“Hey! Just like you!” Jesse chirps with mock surprise, smirking at his father.
A long pause, a shrewd look, and then Gabe relents with a slight smile and a nod, satisfied with his answer.
And giving me mine. There’s nothing shady happening here. Luke and his friend are flipping cars honestly. I release the breath I held trapped in my lungs, relaxing with each second that passes, swimming in relief. Relief that I haven’t witnessed anything damning to Luke yet, that I can hold onto this fantasy that Luke hasn’t been pulled into the theft ring for just a while longer. Because the sooner I’m proven wrong, the sooner this case will be over, and the sooner I’ll have to look into those big blue eyes and condemn him.
But today . . . I can relax.
“Come and show me your new ride,” Jesse says, wiping his somewhat clean hands on a rag. But I don’t miss the low murmur to his dad as he passes. “I already told you, none of that shit will come here.”
None of that shit. So both of them know something about Luke’s involvement with Rust and it seems that neither approves. I wonder how much they know. I wonder what it would take to make them talk.
Too many questions I can’t answer, but I do know that Jesse’s another door. So is the sheriff. More mental notes, more potential informants.
“You interested in looking at car engines?” Alex asks me as the three men wander toward the Porsche.
I should really stick with Luke in case something important is mentioned. I should.
But my gut tells me that what’s happening over there is just three guys with a love for cars getting hard-ons for Luke’s latest toy. Nothing the FBI needs to invade. I’m more curious about this girl and what happened to her face. There’s definitely a story there.
“Not particularly . . .” I laugh.
She waves me toward the barn and I follow. “Do you all live here?”
“Just Jesse and I. His mom and dad and sister live next door, over there.” She gestures to the ranch-style house hidden behind a line of trees.
“You must get along well,” I muse. As much as I love my parents, the idea of buying the house right next to them brings a dull ache to my head.
“We’ve been through a lot together,” she says absently, draping her arms over a newly mended fence, her gaze locked on the two horses drinking from a stream not far from us. “They’re such beautiful animals, aren’t they?” A slight frown zags across her forehead. “I used to be afraid of horses growing up. Can you believe that?”
“I can, actually. They’re big animals. Have you lived here long?”
“About a year.”
I glance around at the place. “It’s a really nice ranch.”
She smiles, the movement pulling at the scar. It must bother her, because she adjusts her hair to cover it. “It is. I’m very lucky to own it.”
So she owns this ranch? A girl with a giant scar on her cheek, who can’t be more than in her mid-twenties, owns a place like this? I sense a much deeper story behind her words, but she only leans forward to scratch the head of the old dog that sauntered up so quietly. “Hey, Felix.” Its nose twitches as it grazes my jeans. Smelling Stanley, no doubt.
The tranquil countryside is disrupted, the horses’ ears twitching as the Porsche’s engine suddenly comes to life. Jesse and Luke stand at the back, their arms folded as they study the exposed engine; Gabe’s sitting in the driver’s seat. “Boys and their toys . . .” Alex murmurs.
“I think Luke would marry that thing if he could. I was afraid to get in it; I may dirty it.” The surveillance team has tailed him to the car wash three times this week already.
She laughs. “Yeah, I remember his room at their old apartment being really neat. I’m sure the new place is pristine.”
“I know, right? What twenty-four-year-old guy has a cleaning lady come every week?” I’ve watched the plump blond lady scrub his floors and dust his furniture every Sunday afternoon like clockwork.
And then I bite my tongue, because I’ve admitted to something that Luke hasn’t told me. That I wouldn’t know unless I’ve been, say, scoping out his place. It’s so minor, it’ll probably never come up, and I shouldn’t give it another thought . . . but those are the kinds of insignificant bits that can create colossal fuck-ups in a case a year from now. I’m not normally so careless. It’s just that I keep forgetting why I’m with Luke in the first place.
“How did you two meet?” Alex asks.
“I brought my Audi into his garage.”
She nods, gazing over at him. A sad smile takes over her face. “He’s a really good guy.” Her hand wanders to touch her chin, her finger grazing over the thin white line that I’m sure she never forgets is there. “So, tell me . . .” She suddenly turns and catches me staring at her scar. “Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
Chapter 23
LUKE
“You pick her up at The Cellar?” Jesse asks, taking a sip of his beer as he watches Alex help Rain climb into a saddle of the tall black and white horse. By her hesitation and stilted movements, I’m guessing she’s a first-timer.
“Nah. She came in once to get her car fixed, started flirting with me. One thing led to another.”
“I’ll bet Miller loved that.” Jesse’s dealt with him before; he’s seen firsthand the hate-on that he has for me.
“Miller can suck my balls,” I mutter. “Actually, she has a condo right across from me.”