Chapter 13
A quick call to Madden pointed Reid in the right direction for information. He quickly verified the full name of the bull rider who had a penchant for whittling roses.
Tyson Brown.
Eve sat in the chair he’d dragged around his desk to sit beside his leather rolling chair. “I can’t believe that was so quick.”
Reid studied the face on the computer screen.
The rugged cowboy with the full beard and dirty hat leaned against a split-rail fence with a piece of hay between his lips.
He stared at the camera as if issuing some kind of silent challenge.
“Wasn’t hard once Madden told me where to find the registered riders from all the rodeos in the cities we were given. ”
“I think we should alert the authorities,” Eve said, gaze fixed on the screen. “If he’s a murderer as well as my stalker, he might already have a rap sheet or at least a way to pinpoint where he is.”
Agreeing, he grabbed his phone and made the call directly to Deputy Silver. She’d given him her card the night Eve was attacked.
“Deputy Silver,” she answered in a clipped tone after the first ring.
He activated the speaker option and set the phone on the desk between them. “Hi, Deputy. It’s Reid Sommers. I’m here with Eve and we wanted to touch base. We’ve got a name for the man stalking Eve. Wanted to pass it along.”
“Oh,” she said, shock clear in her voice. “What’s the name?”
“Tyson Brown. He was a bull rider until five months ago. Rumor has it he was having marital issues and disappeared. He matches the description given by the witness who was questioned about the murdered barrel racer. I’m staring at his picture on my computer.
Eve and I are both convinced it’s the same man who attacked her. ”
“And how did you come across this information? Deputy Hill and I spoke with the witness. She didn’t know the name of the man she saw. Claimed Dana never told her.”
“Eve and I walked around the rodeo a bit, and she noticed one of the vendors selling whittled pieces of wood.” He stopped to shoot her a small smile.
Stumbling upon such an important piece of the puzzle was all because of her keen eye.
“Some of the flowers he sold were similar to the ones left at her house, so we asked him a few questions. He gave us some information, and we traced it back to our man.”
“I’ll run this right away and see what pops,” Deputy Silver said. “I’ll be in touch,” she said before disconnecting.
Eve let out a long breath. “A part of me thought she’d be pissed for some reason. Like we were stepping on her toes.”
“She’s good at her job, which means she listens and acts when needed. She’ll let us know if the name leads them anywhere.”
“Until then…” Eve leaned over him and brought up another tab on his internet browser. “We keep digging.”
The slight touch of her skin against his arm set his nerve endings on fire. He stilled, his body tight and eager to have her so damn close. Lust clogged his throat, and he coughed to clear it. “And how do you propose we do that?”
She shot him a quick grin then returned her focus to the computer. “Social media. People tend to share way too much about themselves on there. We can hope Tyson Brown is one of them.”
Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and a list of people littered the screen.
“Popular name,” he said, scanning the photos for the right man. “There. That looks like him.”
She moved the cursor to the small picture and clicked, taking them to Tyson Brown’s profile page. “Says here he’s from Denver. He must have been back home when he ran into Dana.”
“Bring up his ‘about’ information,” Reid said. She did as he asked, and he scanned the data, shoving bits and pieces into his brain. “Doesn’t mention a wife. Either she carried through on her threats and left him or he never posted about his marriage.”
“My money’s on the former. Anyone who has no problem telling the world he was the beer pong champion of his graduating class as well as giving way too many details about where he shops isn’t going to shy away from talking about his life.”
Returning to the main profile page, she sat back in her seat but scooched forward just enough to keep her in his personal space.
He gritted his teeth against his automatic reaction to her nearness.
This was ridiculous. He’d been in much more intimate situations with other women and he’d remained in control of his body and his emotions.
The outpouring of need and longing pulsing through his veins made his head spin—gave him conflicting impulses to both jump in with two feet and stay far away from Eve.
“Nothing on here says anything about being in Cloud Valley,” she said, snapping him back to reality. “I hoped he’d have pictures or something so we could figure out where he’s spending his time or, hell, even where’s he’s staying.”
Reid leaned back in his chair. “That’s a good point.”
“What is?”
“He has to be sleeping somewhere. There aren’t many options for lodging in town, and most of the people working the rodeo are camping at the fairgrounds.”
“Now that the police have his name, I’m sure they’ll poke around for a credit card trail.”
He bobbed his head along with her words. “True, but that’s only if he’s actually paying for a hotel room.”
She frowned, her brow rippling with confusion. “What do you mean? We just said he has to be staying somewhere.”
“True,” he said. “But people are creatures of habit who tend to stick with what they know. What does Tyson Brown know?”
“The rodeo.”
“And where do they tend to sleep?”
“In trailers at the fairgrounds.” She swished her lips back and forth as if giving it considerable thought. “You think he has a trailer?”
He nodded. “Either that or camping gear. Something in the woods or tucked away where nobody sees him. Maybe he’s friends with the other rodeo workers—hell, my money is that he stuck close to keep an eye on Dana.
Stalking. Planning. Executing. And now that she’s dead, he’d move on to where his attention is fixed. ”
“He’s sticking close to me.”
She spoke with certainty, a statement rather than a question. Because like him, she was starting to understand who Tyson Brown was.
A dangerous man who’d keep his prey in his sights until he could go in for the kill.
“He may be as close as he can get, but I’m closer, and I won’t let him hurt you.”
She blew out a long, shaky breath. “I know.”
Her belief in him constricted his chest. He hated making promises he couldn’t keep, but there was one thing he knew with one hundred percent certainty—he’d keep Eve safe or die trying.
A constant chill had crept into Eve’s bones. The sun was out but the wind blew, announcing the coming of the changing seasons.
But that wasn’t the only reason for the goose bumps cascading up her arms. Fear had a way of making her look over her shoulder, even when riding in the passenger seat of Reid’s truck as he turned into the parking lot of his apartment complex.
Gliding into a spot near the front of the lot, Reid shut off the engine. “I’ll be quick. I want to toss a few things in a bag then we can head to Tilly’s. I know you’re anxious to get to work.”
The knots in her stomach had more to do with the dangerous man stalking her than the busy night ahead.
Being outside heightened her anxiety, and she couldn’t wait to be safely inside the building.
She forced a tight smile. He didn’t need to hear about her worries again.
They both understood where things stood, and dissecting every little thing would only make her more paranoid.
“Take your time,” she said. “Becca can handle things until I get there. Heck, everything’s already handled. The control freak in me just needs to see the restaurant to believe there’s not something waiting for me to fix.”
He opened his door and had one booted foot out when he stared back at her with a smirk. “Control freak, huh? Go figure.”
She couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not, so she just rolled her eyes then met him at the hood of his truck.
She stared at the building with its scalloped-edged windows and pitched roof.
The dark brown siding mimicked a log cabin while vines of ivy snaked up the corner, bleeding into a massive oak tree.
“I don’t know why, but I never imagined you living in an apartment.
I pictured you tucked away on a large plot of land and a generous view of the mountains. ”
He dug his keys from his pocket. “You’ve thought about where I live a lot?”
This time his teasing was evident, and she grinned, enjoying the playfulness. “Mostly when I want to close down the bar and you won’t leave.”
The warmth of his booming chuckle chased away a bit of that lingering chill. Reid could always make her troubles melt away—even if only for a minute or two. A part of her wanted to skip work, hide out at his place and find some more creative ways for Reid to occupy her thoughts.
The memory of their almost kiss crashed back with the force of a hurricane, and heat slammed into her cheeks.
He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in pursuing her romantically or, hell, even physically.
She had to shove all those feelings he evoked to the far corner of her mind and never let them see the light of day again.
“You okay?”
She blinked at the curiosity in his voice, surprised he’d made it to the entrance and held the door open, waiting for her to enter.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just anxious to get to work.” The lie tasted bitter on her tongue but was better than admitting where her mind had taken her for a few seconds.
She stepped into the small foyer that displayed a cluster of mailboxes on one wall, a door marked Maintenance and a stairwell. The area wasn’t flashy, but fresh paint and a lemony smell made it clean and well-kept. She followed him up two flights of stairs and down a wide, carpeted hallway.
Reid stopped in front of the last door on the right and lifted his keys to the dead-bolt lock. His hand wavered, the lines on his face tightening.
The shift of energy heightened her awareness. The buzzing of the overhead lights intensified, and she glanced up and down the hallway, searching for the source of Reid’s hesitation. “What’s wrong?”
“The door’s ajar.” His voice was clipped. “Stay in the hall. I’ll check it out.”
“No way I’m staying out here. What if it’s a trap? A ploy to get me alone while you’re inside. I stay with you. Always.”
Grim-faced, he nodded and grabbed a gun tucked in his waistband, hidden by his T-shirt. He pushed open the door and tiptoed inside.
She stayed close, her heart beating so loudly in her ears she had no doubt Reid could hear.
Anxiety twisted her gut, and each step felt as though she moved through a minefield.
No one waited to ambush them in the living room, which bled into the small kitchen, but that didn’t mean the rest of the place was empty.
“Down the hall is a bathroom and two bedrooms. We’ll move slowly, making sure they’re all clear before I call this in to the authorities.”
She swallowed past the ball of fear wedged at the base of her throat. “Could it just be a break-in?” She knew the answer before asking the question. The space was neat and tidy, everything seemingly in its place, down to the perfectly placed blue pillows on each end of the gray sofa.
“Hard to know for sure,” he whispered. He kept his gun in front of him, both hands around the handle and the barrel aimed at the ground. “But unlikely.”
A loud thump sounded from the hallway, and she jumped. Her muscles coiled and she gripped the back of Reid’s shirt like a lifeline. “Any chance you have a really fat cat?”
He snorted but shook his head. “I wish. I want you to go back out in the hallway. Someone is back there. I want to know you’re safe.”
“No.” The word came out on a hiss of air. “I don’t want to be without you.”
The statement struck a chord in her soul, but she didn’t have time to stop and really consider what that meant. Not now.
“Eve, I nee—”
Footsteps pounded on the floor. Reid faced the hallway, gun raised.
A woman emerged, her bright grin falling, and she threw her palms in the air. “What the actual hell, Reid. Are you trying to give me a freaking heart attack? Not exactly the warm welcome I’d hoped for.”
Muttered curses poured from Reid’s mouth, and he shoved the gun back in place. “Damn it, Tara. What are you doing here?”
The sudden shift of energy made Eve’s head spin. “Tara? As in your sister? I didn’t know she was coming to town.”
“Neither did I.” Reid rubbed the back of his neck, his scowl slowly melting into a smile. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Tara scrunched her freckled nose. “I didn’t want you to talk me out of it. I made the decision, booked the first flight I could get on and showed up. I see now that was a mistake.”
“Never, although a little heads-up would have been nice.” He opened his arms, waiting until Tara got close to wrap in her a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
He shifted so one arm hooked around Tara’s shoulders and he turned her to face Eve. “Eve, I’d like to officially introduce you to my little sister, Tara. Tara, this is Eve.”
Interest lit Tara’s blue eyes. “Nice to meet you, Eve. Do you hang out with my brother in his apartment a lot?”
Before she could answer, Reid nudged Tara with his elbow. “Don’t start. Eve’s a good friend, and she’s hired me to help her with some things.”
“Nice to meet you, Tara.” His answer was like a punch in the gut, but Eve managed to keep what she hoped was a natural-looking smile on her face. She’d needed that reminder to keep her mind out of fantasyland and firmly in reality where it belonged.