Page 20 of Seven

“I need you to do some more digging and see what else you can find on her and her father’s death.”

“You got it.” He motioned his head down the hall. “You gonna stop by and tell Prez what’s up?”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by there on my way out.”

“Okay. I’ll get to work and let you know what I find.”

“Thanks, brother. I appreciate it.”

He gave me a nod, and Goose and I left to track down Prez. I gave him a quick briefing on what had gone down, and as I’d expected, he’d not only given me his blessing to pursue, but he’d sent Memphis along with us. It was doubtful that we’d come into any trouble, but Prez always liked to cover all bases.

Tallie’s address was just over an hour away, so we decided to take my truck. We each piled in, and as soon as I put the address in the GPS, we were on our way.

Other than the occasional crackle of Goose popping his knuckles or Memphis shifting in his seat, the truck was silent. It suited me just fine. I wasn’t in any mood to talk. I was too busy sorting through all the crazy in my head. I hadn’t seen Tallie in years, but the memory of her face was just as vivid as it was the first day I laid eyes on her.

I’d always thought she was beautiful. She had long, thick red hair, incredible, emerald-green eyes, and an hour-glass figure that would stop any man dead in his tracks. And there was nothing in this world that could match her smile. It was the kind of smile that stuck with you for days on end.

When I fell for her, I fell hard, and I fell fast.

I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but a piece of me had always hoped that we would find our way back to each other. And now, that hope was turning into a real possibility, and it had me on edge. Memphis picked up on my tension, and asked, “You good?”

“Yeah,” I answered, without taking my eyes off the road.

“You sure about that?” Goose chimed in from the backseat. “Cause it looks like you’re about to break that fucking steering wheel.”

“I’m good. Just ready to get there.”

Thankfully, traffic wasn’t all that bad, and it didn’t take us long to make it to Hot Springs.

We pulled into the parking lot of a run-down apartment complex on the edge of town, and I wasn’t exactly impressed with the state of the place. There was peeling paint, cracked pavement, and a couple of broken-down cars that looked like they hadn’t moved in years.

“I thought Shep said her dad was a lawyer,” Goose said, breaking into my thoughts.

“He is.”

“Then, what’s up with her living in a dump like this?”

“No clue, but if I had to guess, I would say she wanted a place on her own or something. Won’t know for sure until I talk to her.”

I killed the engine and sat there for a moment just staring up at the building. This was it. She was in there.

“You ready?” Memphis asked.

“Yeah,” I lied, pushing open the door.

I stepped out of the truck, and I felt like I was being pulled into a hundred directions as I followed Goose and Memphis up the main entrance. It had been almost eight years since we’d been face to face, and I had no idea what I was going to say to her. There was always the chance that she didn’t want to see me. If she did, she would’ve reached out and let me know she was back in town.

She hadn’t, so I could only assume that she didn’t want to see me.

There was no way to know for sure until I spoke to her. By the time I reached her door, I was a fucking mess. I raised my fist and was about to knock, but I froze.

This was it.

The moment I’d been waiting almost eight years for.

I just prayed it wouldn’t blow up in my face.

6

---