Page 31 of Forged in Secrets

Ben nodded, swallowing a gulp of his soda. “It’s not as exciting as it looks.”

“Actually, I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying this,” she said honestly. “I mean, yeah, there are no gunfights or car chases–”

“Not today, anyway,” Ben said, giving her a wink that made her go weak in the knees.

“–Gosh, I hope not. Anyway, I’m learning a lot, and I like the meticulousness of it.”

She paused to take a sip of her own drink, making a mental note that she’d have to reapply her sunscreen soon. It was a gorgeous day, but it was already hotter than it had been the day before, and the last thing she needed was to turn bright red and pass out from heatstroke.

“I’m glad,” Ben said, crushing the wrappers of their hot dogs into a ball and tossing the clump of paper into a trash can a few feet away. “I was kind of worried I’d bore you to death.”

Grace felt her breath catch in her throat. He was so handsome, even with patches of sweat beginning to spread on his dark t-shirt in the stifling humidity. And though she knew how he felt about the beach and the heat, he hadn’t complained since they’d left the hotel. He’d been completely laser-focused on trying to find out what happened to her old friend, and she was thankful.

“Anyway,” Ben said before she could voice her gratitude aloud, “let’s try and talk to a few more kids, and then I think I need to take a break from the heat.”

“Good idea,” she said, wiping a few beads of perspiration from her forehead. She hoped that she still smelled like the coconut and vanilla body spray she’d doused herself with rather than sweat.

By the time they stepped back onto the boardwalk, Ben had pointed out their next set of targets.

A group of boys stood in the sand nearby, each holding a beer in one hand and taking turns tossing a frisbee with the other.

Even though it was only noon, two of them already looked tipsy, and Grace wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d been totally hammered the night that Katie had gone missing. Still, they’d spoken to most of the early risers, and hadn’t learned much. They may as well expand their search.

Grace cringed as they stepped onto the beach, the hot sand brushing against her bare, flip-flop clad feet. Ben had the same reaction, lifting his feet up in turn and trying to shake the sand loose. Somehow, the guys in the polo shirts were hanging out barefoot. Maybe they were more drunk than she thought.

“Hey, guys,” Grace said, putting on her brightest smile and tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Do you have a sec?”

“Of course, beautiful,” one of the guys said, sidling up to her and offering a hand for her to shake. She did so, noticing that the smell of his expensive aftershave was mingled with the unmistakable smell of cheap beer. Clearly, they’d run out of the good stuff.

“Who's the old man?” another guy in blue shorts chimed in, gesturing to Ben.

Rude. Ben was only five years older than her at thirty-two, but she supposed that in the eyes of a college bro, he probably seemed ancient.

“Excuse me?” he growled, standing to his full height and stepping in beside Grace.

“Relax, boys,” Grace said, forcing a laugh. “It’s just my big brother. He’s a little protective sometimes.”

“I can see why a stunner like you might need protection from creeps,” blue shorts said, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair. He was attractive in a Ken doll sort of way, with icy blue eyes, lean muscles, and a watch that made her prized Louis Vuitton bag look cheap.

Two of the other boys nodded in agreement, ogling her in her tasteful lilac dress. Their attitudes made her want to give them a piece of her mind, but if there was even a small chance one of them knew something about Katie, it would be worth staying on their good side.

Whether Ben would keep quiet was another matter.

“Have you seen this woman?” he asked, holding up his phone again and showing a picture of Katie to the group. Three of the boys shook their heads, but blue shorts and another boy nodded, giving each other a pointed look.

“Oh, we’ve seen her,” blue shorts said, a grin breaking out on his tanned face. “She was with her friend, who didn’t like Tom here very much.”

“Shut up,” the other boy–Tom, presumably–said, kicking sand in his friend’s direction. “Chick was clearly frigid, a real ballbust–”

“Watch it,” Ben warned.

The other boys had checked out of the conversation, already focused on chugging their beers and staring at more girls as they paraded across the beach.

For the first time, Grace was thankful for Jade’s abrasive personality. These jerks needed to be knocked down several pegs.

“Anyway,” blue shorts said, brushing sand off of his chiseled abdomen, “We saw them pretty early, over by the jetty, before the party really got started.”

“Do you recall what time it was?” Grace asked sweetly before Ben could start grilling him.

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