Page 4 of Stripped Bare

“No, Gil and I were never close.We worked well together.He commanded a tight unit, but I wasn’t with them for long.I was sent in to help finish a mission when they lost a member of their team.Everything was fresh then.I don’t think he could look at me without remembering who I’d replaced.I did my job, and when it was done, I moved on.”She shrugged.She hadn’t known Gil long, but in those types of situations, she’d learned the character of the man very quickly.Gil Daniels was a good one.“What about you?How did an Army Ranger end up with a bunch of Marines?”

“They got lucky,” he said with a grin that made her laugh.

“How have you managed to keep the women at bay?”she murmured as she stared at him.

“Never met the right one,” he answered quietly after short silence.Something in his eyes made her wonder if there’d been someone but for some reason, it hadn’t worked out between the two.What type of woman would make a man like Shep feel regret?

“I’m going to answer some emails for a bit,” she said, waving of her phone.She needed to stop thinking about Shep and get her mind back on her sister.Chloe had always come first with her, and she’d been missing for four weeks.

“Home first or the bar?”Shep asked a bit later, pulling her from the report she was reading.

“Up to you,” she said.She’d already been to the bar.Several times.“You’ve seen all the information I have from the Sheriff’s office.The trail’s cold.If I’d gotten back sooner, I would have had more to go on.”

“Don’t do that.”Shep reached over and squeezed her hand with his.“We’ll find something.No one disappears without a trace.”

Stace nodded, not pulling away when he kept his hand on hers.The truth was, she could use the comfort.It had been too long since she’d had anyone to lean on.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Chloe, her infectious smile that always hinted at how mischievous she was.She sought fun the way Stace craved danger.Stace had been in her fair share of intense situations.Some while in the military but most since leaving and moving into the private sector.She knew what happened to women who were taken.She couldn’t imagine any of that happening to Chloe.Not her Chloe.And four weeks?That was a long time to be missing.

“Hey,” Shep said, drawing her attention, but when she looked up, he had his phone to his ear.“Why don’t you stop at the bar and see what you can find.See if any of the staff from the night Chloe went missing are working, feel them out.I’ll take Stace to the house and look at Chloe’s room, her computer and things.”He nodded as if Griff could see him.“Pizza sounds good.Whatever.See you later.”

“Whatever?”Stace asked when Shep disconnected the call.

He cleared his throat.“Pizza.”

“You saidpizzafollowed bywhatever.”

“It’s recovery food,” he muttered.

“Recovery?”She paused.“He thinks we’re going to the house to have sex?”

“He doesn’t.He was just being an ass.It’s his default.”

Stace snorted.She would have said Griff Daniel’s default was seduction.At least with women.There was just something about him.“He’s definitely different from his brother.”

“Both of his brothers,” Shep agreed.“Their baby sister, Katie, is the real gem, though.She’s married to Ben Marcum.”

“He works with Gil.”Stace had done her research, though admittedly, it had been easier to find information on a few of them.Some, mostly Jack Madigan’s employees, hadn’t been as easy.

“Yep.Great guy.Stick around long enough, and you’ll meet him.”

She wasn’t touching that comment.She was physically attracted to Shep, but a lot was going on.Her sister’s disappearance being the most important.She questioned why she’d given in to the impulse to kiss him and let him know she was interested in him.What was wrong with her?She was trying to distract herself from the panic setting in.That’s what was wrong.She might not know Shep, but he deserved to be appreciated and not used.She wasn’t sure she had anything to give at the moment.

“What are you doing?”She glanced around as he pulled over the car.

“This is where they found your sister’s car.Don’t tense up,” he ordered as she started to do just that.“Keep loose.Open mind.Let’s walk through what we heard on that tape.”

“She pulled over because she knew she’d been drugged,” Stace said.

“Smart girl,” Shep said then added.“Pulled over and called for help.”

“They thought she was drunk at first,” Stace continued.“I talked to the operator who took the call.She was apologetic.Said she thought Chloe was a drunk driver at first.”

“It happens,” Shep offered with a shrug.“Back to Chloe.She’s fumbling for the phone, slurring her words as the drug starts working.What does she focus on?”

Stace closed her eyes and heard every moment of that call in her head.Heard the underlying fear in her sister’s voice as she struggled to tell what was going on.“She saw lights behind her.A vehicle pulled up.”

“Stop,” he said.“You’re going with what you know happened.I want you to focus on her.You know her better than anyone.What did she do when she saw the lights?”

“She passed out,” she began angrily, but he shook his head and put a finger to her lips.

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