Page 65 of Playing Dirty
Truth was, I did feel for his family. None of this was their fault. But if what Sawyer dug up put us on a collision course with the truth, then his wife deserved to know exactly who she was married to.
Colt studied me for a beat, but he didn’t argue.
Sawyer’s voice cut in, low and focused. “Then we’d better make sure whatever we find sticks.”
I looked at him, then at Colt. “It will. And when this is done, Callie comes home to a town where Matt Downing doesn’t exist.”
Sawyer’s fingers stopped tapping, and his head lifted just enough to break the steady glow of the laptop screen. “Got something.” His tone was clipped, the kind you use when you’re holding a card no one else at the table has seen yet.
Colt and I moved in, standing behind him. On the screen were three different driver’s licenses—Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. All with Matt’s face staring back, each with a different address, each clean enough to pass a casual glance.
“That’s interesting,” Colt muttered.
“That’s not all,” Sawyer said. He clicked to another document—a marriage license from Salt Lake City, dated eight years back. Same name. Same smug grin in the tiny photo attached to the record.
I scanned the details, a low burn starting in my chest. “What about a divorce?”
Sawyer shook his head. “I checked every public record database I can access. Utah, Wyoming, Montana. There’s no divorce decree. None. Which means either he’s still married, or the state lost its damn mind.”
Colt blew out a slow breath, leaning back from the table. “If there’s another wife in the picture, we’re about to cause some serious pain.”
“I know,” I said. And I did. I hated the collateral damage. “Doesn’t change what he’s done here. He had to know damn well that karma would catch up with him—sooner or later.”
Sawyer sat back, eyes sharp. “It’s not our job to protect him—or shield anyone from facts they deserve to have. This is leverage, plain and simple.”
He wasn’t wrong. This wasn’t about gossip. This was about ending the game Matt had been running on Callie—and maybe on two other women—for years.
I crossed my arms, staring at the marriage record one more time. “Then we use it. Quiet, clean, and fast. When we’re done, he won’t have a job, a reputation, or a place to run to.”
Colt glanced between us but didn’t argue. The line had been drawn. Now all that was left was to pull the trigger.
Sawyer’s mouth curved, not in a smile exactly, but in that self-satisfied way he got when a plan was starting to take shape. He reached for his phone.
“Who are you calling?” Colt asked, though I already knew.
“My guy at the sheriff’s department,” Sawyer said, scrolling through his contacts. “We’re gonna make life a little inconvenient for our friend.”
Colt frowned. “Inconvenient how?”
“Routine seatbelt check,” Sawyer said, like it was the most harmless thing in the world. He glanced at me. “Sometimes a little nudge is all it takes to knock something loose.”
I nodded. “Do it.”
Sawyer put the call on speaker, and within seconds, a deep, easy voice answered. “What’s up, Sawyer?”
“Need a favor,” Sawyer said. “Got a guy named Matt Downing. Driving a dark blue F-150, Wyoming plates. Runs the Frontier Market in Lovelace. If you see him, pull him over for a seatbelt check, maybe run his info. Let me know what you find.”
The cop didn’t ask questions—must’ve known better than to poke around in the why. “Consider it done.”
We stayed gathered around the phone, listening to the faint background noise of traffic and the officer’s voice as he narrated in real time. “Alright… I got him. Pulling over now. He’s fidgety. Not happy to see me.” A pause, then a low whistle. “Well, this is interesting… running multiple IDs. Wyoming, Utah… hell, Montana too. Stand by.”
I shot a look at Colt. His jaw tightened, but he didn’t say a word.
The officer came back on. “Dispatch is flagging it. Sheriff’s office wants him off the road until they can verify identity. I’m having his truck towed now. Man’s asking for a ride to his cabin.”
Sawyer’s eyes lit with that quiet kind of victory. “Appreciate it.”
“Anytime,” the cop said, and hung up.
