Page 15 of Embattled Return

“What the fuck is wrong with you people?”

Shannon’s eyes widened at Parker’s angry bellow. How had that flipped so quickly?

“Do you think you’re better than us?” he hissed, rising to his feet, his fists clenched around the notepads. “Better than me? Why the hell do you think you can talk down to me? Just because you’re fronting the money it doesn’t mean I’m going to let you Denver Dicks belittle me.”

Shannon blinked, her mouth open. Had he just called them dicks?

The room erupted into howls of laughter. John turned his chair to Parker and clasped his hand, laughing. “You crazy fucker.”

Parker grinned. “The difference being, since it’s only me and Brody right this minute, I can be as non-PC as I want to be.”

The men crowded around the group, laughing, and Shannon snapped a few pictures with her phone. A new business had been born.

6

It was a damn party at work that day.

John didn’t remember there being this much excitement when they branched off to Vail, but Vail was at least still in the state. Maybe that was the difference. Columbus seemed like a very long way away, and more of an event. Plus, it had been a long time since Parker had been in the offices, and he’d been missed. John had a feeling it would be a flourishing business in no time.

As soon as he could, he slipped away. The details of Logan’s family had lingered with him, and he wanted to at least do a preliminary search before he went home. Tonight, they would be at the dinner and if he didn’t do it now, it wouldn’t get looked at until tomorrow.

Shannon came into the office as he slid behind his desk, and he smiled. Looking at her always made him smile, no matter the mood he was in.

“Are you back to looking for Logan’s family?” she asked, moving to hover over his shoulder. She rested her other hand on his back.

“I haven’t gotten that far, but yes.”

John logged into his computer and started pulling up some of the sites he frequented to dig up dirt.

“I’m not going to lie, John,” Shannon said softly, “I feel for Logan. And I worry that if we don’t find him something, he’s going to do something drastic.”

He looked up at her sharply. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “Just some of the things he’s said makes me think... well, I think he’s thinking about suicide. This seems like some kind of checklist he’s going through to let himself go. Some kind of bucket list, almost.”

John blinked, looking back at the keyboard. The thought had occurred to him as well, though maybe not as clearly. There was something a little... lost about Logan. He felt a little sick as he wondered if John was helping him check off the list. “Well, maybe we can find him something to live for. Give me a little time and we’ll go get the boys.”

Shannon leaned down and nuzzled him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll be out at my desk. I love you.”

“I love you too, babe.”

He watched as she exited the office. Hopefully something would pop out at him to give him a direction, because he hadn’t seen it earlier. It sounded like Logan needed some kind of connection.

An hour later he wanted to punch the keyboard in frustration. Nothing was coming out right. He’d done property searches and death searches, searched the genealogy websites, and tapped into a somewhat shady database. All to no avail. He didn't have enough information to engage the background check services he normally used, so he would have to hope he happened across something random. Actually, he needed to interview Logan again. Maybe they could invite him to the dinner. He wasn’t part of LNF, but he was a vet alone in a town he didn’t know anything about.

When he texted Duncan, his partner agreed immediately.

I would have suggested it myself if I had known. A lot going on today.

Definitely. Thanks. Hey, Shannon and I are peeling out early. She’s dying to see the kids.

No problem. See you at dinner?

Absolutely!

Shannon grinned when he rolled into her reception area and snatched up her bag and coat. With a wave at the lingering men, they climbed onto the elevator.

“I feel like we’re skipping school,” she whispered.

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