considered a short shower himself but decided against it and simply slipped into dry clothes as he was eager to take care of his first order of business. He needed to run a background check on Nolan, Todd and Alyssa. As a former police officer, his brother Derrick was the perfect person to do it.
He dug out his phone and dialed Dani’s twin.
“So you are alive,” Derrick answered, his tone filled with sarcasm.
Cole felt a moment of guilt. The family had decided he needed to take time off and work through the baggage he still carried from his two tours in Iraq. Miffed at their interference, he’d taken off to the beach and hadn’t reported in for a few weeks. As the mediator of the family, Dani was dispatched here yesterday to make sure he was okay.
“I figured Dani would’ve called you all by now,” Cole said.
“She did, but there’s nothing like hearing your voice to prove you’re still alive.” This time Derrick’s voice held brotherly concern instead of sarcasm.
Cole felt bad for making them worry. He just didn’t know how to get a grip on the emotions he still battled. When the family had interfered, it had made him mad that he wasn’t strong enough to shake it. In the end, he’d made things worse. “Look, man, I’m sorry. You know.”
“I know,” Derrick said. “So what’s up?”
As Dani joined him in the kitchen, Cole told his brother about Alyssa’s problem. “I need you to drop everything and do a background check on them. I’ll text you with their info.”
“Sorry, bro. I’d like to help, but Ethan’s already got me on an assignment.”
Cole sighed. As the oldest sibling, Ethan had taken charge of the agency and set their priorities. Normally, Cole didn’t mind talking with Ethan, but he’d been all happy and gushy after getting married lately and that rubbed salt into Cole’s wounds. A conversation with Ethan would only remind him of all he’d lost when Laura decided to bail on him right before their wedding.
Still, he wasn’t going to give up on doing what was right for Alyssa just to avoid Ethan. “Is what you’re working on a life-or-death matter?”
“No. It’s a routine check for one of our business clients.” To allow them to work most of their cases for free, they performed background checks for a long list of paying companies.
“Then I’ll clear this with Ethan,” Cole promised. “Any chance you can get started tonight?”
Derrick snorted. “You’re pushing your luck here, bro.”
“I know, but in a town this small one misstep could cost lives. We need to be prepared for anything.”
“Who do you want me to start with?”
“Nolan Saunders.”
“Fine. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything to report.” He disconnected and Cole stowed his phone in his pocket.
Dani finished pouring a cup of coffee and held up the pot. “You want a cup?”
He nodded.
She handed him the steaming mug. “I’ll take care of getting Ethan on board.”
No one ever volunteered to talk with Ethan about a change in agency priorities. Cole watched her carefully to see what she was up to.
She simply laughed. “What?”
“You’re volunteering to talk to Ethan. What gives?”
“He’s been more mellow since he got married. Plus I like Alyssa. Really like her, and for some reason I feel compelled to go the extra mile for her.”
Me, too, Cole thought and instantly tamped it down. He’d known her for only a few hours, and he was acting like a schoolboy with a crush. Not only was it foolish behavior for a grown man, but it was foolish for him in particular when he hadn’t worked out all his baggage from Iraq.
“Sounds like you think this case is going to be tricky.” Dani slipped onto a stool next to him.
“We’ll have to be careful.” He set his mug on the counter and cupped his hands around it to warm them. “We’re all used to working in a big city where anonymity is pretty much a given. Pacific Bay is a small town and gossip gets around.”
“Then we’ll need a cover story,” Dani said.
“Alyssa mentioned showing houses tonight as an excuse for her car in the lot, so I can pose as one of her clients looking for rental property here. That’ll give me a reason to ask questions without drawing attention. Plus I’ll be able to meet with her on a regular basis and not raise Saunders’s suspicion.”
“You think he could have identified her tonight?”
“I don’t know—maybe.” He lifted his cup and took a long drink.
“You have great instincts, Cole. If you think it’s possible, maybe it is.”
“I keep thinking about the beach. It didn’t take me long to recognize she was a woman by the way she carried herself. It wouldn’t be farfetched to think the cops chasing her could’ve done the same thing.”
“Maybe they didn’t study her quite as carefully as you did.” She ended with a wink.
He peered over his mug at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just saying something’s going on with you that I haven’t seen in a long time. I think, my dear brother, that you’re interested in her.”
He thought to deny it, but there was a good possibility that he was. Still, he didn’t want to talk about it. “In case Saunders has identified her, we’ll need to keep an eye on her until we’re sure she’s in the clear.”
“Oh, yeah.” She gave him a playful punch to the arm. “You’ll keep an eye on her, all right. Both of them.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m serious, Dani.”
“And that’s why you’ve been exiled out here. To get over this serious phase and let the Cole we all know and love come back.”
“You’ll have to get used to the new Cole. The old one is never coming back.” He tweaked her nose. “I saw too much in Iraq for that to happen.”
“That’s a given, but the new Cole could still stand to laugh and smile a little more often.”
He’d tried that. For two years. But it was hard to be lighthearted when his buddy was buried in the ground because of him.
From the corner of his eye, Cole saw Alyssa enter the room and he swiveled to face her.
“A smile like the cute one you have on your face right now,” Dani whispered.
“Cute?” Cole groaned and watched Alyssa make her way across the open space. His assessment on the beach was right on target. She was gorgeous and regal-looking. Perfect posture. Slender, yet curvy in Dani’s
