Page 39 of Red Hunt

My heart sank. If anyone could find out whatever they wanted, it was Peaches. He had an uncanny capacity for research. And had unearthed critical information on more than one occasion. But I wouldn’t give anything away. “Whatever you think you know, you’re wrong.”

“Melinda Patterson, barely twenty-three, you dog, lives with her grandfather, Vietnam veteran who’s in Whitebrook Hospital right now—twin sister, Tara Patterson, runs a construction company in Stone Valley… Should I go on?”

I lowered my gaze, chuckled, and touched my neck, masking my surprise, or maybe my unease? So, her full name was Melinda. She’d never mentioned that. And her age…

Holy fuck.

I knew she was young—Alan told me—and heck, I’d mistaken her for a teenager at first, for God’s sake, but somehow, I’d suppressed thinking about that, and the more time I spent with her, the more I got the feeling she was old beyond her years. But that might’ve just been my wishful thinking. Twenty-three…that made me sixteen years older than her. I was almost old enough to enlist when she was born. Holy crap.

I needed to cool my horses, that was for damn sure.

Did Peaches find something out about Milli’s past, as well? Something about the injuries I’d seen on her x-rays? Would it hurt if I asked? For a moment, I was tempted. But then again, it wouldn’t change a thing. Especially not if I kept my distance from now on.

“Let’s eat.” This time it was Goofy bridging the awkward silence.

I nodded and followed him outside onto the deck, overlooking the clearing, trees, and the mountain tops, still illuminated from the rapidly sinking sun. There, besides the grill, Goofy and Peaches had set up a perfect set of patio furniture. “Where did you find these?”

“Over there.” Goofy pointed to a small shack down below on the other side of the clearing. I hadn’t yet checked it out. So much to do around here.

But if I was perfectly honest, the place could wait. Especially if I got to spend more time with Milli.

Fuck.

No. What was wrong with me? Didn’t I just decide to keep my distance?

My stomach clenched just thinking of the possibility of not seeing her again. I needed to get my head on straight. ASAP. “Hey, did you invite Carter?”

Peaches chuckled and served me steak.

“Thanks, man.”

“We invited him.” Goofy doused his steak with hot sauce. Goofy smothered everything in hot sauce.

Disgusting.

“But he said he was busy.”

“Too busy to check out the place?” I waited until Peaches joined us before I cut into my own juicy meat.

“Boss man has family and woman troubles,” Peaches said.

“Edith?” I hadn’t been there physically, but Carter nearly blew that op. Which was completely unlike him.

“We’ve gone over their phone data but nothing so far,” Peaches said as if hacking into phones was the most mundane thing he’d done all week. Well, it probably was.

“What did you find out today? The missing girls? The new forum?” I took a bite, though just thinking about those perverts spoiled my appetite, but a man’s gotta eat.

“All the known handles are gathering. There are a few new ones. We’ve accrued the admin credentials, but we’re still waiting for things to heat up, or settle down,” Peaches said.

Goofy laid his fork to the side. “We’ve found more chatter about that auction. Someone mentioned Whitebrook, but the post got deleted. There’s some kind of local connection which is a bit of a mind fuck, really. We need more intel. But Peach and I think there’s a chance it’s going down around here. Looks like we’re in the middle of the hornet’s nest. But we’re still mostly in the dark, which makes me very nervous.”

Peaches nodded, then they continued eating.

And I? I felt bad. This should be my focus. This should be where I spent my time and energy. Not with Milli. Especially not with her.

22

MILLI

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