Page 27 of Cold Case Murder Mystery

Zeke didn’t let his hands curl into fists, though they wanted to. “And maybe she shouldn’t. You were both dealt the same shitty hand, and I hate to break it to you, lots of people are. She figured out how to build a real life out of it. You can blame her for that, or you can build your own. But nothing’s going to happen to her. I won’t let it. So I don’t know why you’re here, why you’ve been following her, but it’s not going to get past me. You can believe me, or you can run up against me, but Brooke won’t be the target.”

There was a long, drawn-out pause while Royal studied him and Zeke stood there, letting him.

“You care about her,” Royal said after a while, like he wasn’t completely sure he believed it. Like it was a question.

“You’re damn right.” Because what was the point hemming and hawing to her brother? What was the point ignoring it himself? Maybe he hated it. Maybe he wished he didn’t. But he did and it wasn’t going away.So.

“Good. Someone should.”

Zeke could only stare at the one person he’d ever seen Brooke cry over, besides his own sorry ass. Multiple times. “Her brother could.”

“I could,” he agreed. His expression remained grim but wasn’t quite so abrasive. “If I thought it was safe. But it’s not. And neither is she.”

That sounded somehow both like a warning and a threat.

“How so?”

“If she wanted you to know, you’d know.”

That was fair, even if it hurt.

“Doessheknow?”

Royal smirked. “You care about her but she’s not telling you her secrets?” He tsked. “Maybe you’re not quite as important to her as you’d like to think.”

“I shouldn’t be important to her at all.” He shouldn’t have said that out loud. Besides, he’d come here to warn Royal, and now he had. What the guy did with said warning was up to him.

Zeke turned to leave, trying not to concern himself with Brooke’ssecrets. Because she could tell him or not tell him whatever she wanted. It was her life. Her family.

Her safety—that is your responsibility.

“Hey.”

Zeke stopped, turned to face Royal, who still stood on the porch.

“Look up what I was in jail for.” Then he turned on a heel and disappeared inside, the slam of the cabin door echoing through the quiet morning.

Zeke wasn’t sure what kind of parting shot that was, but it was... interesting.

And, surely, Hart could get him Royal’s entire rap sheet. So, he hopped in his borrowed car and decided to head for Bent. Maybe he could catch the detective before he headed out to the caves to meet up with Brooke.

He started driving, his thoughts fixing on Royal Campbell and jail, on the fact the brother Brooke hadn’t seen in something like fifteen years might know something about her Zeke didn’t.

He kept picturing yesterday. When Brooke and Royal had spoken quietly and Zeke hadn’t heard what they’d said. He’d chalked it up to sibling stuff.

But what if it was more and she was hiding something big from him?

Before he could give that too much thought, he saw a truck going in the opposite direction on its side of the highway, which was normal.

Except that it washistruck.

Chapter Nine

Brooke couldn’t imagine getting back to Zeke’s ranch before he woke up. She’d have to explain taking his truck, where she’d gone, what she’d been doing.

Or you could tell him to butt out.

She snorted. Yeah, that’d work. Well, she’d just have to lie. As much as she didn’t like the idea, telling him she’d been out doing errands wasn’t afulllie.

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