Page 82 of Christmas with Three Cowboys

Up ahead, on the right side, I see the main entrance of the former cabaret.

The strip club is still open. Red lights adorn the front door along with stylized posters of the current dancers. I see two big, brawny bouncers standing outside and plenty of people moving up and down the street. Some stop by, a few manage to get in. The rest just glance at the doors, admiring the posters before they continue walking.

Farther down the road, on the corner of 12th Street, I recognize a deal going down. One guy slips a roll of cash to another guy. Something else reaches the first guy’s jacket pocket. It’s all too familiar. Sickening. Sad.

“What did you just say?” Mitch asks, pulling me out of my silent analysis of a street I used to roam many winters ago.

“Huh?”

He leans closer, smiling softly as his eyes settle on my lips for a moment. “You’re in love with three amazing men?”

“Well, yeah,” I mumble, my face feeling hot. I didn’t even register the impact my words would have in this situation. But I won’t take them back. It’s how I feel, and life is short and messy enough. I’m not going to lie, especially given the secret I’m carrying in my womb. “I’m in love…”

“I had no idea Sammy, Kyle, and Jason would touch your heart like that,” Mitch replies.

I gasp and playfully slap him across the shoulder. He laughs and pulls me into a deep kiss. The kind of kiss that tells me more than his words could ever convey. I feel him, I feel his heart beating next to mine. Hell, I feel Colton and Ethan through him as well. I feel them all in my very soul, turning me inside out and making me a better woman with each passing day.

“I’m sure you know the feeling is mutual,” Mitch says, his lips brushing mine. “We’re head over heels for you, Melissa.”

“What men in their right minds would go on this wild goose chase with me?” I laugh lightly and kiss the tip of his nose. “I kind of figured it out the minute you told me I’m one of yours, then you proceeded to refuse to let me run away, even though it would’ve saved you a heap of trouble.”

“Oh, you figured it out then,” Mitch raises an eyebrow.

I can’t help but smile. “I might not seem very bright, but I can put two and two together.”

“Melissa, you are one of the sharpest women I’ve ever met. Don’t ever sell yourself short,” he says, then kisses me again. This time, I feel his hunger and his longing, too. Were it not for our location and our mission, clothes would be flying off without a care in the world.

“We’re going to do everything in our power to keep you safe, you hear me?” he asks, as if reading my mind.

“I hear you, babe,” I reply with a loving smile.

By midnight, we meet Colton and Ethan in Ainsworth.

There’s a bar open late, and it’s pretty empty at this hour. The weather isn’t too friendly, as snow keeps falling and adding a new crisp layer of white on top of everything. But we have a few moments before we hit the road again, and we do need to go over all the intel we’ve gathered throughout the day.

“No trace of Laurel, but we did talk to a few guys. They said we should come around on the weekends, when business picks up a bit,” Mitch tells his brothers. “In this cold-ass winter, even the working girls stay off the streets.”

“Everything’s done online anyway,” Colton scoffs. “Pimps and hookers are getting with the times. We’ll have to try that angle, too.”

Ethan nods slowly. “We’ll talk to Sheriff Kavanaugh as well. If Laurel’s still in the business, then she’s probably gotten herself arrested a few times. There should be a record, an address, some lead to follow until we find her.”

“And Bruce?” Colton asks.

I shake my head. “No luck. The laundromat shut down shortly after the trial ended. And no one’s seen the guy around. It’s like he vanished.”

“Chances are he did, in fact, vanish,” Mitch mutters. “The cartel might’ve cut him loose, so to speak, or Jake.”

“I don’t know. Jake is a terrible human being, but I can’t imagine him killing anyone,” I say.

“Do not underestimate a desperate man, Melissa,” Ethan warns me.

“What about Ainsworth PD?” I ask Ethan and Colton. “Any luck there?”

“Actually, yes,” Colton replies and shows me a few photos he took on his phone. “Meet Officer Orlando Reyes.”

I remember him. He was one of the arresting officers in my case. Just the sight of him makes my stomach churn and my blood run cold. “I know him,” I say with a trembling voice. “He and his partner were the ones who arrested me.”

“He was also the co-captain of the Star Spanglers, Ridgemont High’s football team,” Colton replies, his eyes on me. “Guesswho he co-captained with.”

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