Blacklisted (Loveless, Texas #3) - Jay Crownover Page 0,15
pretty decent relationship with the locals, but that was mostly because we kept our business outside of the city limits. When my uncle offered to sell me his failing ranch after I was kicked out of the military, he’d given me the rundown on all the small-town intricacies. I knew what I was getting into when I moved down to Texas to start up a new chapter of my father’s club. However, it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn my back on, and I’d yet to regret the decision, even if it came with more prying eyes and idle gossip than I preferred.
I was tossing a leg over my bike when my cell phone rang. Seeing that it was Top, I settled on the seat and answered the call.
“What’s up?”
“You having breakfast with the law now?” The sarcasm was thick and so was the censure.
“Didn’t have a choice. Neither do you. He wants to know about the shooting the other day.” I rested an elbow on the gas tank and let my gaze wander over the sleepy Main Street. It honestly looked like one of those postcards sold in every tourist shop everywhere. All the storefronts were purposely kept cute and charming, giving everything a throwback-to-another-time kind of vibe. And even though it was called Main Street, there wasn’t a lot of pedestrian traffic. Loveless wasn’t the kind of place vacationers flocked to, so it was mostly locals whose families had been in the area for generations. It was honestly the last place on Earth I’d ever thought I’d end up, but here I was and I had to admit I liked it. Being here helped quiet down some of that noise that was constantly screaming through my hectic and dangerous life.
I suddenly sat up straight when I caught sight of a flash of red hair and superlong legs. It would be hard to miss the elegant way Presley Baskin carried herself. With that bright hair she stood out like a beacon and I knew I would have zero trouble spotting her even in a crowd.
Keeping my eyes on the woman as she hurried along the street, I muttered to Top, “He wants to get a witness statement from you as well. Your call if you go down to the station or if you have our lawyer handle it. Don’t need him showing up at the ranch.”
Top grunted his agreement and said something else, but I completely missed whatever it was. My attention was fully focused on the woman walking on the opposite side of the street. She had those giant sunglasses on her face, but now it was daytime so she didn’t look as ridiculous as the last time I’d seen her in them. I noticed that she kept turning her head as if she was looking for someone. Her pace quickened until she was almost jogging. The entire scene would have been comical if fear hadn’t been evident in every one of her actions. She ducked into the only drugstore in town, and before I knew what I was doing, I found myself climbing off my bike and walking in the direction she disappeared.
“Have you heard a damn word I’ve said?” Top’s sharp reprimand brought me back to reality but didn’t stop the forward motion of my feet.
“Nope. Not a single one.”
My longtime friend swore loudly into my ear. “I was telling you that we might have a lead on Jed Coleman. Someone saw him in Austin. It seems like he’s trying to hook up with a well-known extremist group based there. May be looking for a place to hide out, or for some kind of backup.”
I gritted my teeth in irritation, pausing before I walked into the drugstore. “If you can lock down an exact location, let me know.”
“Are you still thinking someone else took the shot outside the apartment?” Top hadn’t originally agreed with my assessment until I pointed out that the last time I went against Jed Coleman, he’d managed to nearly kill me.
“I don’t think he’s the type to miss when he lines up a shot. We won’t really know either way until we pin Coleman down.” Huffing out an annoyed breath at being delayed in the pursuit of my current prey, I snapped at my VP, “I got something to take care of. I’ll check in on my way back to the ranch.” I hung up before he could question me further. I wasn’t sure how to explain my overwhelming need to see