Page 201 of Mountain Men Heroes

I turned a pleading look Trinity’s way. I did my best to convey the urgency of my mission without Sawyer catching on. “Trinity, can you please spare Dyson for like a half an hour? I promise, if we have no luck, we’ll be right back.”

I could see her fighting a grin. The one good thing about the sweet and innocent reputation I had with my family? They never seemed to question my intentions. Trinity, on the other hand, knew better.

Trinity won the fight with her smile. She schooled her features into some semblance of normal. “We can spare Dyson for the morning. Take as long as you need.” She turned her gaze to Dyson and nodded at the folders in his hand. “Nothing so urgent you can’t wait until this afternoon to get started on.”

I kept my eyes trained on Dyson’s face. He shot a quick glance at Eeli, a fleeting expression of panic flashing over his face, there and gone so quickly, I would have missed it if I blinked.

Eeli moved so that his shoulder brushed Dyson’s. “I’ll help, too.”

Shit, shit, shit. That wouldn’t work. The name of this plan was Operation Separate and Conquer. Having Eeli tag along would defeat the purpose.

I dragged in a long breath to calm myself and did my best to give Eeli a wave of my hand that I prayed looked nonchalant. “Don’t worry about it, Eeli. I think we’ll do better if just the two of us go. Dyson can help me track her, but I’m afraid too many people would just scare her away again, ya know.”

Eeli’s already chiseled jawline hardened further and something so bleak passed through his eyes that my heart wanted to jump out of my chest and land in a heap at his feet. It took all my self-control not to take back my words and tell him of course he could come along.

I swallowed hard and pasted on a smile that felt more like a grimace. I turned to Dyson. “Ready?”

He pressed his lips together in a flat line and squared his shoulders like a prisoner about to face a firing squad. What the hell was going on here? Instead of arguing or finding some excuse that I half expected, he simply nodded, dropped the files on the desk and headed for the door.

I followed him out, glancing over my shoulder to take in the mixture of expressions of the rest of the occupants of the room—worried, hopeful, and on Eeli, a blankness so devoid of emotion it made me shiver and my heart ache.

I gave them a half-hearted wave and scurried to catch up to Dyson.

Dyson slid into the front seat of his shiny, black SUV without pausing to ask my preference on the vehicle we took. I wanted to grab the cat carrier from my truck, but I was too afraid of giving Dyson time to formulate an excuse not to come.

I swung into Dyson’s vehicle, slamming the door and pulling my seatbelt across my chest in one quick motion.

“We’re going out to Mrs. Helda’s place,” I informed him.

His only response was another nod as he put the car in gear and pointed us toward the edge of town.

I stared out the windshield for a good two minutes as I searched my mind for ideas on how to pull Dyson out of his shell. Now that I had him to myself, I didn’t want to waste the opportunity.

It took a minute but an idea came on how to get us headed on the right path.

I turned to him. “Sawyer said you and Eeli are renting the house at the end of Weldon’s property.”

As soon as I said Eeli’s name, Dyson’s shoulders flexed and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He didn’t even bother with a nod.

“I didn’t realize you guys were in the market to be roommates.” And that was the truth. “How’s that working out for you guys?”

Dyson shrugged, and if possible, his shoulders tensed more.

I did my best to plow ahead. “That good, huh? Aren’t you worried about what’ll happen when one of you finds a girlfriend or something?”

“Not worried about it.” Dyson’s voice sounded like it traveled across a cheese grater to make its way out of his throat.

I sank my teeth into my lower lip and wrapped my arms around my middle. What was I doing? What made me think I could offer any help to these two men? Surely they needed some professional help, not some meddling sister of a friend.

But even as the doubt flooded my mind, I knew Dyson and Eeli wouldn’t allow professional help. And I knew without being told that Sawyer and Mac, and I’m sure others had already tried to break through to these two. Nothing had worked up until now, so I had to try something.

“Mrs. Helda said she last saw the cat over there.” I pointed to the woods on the west side of the older woman’s house.

Dyson wordlessly followed my directions, pulling the SUV to the side and parking near the spot I’d pointed out. We hopped out and moved to his side.

“She said the little lady ran off here. Any ideas on how to get a fix on her?”

His shoulders flexed and he moved toward the tree line, his fists clenched at his sides. I could almost see his agitation building.

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