Chapter 2 #2
He met her eyes. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Didn’t even crack a freaking smile. “I saw it. I haven’t had the chance to respond. I had a few work things to deal with. I was going to answer when I got here, but then I saw you.”
“You don’t have to explain. I understand.” And boy did she. Had she not brought it up, he wouldn’t have gone into the laundry list of excuses, ending with the final blow to her ego—the lie—because no way had he actually planned to respond.
“For the record, I’d love to get together sometime and… catch up.”
“Cool,” she managed, then took a big bite of her sandwich to avoid smiling like an idiot. But once the food was in her mouth, she needed to cover her lips because all she could do was grin from ear to ear.
“Oh, shit,” Buddy mumbled.
She lifted her napkin, turned in the direction Buddy was staring and noticed Trent, whose mouth had fallen open.
“I don’t know which one of them needs to be warned off the other,” Buddy murmured. “But my money’s on Dove. I bet she’ll eat him alive.”
“And he’ll enjoy every second of it,” Fallon said.
“I thought you and Trent were close.” Buddy’s phone buzzed again. He glanced down, and something in his face shifted—from easy to intent. He didn’t stand. He didn’t grab for control. He was just… focused. “Sorry,” he said. “Do you mind?”
“Go ahead,” Fallon said.
He read, thumbed a quick reply, and set the phone face down. “Sterling again. He really wants that stupid whiteboard.”
“I’m shocked you’re fighting him on it. Dawson and Chloe use them all the time.”
Buddy chuckled. “I can barely read my own handwriting. I’ll use a corkboard with printed lists before I get another flipping whiteboard.”
Fallon’s phone vibrated under the napkin.
Buddy arched a brow.
She slid it free and saw Chloe’s name.
Chloe: Stable. Brief consciousness. One word. “Blue.” Could be nothing. Could be everything. Don’t chase it tonight. I promise to keep you posted.”
“That was Chloe. The girl we found earlier had a brief moment of consciousness.” Fallon lifted her gaze. She knew Buddy would want to know, even though this wasn’t his case. Besides, he might have some insight. “She said one word. Any idea what Blue means?” she asked.
Buddy held his beer halfway between the table and his mouth. His lips parted and he stared at her for a long moment. His right eye twitched. He cleared his throat and set the glass on the table. “Do Chloe and Dawson believe this is a human trafficking case?”
“They haven’t said. Is that what you think? Why did you jump to that conclusion on a word? I get she’s young. Looks like she hasn’t eaten in days. She’s obviously been detained. But it could’ve been kidnapping—not trafficking.”
“Agreed,” Buddy said. “She could be a runaway. Could be undocumented, which is why they still don’t have a positive ID. Could be any number of things. I didn’t mean to speculate. It’s just that I have some experience in this area.”
“And something made you go from blue to human trafficking. Why?”
“It’s not necessarily the word. It’s the entire situation.
” He shifted. “But, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions this early.
I know better. Whoever was present when she woke briefly could’ve misunderstood.
It could be the first color she saw when she opened her eyes.
The last color she saw before she fell—or was dumped—into the water.
It could be a name of someone, or something.
It’s really too early to go down this rabbit hole. ”
She stared at him for a long moment, looking for more of those tells that Dove mentioned. His shoulders were high. His jaw tight. His right eye twitched, and he rambled faster than she was used to. He was holding something back.
But before she could comment on that, Dove reappeared beside them with a basket of fries she hadn’t paid for and a look that said she’d been shot down.
“Your friend is a menace,” she said. “I made a joke, and he didn’t like it.
Next thing I know, we’re no longer talking about hooking up.
As a matter of fact, he told me to take a hike. ”
“I wouldn’t call him my friend,” Fallon said automatically, because labels mattered in small towns, then heard herself and grimaced. “He’s more like an overprotective big brother.”
Buddy choked on his beer and stared at her like she’d said something criminal.
Granted, she’d dated Trent a long time ago, so calling him family sounded strange to some.
But, that’s what she considered him these days.
“Depending on what you teased him about will guide his reaction. He can be a sensitive soul.”
“I doubt that,” Dove said. “I mentioned something about how weird the whole Python Challenge is down here, and how I couldn’t understand why anyone would do it. I mean, aren’t snakes a part of the ecosystem in the Everglades?”
Fallon smacked her palm to her forehead. “Don’t ever say that again out loud. Not unless you want to get shot.”
“I don’t understand.” Dove blinked a few times, looking thoroughly confused.
“Pythons aren’t native to Florida,” Buddy explained.
“They’ve invaded the Everglades and are destroying everything in their path, including alligators.
Trent over there owns an Alligator Farm.
He’s also a snake wrangler, and not just pythons.
He’s a nature lover. A snake and gator lover, even if he does the odd poaching thing, he does them for all the right reasons, if that makes sense.
And, he loves the Glades more than most.”
“Trent and I agree on making sure the Everglades remain the swampy marshland we’ve always called home,” Fallon said.
“Copy that,” Dove said, amused, and slid into her chair. “Next time I see Trent, I’ll be sure to be slightly more informed and pretend to like reptiles, even if they’re disgusting creatures.”
“Good thing for you, he’s all about second, third, and fourth chances when it comes to women.” Fallon raised her drink.” He doesn’t discriminate when it comes to breasts.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” Dove asked. “Because that might be weird considering how you described him.”
Buddy coughed and pounded his chest.
“I might be.” Fallon laughed. “However, I’m one of the few females that scare the crap out of him.”
“I’d suggest staying away from Trent.” Buddy rested his hand on the back of Fallon’s chair, and his thumb brushed her shoulder. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s grown on me over the years. But I wouldn’t introduce him to my sister.”
“You don’t have a sister.” Dove laughed. “But enough of that conversation. Sterling wants to know if we can borrow your brain in the near future, Fallon. We’re running a water grid for a client, and he’s obsessed with not annoying FWC. Which is adorable and new.”
“I can’t tomorrow, but I can the next day.”
Buddy lifted a hand. “We can always ping your boss, Keaton, since that’s your day off.”
She jerked her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. How the hell did he know she wasn’t on the schedule in two days? “If you’d rather talk to Keaton, that’s fine,” Fallon said. “But it’s not a problem. All I have that day is catching up on sleep and paperwork.”
“Sleep is optional,” Buddy said.
“Sleep is never optional,” Fallon said. “But I’ve got time after eleven, if that works.”
“Sounds good.” Dove nodded.
Juniper dropped off the check. Fallon slid her card into the tray before Buddy could reach for his wallet, because she’d never known him not to insist on paying. “Don’t,” she said. “If I let you buy my dinner, someone’s mother will plan our wedding before the ice melts.”
“There’s no ice in South Florida, and my mother passed a long time ago.” Buddy flicked her card off the bill and slapped a wad of cash on the table. “I insist.”
“Thanks for dinner, boss.” Dove leaned back. “I’m gonna stay for one more drink and maybe that second chance.”
“Don’t stay out too late. Trent’s not worth the trouble,” Buddy said. “Seriously.”
“You sound like he might have hurt your feelings.” Dove snorted.
Buddy didn’t bother answering. He just shook his head.
They stood in that awkward, not-unpleasant space where a night could end or tilt. Outside, the last light went copper over the water. Someone opened the door, and the Everglades sighed warm, salty air into the bar, a reminder that the wild waited just past the parking lot.
Fallon flung her small backpack-purse over her shoulder. “Stay out of trouble.”
“That’s no fun,” he said. “So, how about that coffee? Not tomorrow, but the next day?”
“I could do that,” she said as a smile tugged at her lips. Her pulse twitched. It had been six months since she’d been on a date. Seven since she’d been with a man.
She quickly reminded herself that this wasn’t a date and that Buddy was just some guy who used to be law enforcement who was probably just greasing palms for his current job with the Aegis network.
Even though he’d made some interesting comments regarding her breasts once in a text message and then tried to backpedal.
“Wonderful. Why don’t you come over to my place around nine?”
“What about work?”
He shrugged. “Just wrapped up a case, and Dove and Sterling are working on other things that don’t require me to babysit them.
So, I can spare a morning.” He leaned a little closer.
Maybe too close. “That’s the nice thing about this job.
When I’m working certain kinds of cases, I’m always on. But when I’m not, I’m free as a bird.”
“That would make me crazy,” she said. “See you in two days.” She stepped into the warm dark, the hum of crickets rising.
Away from Buddy. Away from the feelings and sensations he stirred.
They weren’t real. He was just looking for connections.
He probably had meetings with Keaton, Fletcher, the head of Parks and Rec, and all the deputies on Dawson’s payroll. It was how things worked.
She crossed the street, and her mind drifted back to the earlier events—the girl who had kept breathing long enough to be found. Somewhere, “blue” meant something, and Fallon planned on finding out what.