Page 14 of Down and Dirty

“Ten or fifteen years, although it could be longer. She’s just always been around,” Faith answered.

Keaton shouldn’t have been surprised Faith didn’t want to share all of her secrets yet. He never shared his.

Keaton observed everything on the ride to the forest. Within minutes they’d forgotten he was in the backseat and were jabbering and finishing each other’s sentences. Jimbo was important to her. That made him important to Keaton.

Her phone rang as Jimbo pulled into the parking lot for the forest trails.

She answered as she climbed out. “Hello?”

Her face blushed as she dropped her gaze. “Yes, I remember you, Doctor. Is everything okay with my test results?”

Jimbo and Keaton shared a look as they listened on. Jimbo went about checking his gun clip while Keaton’s gaze remained on her.

“Oh, I see,” she said and twirled her hair. “Dinner, well, I….”

Keaton slipped the phone from her grasp. “Sorry, Doc, this is Detective Keaton Daniels. She’s helping us with a murder investigation. She’s not going to have time.”

Keaton handed her back the phone and walked over to Jimbo, already at the mouth of the trail.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Daniels,” Jimbo said, watching Faith from beneath his lashes.

Keaton shrugged. “She’ll get over it.”

“You’ve never met the Bennett women, have you?” Jimbo chuckled.

She hung up. Fire flared in her eyes, which were lasered in on Keaton. The air around them was charged as she stomped over to him. She pointed her finger against his chest and shoved. “How dare you?”

“There’s no reason to lead him on.”

Her temper flared like her nostrils. It was damn adorable.

She snapped her mouth closed and stomped over to Jimbo. “I’m helping you, but I won’t help him.”

She pointed an accusatory finger in Keaton’s direction.

“What’s another lie between friends?” Keaton said in passing, heading into the trail.

“Daniels, quit being an ass. Faith is trying to help us.”

Keaton slowed his steps and turned around to face them both.

“If that were the case, she’d tell me the real reason behind the trinkets in the box. If that were the case, you’d both clue me in on what the hell is really going on.”

Neither of them spoke.

“That’s what I thought,” Keaton said as he turned and continued to walk, knowing he was headed in the right direction. There was already a spirit on the trail, and she was glaring at him as he walked right through her.

Keaton had a way of pissing people off. It was a gift.

Without glancing over his shoulder, he opened an app on his phone and started the GPS breadcrumb trail to find his way out if he were to get lost. Keaton wouldn’t put it past Faith to talk Jimbo into leaving him behind.

Heat beat down from above as a mosquito latched onto Keaton’s neck and he smacked it dead.

As he stepped over trees and branches, the leaves crunched beneath his shoes. He rolled up his sleeves ten minutes later and continued following the angry ghost disappearing and reappearing in his path.

Faith’s and Jimbo’s voices bounced around the tree trunks as they followed behind. Neither of them included Keaton in on their discussion. He was okay with that, for now.

Keaton rubbed at the ache in his chest. He was so close to having everything he’d seen in his dreams, and yet it still felt so far away. Anger stirred in his gut. She was right in the middle of the one investigation where he wasn’t sure he could keep her safe.

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