Page 82 of End Game

“Who told Linda about her father’s illness and her parents’ fight?”

An unsettled stillness gripped her as she plowed through her memory. When she surfaced, she looked at him with a mixture of surprise and self-recrimination. “I don’t know. I always assumed Vicky told her, but I don’t recall Linda saying so.”

“Sounds like we have even more to discuss with her.”

“We?”

“Go get dressed before I change my mind.”

She kissed him hard, then catapulted her lush body off the bed, shooting into the outer room to grab her overnight bag before darting into the bathroom.

Ash threw off the sheet, checked the level of wrinkle on his discarded clothes and decided he could live with them. As he finished pulling on his pants and shirt, a sharp knock echoed through the condo.

Collecting his handgun and holster, he padded to the front door barefoot and checked the peephole. Before he could bring his visitor into focus, a fist slammed against the door again. He lurched back and ripped his gun from the holster.

“Open the fucking door, Ash.”

Zeke.

Ash reholstered his weapon and set it on a nearby table. His brother either wanted an update on the situation with Kayla or he’d found out about Ash’s meeting with Liv. Small towns loved their gossip.

Either option wasn’t ideal for him with Kayla in the next room.

Considering the amount of violence pulsing against his door, Ash put his money on the latter. Which meant he was about to get his ass kicked.

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The moment he disengaged the deadbolt, Zeke pushed it open.

Although they were the same height, his brother had a good twenty pounds of solid muscle on him. Where Ash leaned toward Captain America, Zeke bulged like Thor.

His dark brown eyes looked almost black in the fading light and his thumb beat against his thigh like a bat’s wing, a sure sign of his agitation.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, brother.” His hand still rested on the door as if he didn’t trust his welcome.

“Now’s not a good time.”

Zeke scanned the room, stopping on Kayla’s sneakers by the sofa and her handbag hooked around the back of a dining room chair, then noting Ash’s bare feet and rumpled clothes.

“I’ll make this quick.” Zeke shouldered his way past Ash, then stood in the center of the living room, arms crossed.

Ash blew out a frustrated breath. Of all the times his brother could have picked to visit for the first time in five years, he’d chosen the day Ash had crossed a professional ethical line. “Zeke?—”

“What the hell were you meeting with Liv about?” The fury in his voice might have shaken the heavens.

Closing the door, Ash stepped into Zeke’s personal space. “Keep your voice down.”

Zeke bent close enough that Ash could’ve head-butted him into next Tuesday. “Answer the question.”

Ash hoped Kayla was making use of his shower. “I had finished an interview in Maggie Valley and took the opportunity to stop in Steele Ridge to see how my former coworker was doing.”

His brother’s nostrils flared, sensing deception. “Why now? She left the FBI months ago.”

“Which confirms my reason for stopping. My visit was long overdue. Who told you we met? Liv?”

“That answers my next question. You met at Randi’s place to avoid the Friary. Why?”

Old grievances clawed up the back of his throat. He squeezed muscles and swallowed until they returned to the pit of his stomach. “You know why.”

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