Page 22 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

“What?” Nathan snapped. He reached into his pocket, causing Duncan, Luca and Slater to all put their hands over their weapons.

Nathan froze, and his eyes widened. “Obviously, you think I’ve done something wrong. I haven’t,” he assured them. “If someone used my name to lease the cabin, then my bank account has been hacked or something. I was just going to take out my phone and see if any money was missing.”

“Do that,” Duncan instructed, but he didn’t take his hand from his gun until he saw for certain that Nathan was pulling out a phone.

Nathan muttered something under his breath and started typing in something on the app he pulled up. It took him at least a minute before he shook his head. “No. There are no missing funds, no fraudulent charges on my credit card. Who said I leased that cabin?”

“The owner,” Duncan answered. “Someone used a credit card in your name to secure it and paid for the lease.”

Nathan cursed. “Well, it sure as hell wasn’t me. Someone must have stolen my identity.” He groaned, cursed again. “I need to report that. Do you investigate it or is that something my bank does?”

“We’ll be investigating it,” Duncan said, tipping his head to Slater and then Luca.

Judging from the sudden tight set of his mouth, Nathan wasn’t a fan of having Luca dig into his financials. “I’m guessing something illegal happened at this cabin?” Nathan snarled.

“We’re investigating that, too, but yes, something happened there,” Duncan verified. He didn’t add any specifics though. “We’re also looking at a Ford F-150 silver truck that was involved in several incidents. Have you ever owned or driven a vehicle like that?”

“No. I drive an Audi.” Nathan looked at her again. “Bree, what’s going on?” he asked, but he didn’t wait for her to respond. “Certainly, you’ve told them I haven’t done anything wrong.”

She hadn’t meant to give him a flat look but it came away. After all, Nathan had stalked her. Nathan not only noticed her expression, he also responded. His mouth tightened. His eyes narrowed. And he aimed a glare at Luca.

“I don’t appreciate you trying to turn Bree against me,” Nathan said. “If you’re jealous of her and me—”

“I’m not,” Luca interrupted and stepped to Bree’s side. “And Bree can make up her mind for herself how she feels about you.”

Nathan’s scowl stayed in place, but it was obvious he didn’t have a good comeback for that. “All right,” Nathan said through clenched teeth, indicating that things were far from all right. His expression softened a bit when he shifted back to her. “Bree, if you need me for anything, you have my number. And remember, I care about you. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

He reached out as if he might try to hug her, but Bree stepped back and landed right against Luca. The impact put her off balance just enough that Luca’s arms came around to steady her.

That intensified Nathan’s glare. “Remember what I said,” he muttered. “I care about you.”

With that, Nathan walked out. Or rather, he stormed out. And Bree found herself releasing the breath that she’d been holding. She hated that Nathan could still annoy her like this. Hated, too, that it had felt so reassuring when she’d landed in Luca’s arms. She eased away from him and stood on her own two feet.

“I swear, I’ve told Nathan many times that nothing will ever happen between him and me,” she muttered. “And, no, I don’t need to do a restraining order,” she added to Slater. “Nathan hasn’t called or texted me in months.”

But she was worried that Nathan would use her injury and this interrogation to try to wheedle himself into her life again.

“I plan on doing a deep background check on Nathan,” Luca said, going to the front door to lock it. “It’s possible he has a history of stalking women. Maybe other things, too, that he doesn’t want us to know about.”

“You believe he could have been the one who leased that cabin?” Duncan asked.

Luca shrugged. “On the surface it wouldn’t be the smartest move to use his own name. But criminals aren’t always smart. And sometimes that sort of move might have us thinking he’s not guilty.”

That was true, and Bree tried to play out that scenario. “Even before I went out with Nathan, he was obsessed with me. I didn’t see that until afterwards,” she added. “But I know now, it’s an obsession. It might be far-fetched, but maybe he kidnapped Mom to try to punish me.”

“Or maybe he hoped you’d turn to him while you were vulnerable and grieving,” Slater supplied.

That settled like a fist of ice in her stomach. Because it didn’t seem so far-fetched at all.

“I’ll do that deep background check,” Luca repeated. He looked at her. “You want to try to get some rest now?”

She would have definitely agreed to that, but Duncan’s phone dinged again. “It’s Woodrow,” he said, glancing at the screen. “The artist just finished with the first sketch of the woman seen driving the silver truck.” He looked at it, shook his head and then turned his phone for them to see. “I don’t know her.”

Bree went closer. She didn’t get an immediate jolt of recognition, but it came the longer she studied the image. “I think I might know who that is,” she muttered. “She looks like the bartender at the Hush, Hush bar. I think that’s Tara Adler.”

Duncan, Slater and Luca all exchanged glances. “Do you have her number?” Duncan asked.

She shook her head. “I can call Manny and ask to speak to her.”

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