Long Shadow (Veiled Intentions #2) - Elle Keaton Page 0,14
couple days until we’re back to full power. Well, as much as we ever are around here.”
“The flu, that’s tough.”
An awkward silence fell between them. Niall didn’t know what to say or why he’d stopped by, other than the gravitational pull of Mat himself. Mat seemed to bring out a reckless side Niall didn’t know he had. Should he confess he’d spotted Mat’s cruiser in the parking lot while he drove along Spring Street on his way back to the Orca after a boring meal at the local diner? That he hadn’t wanted to go back to his room; the instant he’d seen Dempsey’s car he hadn’t wanted to be alone?
As much as he’d tried to ignore his feelings, Niall was drawn to the other man. Not moth to flame—it was the other way around, a different sort of metaphor. Niall was a black hole; Mat was a carefree soul with no idea the damage Niall caused. Not on purpose, never on purpose. Niall didn’t mean to hurt people, but somehow people around him ended up getting hurt anyway. And when that happened, they left. Disappeared. Whatever.
The silence dragged on several beats too long. Niall searched for something to say that wasn’t pathetic. Maybe he should tell Mat about his upcoming eviction?
“Has anyone reported an RV, a camper-style one, parking on their property?”
The second the words fell out of his mouth, he knew they were all wrong. Niall wanted to rope them back in and ask how Mat was doing; was his mom doing okay after the funeral? And his sisters?
This was the first time Niall had allowed himself to seek out Mat since he’d come back from Seattle, and really since Sean’s funeral. Why he’d thought Sean’s funeral would be a safe place for him to lay eyes on Mat, he had no idea. On the other hand, it would’ve been extremely bad form not to make an appearance. Seeing Mat hit Niall somewhere around his solar plexus, a weird sort of fight-or-flight instinct, except he wanted to run or throw himself at Mat like the damn dog and beg him to take him home.
Mat was staring at him with what Niall recognized as astonishment. Niall wondered what he was thinking; certainly not some nonsense about an RV. It was possible he was irritated. Niall could relate to that.
“An RV,” Mat said slowly.
Niall nodded. “An older model. I’ve seen it around a bit.”
“You know, seeing a camper around ‘a bit’ is not a reason to call out a BOLO on it.”
Niall leaned back; his chair squeaked loudly. Fenrir raised his head and looked around before putting his chin back on his paws.
“Dempsey—Mat—I know, there’s just something bugging me about it. Nothing I can put my finger on, but...” He trailed to a stop, sitting forward again, the chair protesting again.
Mat eyed him with what Niall thought was amusement in his gaze.
“Sorry. It’s the chair, not you. I swapped it out earlier when I got tired of worrying I was about to end up on the floor.”
“As a cop, I’ve had to trust my gut,” Niall continued, ignoring Mat’s comment about the chair but also hoping he wouldn’t end up on the nasty gray carpet, “and my gut says there’s something funny about this vehicle. It’s been on the island at least a month—I saw it when I first came back. I’ve seen it at Chester’s a few times, and driving around too, but only in the early mornings, never any other time, and I can’t figure out where it’s staying. It’s not at either campground; I’ve checked.”
“You’re telling me you’ve been keeping an eye on some mysterious camper, basically stalking it, because you only see it in the morning?” Mat stared at the ceiling for a minute, searching for patience, Niall thought. He took a deep breath in through his nose before continuing. “Niall, we have a lot of residents on the island, in all of Piedras County actually, who are barely hanging on financially. They live precariously, paycheck to paycheck or on assistance checks. Maybe it’s one of them. Who knows? Maybe one of the Reynoldses was kicked out of his girlfriend’s place and is using the camper as a place to live. It’s not a crime to live in a camper.”
“I didn’t say it was a crime, I just think it’s out of the ordinary. I don’t know how to explain it any better.”
“Is that really why you stopped by? To lodge a complaint about a camper?”