Page 31 of The Harborer
“Yeah, I’m not sure it was a good idea.” Shane described how Micky got in Amy’s face shortly after the confrontation. Would he have done that if Shane hadn’t pressed him?
“That fucker,” Reece growled through the truck’s speakers.
“And there’s something else. Before that, he was talking to some dude who looked sketchy as hell. Said he didn’t know the guy, but he got twitchy when I asked about him.”
“I know who you’re talking about. I noticed that guy too. Any idea who he is?”
Shane passed along what Amy had told him. “Do you remember a guy named Benny from high school?”
“Sure don’t, and that guy didn’t look familiar at all, but we’ve all changed in the last fourteen years.”
The streets were quiet, and Shane accelerated through town. “I pressed Micky about him again last night at Miners. That punchedallhis buttons, and he tried to feed me the same line of bullshit, but at least he didn’t take it out on Amy this time. He took off instead, and she hasn’t seen him since.”
The map Shane had discovered in her office suddenly bobbed and broke the surface of his whirling thoughts at the same moment he recalled the way she’d turned away from him when he’d asked about the Benny character. He shoved the errant thoughts aside. “Where were you last night, by the way?”
“Neve had to put two injured animals down yesterday, and it tore her up. Between her feeling like crap physically, she felt like crap emotionally too, so we bagged the celebration.”
“You missed a good time.”
“Eh, what we ended up doing was a better time.”
“I am flipping you off right now, asshole.”
“Hey, my wife needed a distraction. I gave her one.”
“You suck.”
“And rather well, from what I’m told.” Reece chuckled at his own stupid joke, but his tone turned serious. “I know Micky’s been our friend since we were kids, but Christ, I don’t get why someone as nice as Amy is with that dickhead. Got any hunches about what’s going on with him?”
“I’d call them questions without answers more than hunches at this point. Something’s up, but I’m not sure what it is. Amy can’t shed any light on it either.” Shane turned onto Amy’s street. “Almost there, bro, so I have to go. But one last thing you should know about Amy being with Micky. That’s about to change.” Quickly, Shane told him about Amy moving out. Reece would keep the secret close to his vest until Amy was ready for everyone to know. “I’m supposed to help her move after she closes today, but I’ll have to see if that’s still on. If it is, I need to back out of helping you at SAR headquarters.”
“Not a problem. Do you needmyhelp if she goes through with it?”
An unfamiliar possessiveness rose up inside Shane. He found himself jealously protecting his role as her mover. “Thanks, but I got this. You take care of SAR business like you planned.”
Shane pulled into Amy’s driveway, noting that Micky’s truck was still missing.
Reece lowered his voice. “Hey, tread carefully, especially if Micky’s acting unstable. And if Amy starts to get cold feet, do everything you can to get her to follow through, yeah?”
Shane snorted. “Yeah, likethat’sa foolproof plan. Chances are she’ll come to Micky’s defense, and suddenlyI’llbe the bad guy.” The last thing Shane wanted was Amy turning on him, but that loyal streak of hers was a mile wide.
Ending the call, he turned off the ignition and clambered from the driver’s seat. He strode to the front door. As he raised his hand to knock, it whipped open.
Amy stood in the doorway, her hair tangled, smudges under her dark eyes, and worry lines bracketing her mouth. “Shane,” she breathed. “Thank you for coming.” She stood aside, and heducked inside. She closed the door and moved past him, her lavender-and-vanilla scent wreathing him as she pivoted to face him.
“I checked the databases, and Micky didn’t show up anywhere. Have you heard from him?”
Hugging her middle, she shook her head. “No, and I’ve left multiple voicemails and sent texts.” Her gaze fixed somewhere over his shoulder, as if her mind was traveling somewhere far away.
“Could be his phone died,” he suggested.
“It’s possible, but that would be way out of character. He’s pretty anal about keeping his phone charged. In his line of work, stranded people need his help around the clock.”
“Does he have a tracking app?”
She shook her head.
“All right. Why don’t you get ready and open your store? Let me worry about finding Micky. I’ll drive some roads and see if I can find him.”
