to the visitation booth. Same lean build. Same sharp eyes. He picked up the phone without waiting for me to sit.
I picked up the phone on my side.
“You again.”
“Me again.”
“Didn’t think you’d come back.” His eyes narrowed. “Is Jada okay?”
“Yeah.” I leaned in slightly. “Still no memory. She wanted me to tell you…she’s sorry. For not coming to visit. She’s figuring things out, but she hasn’t forgotten you.”
His expression shifted. He looked away, jaw tightening. “Hell,” he muttered. “That girl. Always thinking she’s the one who needs to apologize.”
“She wanted you to know she hasn’t written you off. She just…” I hesitated. “She’s got a lot going on.”
He met my gaze again, sharp now. “Is she safe?”
“Yeah. I’ve got her somewhere out of reach. We’re taking it one day at a time. I’m back in town packing her stuff up, so we won’t be back here for a while. She’s got to figure out how she wants to move forward in her life.”
He studied me. “You in this for the long haul, or just until it gets messy?”
“It’s already messy.” I didn’t flinch. “But I’m in.”
That seemed to earn me something. Maybe not trust, but respect. He looked down at the scratched surface between us, rubbed the back of his neck. “Tell her I want to see her. Eventually. Just not now. Not with the heat around here. Cops’ve been sniffing around ever since Alan got shanked.”
I stiffened. “What kind of heat?”
“Some cops came to talk to me. Twice.”
That got my full attention. “About what?”
“At first, I thought it would be about Alan. But most of the questions were about Jada. What kind of person she was. If I knew where she’d gone. If she’d be willing to talk.”
My fingers tightened on the phone. “Cops? Why do they want her? There’s no warrant out.”
“I don’t know, but they were sniffing. Told me I should call her. Said maybe if she came in for a visit, they could stop by at the same time and clear a few things up.”
“And you told them…?”
“I told them I hadn’t heard from her in a long time. That we weren’t talking. I wasn’t about to put a target on her back.”
I nodded. “Thanks. You did the right thing.”
“Whatever’s going on, I don’t want her anywhere near this place while the cops are circling.”
“Agreed.”
Caleb was still holding the phone, one hand now wrapped tight around the base. He was leaning back just enough that he looked calm to a casual observer. But I knew better. His eyes were sharp. Waiting.
I tapped my thumb against the receiver. “I’ve got a question. Before we start, you probably know this already, but these conversations are recorded.” I didn’t want him incriminating himself in what I was about to ask.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Yeah,” he said, slow and measured. “I’m aware.”
“Then I’ll just say… I’m wondering what people are saying. About how Alan died. Who was responsible.”
“And you think it was me who killed him?”
“No. I’m just asking what you’ve heard.”
He didn’t answer right away. Just sat there, jaw working, like he was chewing on the words before he gave them voice.
Finally, he said, “People talk. Especially when someone like Alan catches a shiv to the gut. Word is, he was a narc. Had a deal with the cops the first time—got out early because he gave up something useful. Or someone.”
I nodded. That made sense.
“Word is, cops were going to help get him out again, despite the new charges. Alan was playing both sides.” Caleb’s lips curled, not quite a sneer, not quite a smile. “That kind of thing doesn’t sit well in here.”
“I can imagine.”
Caleb’s gaze met mine again. “And the kicker? He had a visit from the cops the same day he was killed. That certainly didn’t take the target off his back.”
“But you didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“I can honestly say no.” He didn’t flinch. “Not saying I wouldn’t have made his life hell in here after what he did to my sister, but no, I didn’t kill him. But I didn’t cry about it either.”
I let out a slow breath and nodded. “I hope he burns.” I meant every word.
“I have no doubt he is. Look, there’s one more thing. The last time the cops came by—a couple days ago—they had a photo of you and Jada.”
I didn’t blink, didn’t move. Just kept my breathing even, my body still.
“Photo wasn’t from the first time you came in,” he went on. “No ball cap, no beard scruff. In the picture, you didn’t look anything like you do today or last time. You looked…tough, aware, protective. Picture was taken outside. You were standing in front of a gray truck.”
Fuck. My truck.
“What did they ask?”
“If I knew you, knew your name. If you’d ever contacted or visited me.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I didn’t know who you were and didn’t care. That my sister stopped visiting me over a year and a half ago and I didn’t give a shit about her either.”
“Did they believe you?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Seemed like it. If they’d known it was you here visiting me, they would’ve been asking what you said to me. But they didn’t.”
I exhaled through my nose. “And when was this?”
“Two, three days ago? I don’t know. Time sort of blends in here.”
“Regardless. Thank you.”
“It wasn’t for you,” he said, blunt as ever. “But it’s clear Jada’s your priority. She deserves somebody good.”
“I don’t know that I’m good, but she is my priority.”
Caleb stared at me for a beat, then gave the smallest of nods. “That’s close enough.”
A few minutes later, I was leaving, trying to piece together everything Caleb had told me. There was something Jada and I were missing. Some piece of the puzzle we hadn’t even seen yet.
But hell if I knew what it was.