Page 20 of Her Wild Coast Refuge

“Yes,” I say in a firm voice because any sign of weakness right now and his big brother alarm is going to go berserk.

Hunter snaps a photo of the check. “I’m going to check them out just to be sure. In the interim, don’t be alone with them, and stay only in public places.”

This is why I never told him about Hayden, and why I certainly can’t tell him now. “Fine.”

Technically, I won’t be alone with them when we’re fishing—there will be fish. And rivers and trails and glaciers are public places, right?

A teller waves us over. I give her my credentials and hand over the check.

“We’ll need to put a hold on this,” she says, flicking her gaze at me before flipping my check over for me to sign. “For verification.”

“Like it’s a bad check?” I ask, my gut dropping.

“Don’t worry. It’s standard procedure for larger deposits such as this. It’ll be ready in seven business days.”

Hunter and I head outside where the sunshine warms my face. It’s a relief after the bank’s sterile air conditioning.

Hunter slides on his shades. “I got the go-ahead from Cooper. His truck’s all yours until they get back.”

If there was a greener way to shuttle Dawson and Quinn around, I would use it. This might be a case of the ends justifying the means, because the money I’m earning will help save Soren Creek. “How’d you reach Cooper?”

“Bat signal.” He winks at me. “I’ll give you a ride.”

I used to be weirded out by my brother being a cop, especially how it used to make my social life hell. It’s surely a big reason I was so drawn to Hayden. He didn’t mind keeping us a secret. That should have been my first clue that he was bad news, but I was too stubborn.

“Something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Hunter says once we’re underway. “The guy you told us was dating Terrilynn—Vander—do you know who he associated with?”

My gut wriggles. Right before Hayden got picked up by the Mavericks, he’d been hanging out with Vander. “Just some high school jerks, why?”

“I think he’s working with some of the scumbags who got to Sarah, and I have a hunch he’s the one who got Terrilynn turning tricks.”

“Ugh,” I say, and heave a full breath.Please tell me Hayden was not involved in anything like that. “That’s awful. Can you arrest him?”

He gives me a soft smile. “Need a warrant for that.”

I punch his bicep, which might as well be made of steel. “Very funny.”

“Something else you could help me with.” We pull to a stop at a red light. He taps his phone screen and an image pops up. “You ever seen this before?”

I scoop up his phone and study the picture of a necklace. The chain is tarnished and broken, and the pendant is made from a stone the color of sea foam.

“Should I have?” I ask.

Hunter doesn’t answer, and I search his face, but it’s blank. The light turns and he accelerates.

I take another look at the image, zooming in. “Looks like jade.” I don’t work with jade. It’s not rare, and it’s too dominant in a design for my taste. “Did you ask at the jeweler’s?”

“Do any of your friends wear this kind of thing?”

Typical of a cop to answer a question with a question. “Not that I’ve seen. It’s supposed to bring good luck, right?”

“Some people believe it can protect them,” Hunter replies.

“This is about Terrilynn.” I watch his face, but he’s too good to reveal the answer. Not that I need confirmation—I’m sure of the pendant’s significance now.

I slide my locket on its chain, thinking. If Terrilynn believed jade had protective qualities, does that mean she knew she was in danger?

Hunter turns onto Cooper’s dirt road and we ascend a long hill, leaving a rooster tail of dust in our wake. I change the subject by asking Hunter about family. He tells me about Tristan “helping” him build a tree fort last week while Petra kept their toddler Lizzie from chewing on the supplies.

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