Chapter Nine
Gard focused on work. His zone, not trafficking rings or Dani’s shitty text message to Sammy or even the name the restaurant manager had given him.
Because he’d made a deal with himself when Sammy had cried all over him about his broken nose. Dani had contacted Sammy, no matter how cryptically, and that meant he couldn’t keep poking into her disappearance.
She’d made her choices. She was alive. She’d come back when she was ready, and he’d deal with the aftermath. The end.
He really knew that should be the end. But the name the restaurant manager had given him was now stuck in his head.
What did it hurt to look into the guy? Just make sure he wasn’t a criminal. That whatever job offer Dani had taken wasn’t actively hurting her. It was only his due diligence—not breaking his promise to himself, because he wasn’t looking for Dani.
He was just…checking on things. Splitting hairs.
But when had that ever stopped him?
Still, he waited until the end of his shift, when he was idling in his car at the station waiting to radio off and head out to Hope Town to pick up Sammy. He typed the guy’s name into his system. No priors, which Gard could admit was a shock. Really, not much info on the guy at all.
Except a certain address—listed as former—that happened to be out on Dry Road.
Gard swore. Why was it all connecting? Of course, not in any way that offered a concrete answer. Not in any way that allowed him to rush in and save the day or give up in defeat. Just enough to keep him low-level worried and second-guessing himself.
The Dani Fairhurst Experience.
He looked up at the sheriff’s department building, considering his options.
Because this didn’t…mean anything. This job she’d told her boss about could just be about drugs.
With Dani, this kind of behavior was always about drugs.
And years and years of dealing with it meant he knew—he knew—he could not do anything for her until she chose to do something for herself.
Asking around like it was ever going to be something else would likely lead to nothing but professional embarrassment. And certainly not helping Dani in any way.
He’d learned the hard way barreling in when she was using always made things worse for everyone involved. Early on, making demands, dragging her out of bad situations, it had only ever made Dani dig her heels in— meaning she stayed low and used longer.
She had to come to the decision to stop. She had to hit her rock bottom. Or Sammy got hurt worse. Every single time.
And still he got out of his car, walked into the building, and went in search of Detective Beckett.
He found the man in his office, clearly getting ready to leave for the day. Neither Hart nor Laurel were in the office with him, so Gard lucked out there. Just one potentially embarrassing interaction to hate himself for later.
“Hey, Beckett. You got a minute? I want to ask you about that trafficking case, but it can wait if—”
“Go ahead.”
Gard was already regretting this decision, but he could hardly backup now. “Is a guy named Roger Hamilton part of it?”
Beckett’s expression went from kind of distracted to focused in a second flat. “How’d you know that?”
Damn. “Look… I don’t think this really connects, but…” He’d only ever told Laurel about Dani, and he wasn’t too keen on sharing with Beckett, but… “The whole reason I was out at that place on Dry Road is because my sister had that address on her computer, and she’s missing.”
“Missing—”
Gard held up a hand. “Not a missing persons case. She’s a drug addict.
It’s not the first time she’s up and disappeared for a while.
And considering the amount of drug paraphernalia in that place, I have to assume that’s why she was there.
She told her old boss this Roger Hamilton guy offered her a better job—but chances are, she’s just using again. ”
“Hamilton is the guy who used the address on his work application. He has some connections to the group Hardy is looking into, but…we don’t have a direct connection between this house and the trafficking ring just yet.
Or even Roger Hamilton and the trafficking.
It’s all little pieces that don’t connect. ”
Which just further proved…this was about drugs. There was no bigger mystery at play.
“We can add your sister’s name to the case and—”
“Laurel has all the info on my sister if you need it.” Gard wanted to jump on the possibility Dani was wrapped up in something she hadn’t chosen, but there was absolutely no evidence. Especially if she was texting apologies to Sammy. “Update me when you get the chance, but I should stay out of it.”
Beckett nodded slowly. “Sure thing. Let me know if you hear anything that might point otherwise, though, huh?”
“Yeah, I will.” Gard walked out of the room quickly, feeling…antsy and pissed off and just generally…worried. How could she be doing this again?
His cell rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket, hoping it was something he could just ignore.
But it was Lia.
He answered immediately, worried Sammy had done something like…burn the bakery down. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s good,” Lia said reassuringly. “Sammy and I went for a little drive, and I just thought that, if it’s okay with you, I’d drop her off at your place since we’re near Bent. I won’t leave until you get home. There’s just no point going all the way back to the bakery, unless—”
“No, that’s fine. Everything’s okay, right?”
“Yeah, everything is good. Promise.”
And Gard’s worry unclenched a little, because he trusted Lia’s promise.
“Are you sure that’s going to taste good?” Lia asked speculatively. Most of her kitchen talents were of the sugar-and-butter variety. She liked to bake. She liked dessert and dessert masquerading as breakfast.
But this complicated cheese sauce Sammy was attempting… This was why Lia didn’t like to cook. Cheese on its own? Good. Cheese when you mixed it into weird configurations? Possibly not good. Sugar and butter baked together? Pretty much always good.
But Sammy gave her a sharp, disgusted look. Her eyes were still a little puffy from the earlier crying jag, but she was much more back to herself.
“I had higher hopes for your palate, Lia.”
Lia rolled her eyes. She was sitting at the kitchen table, which gave her a view of what Sammy was doing in the small kitchen on the other side of the counter. She felt awkward being in Gard’s house without him here, but she wasn’t leaving the teen alone. And Sammy didn’t seem to want to be alone.
So Lia sat at the table, hands in her lap, trying not to look around and study every inch of Gard’s house.
She couldn’t say it had a ton of personality to make determinations about.
The colors were nice, maybe a little matchy-matchy.
The walls were pretty bare, but everything was…
cozy. Despite the lack of decor, it did feel like someone really lived here.
The doorknob jiggled and Lia sat up straighter, nerves suddenly battling around for purchase. Why hadn’t she just driven back to the bakery? Sure, it would have tacked on driving time for everyone, but…
The door opened and Gard stepped inside, wearing that damn uniform that was supposed to be an immediate turnoff. His hair was a little mussed, which was when she realized it was getting a little long for him. It was even starting to kind of curl.
Their eyes met briefly. Gard smiled. Lia smiled.
Oh hell.
“Well, something smells…” He hesitated ever so briefly before he aimed that smile at Sammy. “…good.”
He was a liar. It did not smell good. But Lia was happy to get out of Dodge without dealing with that.
“I better get going,” she said brightly, making a move to grab her purse that she’d set on the coffee table.
But Gard stood in her way, and Sammy bustled in from the kitchen.
“You have to stay,” Sammy said, pointing at the table. “There are three plates.”
“Oh, I—”
“I’m afraid it’s the law, and I am here to enforce the law.” Gard grinned at her. “Let me go change and wash up. Be right back.”
He disappeared down the hall and Lia didn’t realize she’d watched him walk away until she looked back at the kitchen to find Sammy studying her.
Heat crept up her cheeks. What the hell was she doing? It was really getting to be too much. Complicated. Messy. But Sammy was bustling around the kitchen and Lia didn’t want to hurt her feelings—even if she was afraid the ambitious cheese sauce was going to be a nightmare.
So she sat back down at the table a bit helplessly. Sammy had everything all set up before Gard returned. He was in casual clothes now—jeans, a sweatshirt. His hair was wet like he’d run through the shower.
He moved to the table, his hand drifting over Sammy’s head as he moved to his seat. Just a casual, affectionate gesture that made Lia’s heart feel too big for her chest.
That big soft heart is going to get very, very bruised if you’re not careful, Lia.
Gard led the conversation, asking Sammy about her day.
Sammy lied, bald-faced that everything at the bakery had been fine and uneventful.
Lia kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t sure covering for Sammy was the best course of action, but she wasn’t sure it…
wasn’t. It wasn’t like something had really happened or changed.
Sammy had just…let some of her feelings out.
Did Gard really need to know every detail of that?
But Gard was too observant not to realize something had changed between when he’d dropped her off in the morning—angry and yelling—and now, with her cheerfully making a…truly terrible dinner.
“This isn’t half bad,” Gard said with a smile that was fake.
Because the food wasn’t half good either, but Lia dutifully choked down a few terrible bites, before Sammy sighed gustily.
“Okay, this sucks.”