Page 7 of The Keeper

Sorry? Seth’s tired brain struggled to tie the conversation threads together. He was about to look at Kerry, but the stranger finally turned and met his gaze. Arctic blue eyes glowed from beneath the brim’s shadow. They didn’t actually glow like fictional supernatural beings, but their contrast was so great that they appeared to light from within.

“You’re on television,” the stranger said.

Was that why Kerry apologized? What kind of gloom-and-doom hell was about to befall him? Seth turned his head in time to catch the tail end of a “coming up on” promo for the local news affiliate. Aunt Debbie always muted the volume on the televisions to avoid clashing with the music, but the subtitles on the bottom of the screen told Seth everything he needed to know. The channel’s crime reporter had interviewed several of the Harts and Burkes for the segment they produced for the twenty-fifth anniversary of Natalie’s unsolved murder. The piece would play the following evening, but not without controversy.

Most people fell into two camps: those who believed Natalie’s killer was still out there, making her case unsolved, and those who believed the cops had found Natalie’s killer but couldn’t prosecute him because he died before they could make an arrest. Publicly, Seth claimed to be in the unsolved murder camp, but privately, he was certain Ryan Ulrich had gotten away with murder. The cops had tracked the rusty blue truck back to him based on Seth’s description, and Ryan admitted to picking Natalie up in town and driving her to the river where a bunch of his friends gathered to party. He even confessed that they’d gotten into an argument and had gone separate ways once there. Ryan claimed Natalie had stomped off into the woods, and he assumed she’d gotten a ride back to town with someone else when she didn’t return. Everyone else at the gathering claimed to have eyes on Ryan during the entire time of the party and hadn’t seen where Natalie had gone. And Seth would know since he’d memorized each statement after accessing the official file when he took office.

The original investigators had dismissed his family’s concern until Natalie’s body was found a few miles downstream from where she’d gone missing. The department hypothesized she’d died of an accidental drowning. They said Natalie could’ve been drinking or smoking weed like the others at the party. She could’ve been distraught and unsteady on her feet and fallen into the river or taken an ill-fated swim. The medical examiner had quickly disabused them of that notion. The blunt-force trauma to her head was too severe for a slip and fall. It showed signs of rage that turned the focus back to Ryan, who’d admitted fighting with her. The sheriff’s department had performed a thorough investigation from that point, interviewing people from the party multiple times. The stories never changed. Natalie had wandered off angry, but Ryan never budged from the gathering. Seth’s immediate predecessor had taken up the cold case and had attempted to solve Natalie’s murder. He’d assigned one of his detectives to review the case and look for any unturned stones or punch holes in any of the witness statements. No unturned rocks. No holes. A community still divided.

The folks who believed Ryan killed Natalie had been more vocal, and the Ulrich family moved away. Ryan died of a drug overdose a few years after Natalie’s death, and Seth worried they might never find justice for his cousin. Fuck, she deserved so much better.

“That young lady was your cousin?” The stranger’s voice brought Seth back to the present.

He reached for his soda to quench his suddenly dry mouth. He set the glass back on the bar with a thunk and faced his curious barstool neighbor. “Yes.”

“Is that why you got into law enforcement?”

Seth squinted and aimed his best Clint Eastwood glower at the man. “Are you a reporter?”

Arctic blue eyes widened, and he held up his palms. “No way, man. I’ve watched Forensic Files and Dateline hundreds of times, so you think murder is more common than it really is. In truth, most of us will never know someone who’s been murdered. I’m really sorry for your loss and my nosy questions.”

Ah, a true-crime buff. That explained the man’s interest. Seth forced himself to relax. “Thank you.”

“You want another beer?” Kerry nodded to the man’s nearly empty mug.

“Nah. I’ve got a bit more driving to do before I stop for the night.”

Seth was going to make nice and ask about the guy’s destination when familiar laughter boomed from the casual section of the restaurant. He looked at his cousin, whose villainous grin returned. It took everything in Seth’s power not to crane his neck and search out the owner of that glorious laugh. It had been nine months since it had bounced around his cabin bedroom, and he missed that almost as much as the warm skin, hot mouth, and greedy pucker he’d become addicted to in just three glorious nights. Rueben. “The ETA on the food?” Seth prodded.

Kerry casually shrugged again. “It’s ready when it’s ready.”

“You talk to all the patrons like that?” Seth turned to the stranger and nodded toward his empty plate. “Is that what he told you when you ordered food? You’ll get it when you get it?”

His stool neighbor laughed. “Nope. I got a ‘coming right up.’”

Another round of laughter burst from across the room, but Seth separated one from the rest. This time, he couldn’t resist scanning the section for Rueben, and his greedy eyes found him easily enough. He and Keegan huddled over something on their table. They both held pencils and glanced at the television screen every few moments. It finally registered that they were playing a round of trivia. Kerry’s chuckle pulled Seth’s attention back to the annoying mountain of muscle in front of him.

“Shut up.”

Seth got a reprieve from that smug asshole when a patron on the other side of the bar waved Kerry over. Don’t look. Don’t look. Seth searched for the grit that had sustained him during the meeting in Lyndhurst’s office, but it eluded him. His gaze repeatedly veered into Rueben’s direction until the intensity must’ve lured his gaze Seth’s way. One moment, he was looking down at his card on the table, and the next, they locked eyes. Seth was too surprised to avert his gaze right away and knew he’d gotten caught. He turned his head forward fast enough to wrench his neck and found Kerry standing in front of him again.

“Let’s go out back so I can wipe that cocky grin off your face,” Seth said.

Kerry quirked a brow and flexed an arm to show off his bulging biceps. He’d always been taller and broader, which meant Seth had to develop other skills to triumph over Kerry. He was faster and more calculating whenever he struck. Seth usually applied the strategy to physical altercations, but matters of the heart could lay a man low quicker and harder than a fist could. And Seth had to admit, at least to himself, that his heartstrings had gotten tangled up in Rueben Sanchez. He was out of his depth, and his doofus cousin wasn’t any wiser. Kerry’s motto was “You Can Tie Me Up but You’ll Never Tie Me Down.” What insight could he possibly offer Seth? It was clear that Kerry looked forward to sharing his pearls of wisdom with him as soon as they were alone.

“You’re too busy beating up yourself. Save your energy for a better use of your time.” Kerry darted a glance in Rueben’s direction just in case Seth didn’t get his message.

Loud and clear, buddy. He let his glower do the talking for him. Besides, Seth knew Rueben had moved on, but Kerry didn’t. He wasn’t exactly happy that Rueben had found someone else, but he cared enough to put Rue’s happiness first. Seth didn’t like how things went down in the prosecutor’s office and wanted to steal a moment to get some closure. People bandied the word around a lot, but the concept was utter bullshit. Still, he liked to keep things tidy and the air clean whenever he could. Seth might not have Rueben for himself, but he didn’t want the guy harboring resentment toward him. Opportunity presented itself when Rueben stood up and headed to the bathroom a few minutes later.

Seth waited until a patron down the bar diverted Kerry’s attention and slipped off his stool. Enough time had passed, so it wouldn’t be obvious to casual observers that he was following Rueben. There was a stockroom, an employee break room, and a broom closet on the left side of the hallway, and the bathrooms were on the right. Rueben stepped into the corridor just as he reached the men’s restroom, colliding with Seth’s chest.

Rueben’s eyes widened, and an “oomph” whooshed from his parted lips. He staggered back a step, and Seth reached for his hips to steady him. Gone went Seth’s promise to keep his distance from Rueben. The only thing on his mind in that moment was just how right their bodies fit together. Rueben’s soulful brown eyes came in a close second, though the longing he saw there confused him. He hadn’t imagined the affectionate gestures and glances between Rueben and Keegan in Lyndhurst’s office. But in the dark hallway with Rueben’s warmth pressed against him, Seth struggled to remember his own name. His mouth suddenly felt dry and gritty, like he was sucking sand in the Middle East again, but the only rat-a-tat-tat-tat came from his pounding heart, not a weapon. Raucous laughter erupted in the dining room, piercing the intimate bubble they’d created in the hallway.

Seth dropped his hands and took a few steps back before someone saw them. “I’d hoped to talk to you.”

Rueben smiled slightly and closed the space between them again. Seth suddenly felt like the fly caught in a spider’s web. “Good. I want to talk to you too.”

Seth started to guide him toward the bathroom, but Rueben shook his head. “Is someone in there?”

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