Chapter 2 #2
Nick had loved her, and she believed that.
In some ways, she still loved him—or maybe the idea of him.
He’d never judged her or her decision to be an FBI agent.
That hadn’t been the problem. It hadn’t even been the need to find her sister’s killer because he’d understood.
But it was the coldness that had seeped into her personality.
The hardness that had taken over her heart had destroyed any chance of her marriage surviving.
She couldn’t regret either marrying Nick or divorcing him.
“Not to jump right in, but might as well,” Dawson said. “Do you want to go see where the body is? There’s something interesting there that I’m not sure we’ve ever discussed before, besides the body being staged, which doesn’t seem to fit your killer.”
She wanted those details in the worst way, but she’d promised Buddy she’d play by his rules, and that meant he’d been the one feeding her intel.
She couldn’t allow Dawson to keep believing she was the lead or even that she was working the case.
“I need to speak with you and Hayes about that—alone.” She glanced at Keaton and Fletcher. “Sorry, guys.”
“No offense.” Fletcher raised his hands. “We were just about to walk down to Mitchell’s and help Baily. She’s setting up coffee and food for everyone here.”
“That’s nice of her. I’m sure Buddy and the team will appreciate that.” She took her hands out of her pocket and restuffed them again. Her nerves buzzed about her body like bees hovering over a blooming plant. She wasn’t used to that sensation.
“You brought Agent Ballard?” Dawson asked.
“One of the things I need to discuss with you.” She widened her stance, as if that would make her more comfortable.
She always resorted to being an FBI agent before being a person—a woman.
Hayes had picked up on that and even commented on it once.
She’d ignored it—laughing it off—saying old habits died hard.
She’d tried tossing it back at him, stating that his military training had come back in spades the few times they had worked together.
But that had fallen flat, especially because Hayes was the kind of man who knew how to be something other than an ex-Navy SEAL or a firefighter. Those two things didn’t define who or what he was.
Hayes knew how to kick back and relax, something she had no clue about.
“What’s up?” Dawson mimicked her stance and folded his arms.
Hayes fiddled with a water bottle. That man drank more water—or milkshakes—than anyone she knew.
“You need to know that Buddy’s lead on this case, not me.” She glanced between Dawson and Hayes.
Both men stared at her with wide, perplexed gazes.
“I’m not following,” Dawson said. “This has always been your case.”
“No,” she said softly, this time holding Hayes’s stare. “It’s never been mine.”
“I’m incredibly confused.” Dawson unfolded his arms and dropped them to his sides. “You’ve been coming to me for months about the Ring Finger case—a serial killer case, and?—”
“Dawson, I’ve asked you questions about it, but I’ve mostly come to you with missing person cases.
” She shifted, needing to address him directly.
She’d deal with the nasty glare coming from Hayes in a bit.
“When we first met, I showed you pictures of people who were missing. Those were my cases. I’ve come to you?—”
“Wait a second.” Dawson waved a hand. “Are you trying to tell me that I’ve been contacting the wrong person in your department all along when I’m looking for intel on a missing person?
That I’ve been directing those questions to Buddy when they should’ve gone to you, and you’ve let me?
That no one in your office has corrected me?
Or that when I had a tip on something that could’ve have been about a murder, I went to you, instead of Buddy?
Do you have any idea how screwed up that is? ”
She understood it alright but didn’t have time to comment on it. “You call and ask for me, you get me. You call and ask for Buddy, you get him. But you have both of us on speed dial, so it’s not like you’re calling our office.” She arched a brow. “I’m sorry I led you to believe?—”
“You lied,” Hayes said in a gruff tone. “Why the hell would you do that?”
“All that matters is that you deal with Buddy and the rest of the team. I’m here as a civilian and potentially a consultant. Buddy will keep me in the loop,” she said, not directly answering Hayes’s question, but this wasn’t the time or place.
“Hey, Hayes,” his captain, Bear, called. “We need you over here for a second.”
“I gotta go.” Hayes turned and stormed off without saying another word.
She’d have to deal with Hayes later, though she suspected she wouldn’t be spending any nights in his home anytime soon. It was for the best. With a body that fit the profile, she and Buddy just might finally have a real break in the case. “I’m sorry, Dawson. I really am.”
“What’s done can’t be undone,” he said, glancing over his shoulder, seemingly following Hayes.
“I’ll have a chat with Buddy about how much I can pull you into my part of this investigation because, regardless of that lie, you’ve proven yourself to me, and I suspect you have a damn good reason for not being up front. ”
“I do.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“I will,” she admitted. “But not here. Not with that news crew standing over there and all these people. Everyone in this town knows I’m FBI. They know Buddy is, too. While I can’t officially work the case, we don’t want to raise weird suspicions or questions.”
“All right. I can live with that.” Dawson let out a puff of air. “Does your office know you’re here?”
“I took some vacation time, but I’m sure they have a good idea of where I am and what I’m doing. It’s also a safe assumption that the brass has given Buddy a short leash regarding me.”
“It’s probably best if you make yourself scarce tonight. Let me talk with Buddy, and I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks for being so understanding.”
“Don’t take my ability to compartmentalize the situation as understanding. I have a job to do, and I value the fact that you came right out and said it instead of trying to milk the situation.”
“I couldn’t have done that if I wanted to—and I wouldn’t have done that to you.
I trust and value you too much.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
“Buddy and I have been through a lot together. I put him in a tougher situation than I have you. He didn’t have to let me come at all.
He could’ve told me to stay home, and I would’ve had to.
I’m only here because he knows what this case means to me, and he’ll use me and what I know. ”
Dawson nodded.
“One more thing,” Chloe said. “Do you happen to have a cabin available? I’m going to need a place to stay.”
“Talk to Hayes. He’s like me. He’s a reasonable man. He just doesn’t like being made a fool of—and that’s how he’s feeling right now.”
Ouch. That hurt. “I guess you don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“I called things off with Hayes.”
“That explains a few things, but unfortunately, we’re all booked through the weekend. You can try the place outside of town, but there’s a boat show that’s up the road, and things are a little crazy.”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“I might not give you a straight-up answer.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “Why’d you break up with Hayes?”
That was a loaded question, and one she wasn’t sure how to respond to. She cleared her throat. “I guess because I knew all this would come out sooner rather than later, and I didn’t want to face it or maybe put some distance between us before it did.”
“Well, he’s heading toward the engine truck, alone. Maybe you should go have a chat.” With that, Dawson turned on his heels and marched off like a man on a mission.
She let out a long breath and scanned the area.
Firefighters milled about, either dealing with rubble or standing in a huddle.
State had rolled in, and Lester, a detective she’d worked with before, stood with Remy, Dawson’s second, and Buddy.
A sense of dread filled her bones. Usually, Buddy would let her be right in there, going from one group to the next, doing her best to gain insight from all the first responders.
She’d be walking the crime scene, looking at every little detail, helping Buddy gather evidence, and whatever else he needed.
He was good that way. Anything that would aid them in finding that single clue that would lead them down the path toward the killer.
But not tonight.
She strolled toward Hayes with her heart beating in her throat. Nothing felt right. Everything in her world was out of place, and she had no idea what to do. She certainly didn’t know what to say to Hayes. Sorry wasn’t enough. She slowed her pace as she inched closer.
“I’m surprised Dawson is letting you stay.
” Hayes sat on the back of the engine truck and barely glanced up.
In the time she’d known Hayes, she couldn’t remember ever seeing him angry.
Okay, that wasn’t true. He’d been pissed off about the hell Trinity and Keaton had been through.
She’d seen him go off on some dude for treating a lady badly, but not once had he ever been mad at her.
They’d had some intense conversations, but those were mostly about her inability to relax, take a vacation day, and chill out.
Outside of that, Hayes ran on two speeds. Hyper-focused when working, or surfer-dude chill, hanging back and catching a wave, though not literally because she had no idea if he even knew how to surf, but she knew he liked to kick back and fish.
“I’m heading out in a couple of minutes, but I wanted to speak with you first,” she said.
“I don’t know if I want to listen to anything you have to say right now.”
“I get you’re angry, and I’m sorry.”
“That might fly with Dawson, but then again, you didn’t flat out lie to him the same way you did to me.
” Hayes stood. He was tall—over six feet—and she had to lift her chin to hold his gaze.
“You even showed notes and a file from thirteen years ago. You inked out names and things that would get you in even more trouble, but told me how you worked to the bone, looking for that killer. How he haunted you day in and day out. How you’d linked seven cases together, and all those case files sat on the edge of your desk.
We discussed the cases as if they were yours. ”
“I kind of did that with Dawson, too.” She held up her hand.
“But you’re right, the way I presented it to you…
Well, I did lie. I do have valid reasons, and this killer has haunted me.
Two of my missing persons ended up being his victims. It’s how Buddy and I made the connection and ended up working together on this. ”
“You could’ve said that from the beginning instead of making me believe you were the lead investigator on this.
” Hayes planted his hands on his hips. “You flat out lied to me about something ridiculously stupid, yet so important, and I don’t have a clue as to why.
It makes no sense to me. Care to explain? ”
“I would like the chance, I just don’t want to do it here, especially not with that reporter over there,” she said, glancing toward Stacey. “I don’t trust her.”
“And you shouldn’t.” Hayes ran his fingers through his soot-filled hair. “I’m on call all night, but I get off at eight. How about then?”
She nodded. “I need a favor, though.”
He cocked a brow. “What’s that?”
“Dawson’s fully booked. Can I crash at your place?”
“Yeah, sure. You know the code.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” She took her phone and pulled up the rideshare app. “Crap.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Why are there never any rideshares in this town?”
He chuckled. “Fletcher and Keaton are at Mitchell’s. I’ll text them. I’m sure one of them can give you a lift to my place.” He leaned closer, kissing her cheek. “Let me know when you get to my house so I know you’ve arrived safely.” He was always a gentleman. Always thinking of others.
“Will do, and be safe out here.”
“I always am.”
She raised up on tiptoe, staring at a man chewing on something, leaning against a tree across the road.
Lots of people had come out and huddled together in the street to see what had happened.
That would always be the case when the police and fire trucks were involved.
But it was rare that anyone lurked in the shadows by themselves. “Who’s that guy over there?”
“You can’t ever give your FBI instincts a rest, can you?” Hayes glanced over his shoulder and chuckled. “That’s Dewey Hale, the resident mangrove trimmer.”
“I feel like I’ve seen him before.”
“You have. A few times. He’s a local legend of sorts. He takes care of the mangrove, but he’s also a humanitarian, known for volunteering across the state during tropical storms and hurricanes. He’s a good guy, just a little strange.”
“How strange?”
Hayes snorted, shaking his head. “Not in a bad way. He’s always minding his own business, but he’s always just kind of there…observing.”
“I’m going to text Buddy to question him.”
“Dawson already did.” He held up his hand. “Not sure if I should’ve told you that, so I’m not going to say anymore.”
“Fair enough.” She squeezed Hayes’s biceps. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Get some sleep, Chloe.” He smiled.
Tucking a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear, she took off toward the marina. She felt better about coming clean over her betrayal, but she had no idea what Hayes—or even Dawson—would make of her next confession.
But it was time to get it out in the open. She couldn’t hide behind her badge any longer, and what did keeping the fact that her sister had been murdered by the same killer that tormented the fabric of her being matter anyway?
It didn’t. If anything, the idea of letting out that piece of truth felt freeing.