Fugitive Heart - By Bonnie Dee Page 0,31
catch Jake at home.” She jerked a thumb at Nick. “Sam here doesn’t know anybody, and I thought Jake would be the perfect guy to introduce him around. Maybe stop by the sports bar or something.”
“Jake’s in the garage, tinkering with that old wreck of his. You go on around back.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Greely.” Ames felt suddenly sixteen again. That was probably the last time she’d been here, sent to drag Elliot home and finding him and Jake in the shed that passed for a garage. “Fixing” Jake’s rust bucket had been code for smoking pot.
The rusty vintage Mustang looked exactly as Ames remembered it from all those years ago. Unsurprisingly, Jake wasn’t tinkering with the engine but sprawled in a ratty recliner, beer in hand, eyes glued to pro wrestling on the little TV on the workbench.
He sprang up when he saw her, footrest dropping, beer sloshing. “Ames! Hi.” His gaze slid to Nick.
“Hi, Jake. How you doin’?” Ames said. “This is Sam Allen. He moved into the Old Place.”
“Oh, yeah. I heard about that.” Jake offered a hand, and the two men gave a one pump shake. So far, so good. Jake ran a hand over his thinning blond hair. “Want a beer?”
“Sure.”
While Jake went to the wheezing old Frigidaire and pulled out a pair of bottles, Nick walked to the Mustang and ran a hand over the rolled-down ragtop. “Gonna be a beauty when you’re finished.”
“Someday,” Jake agreed, handing him a beer. “So what brings you all the way to the heart of Wisconsin?”
“Heard about Arnesdale from a friend. I’d had enough of city life, and it seemed as good a place as any to start over.”
“Uh-huh.” Jake’s eyes narrowed, and Ames realized immediately that he knew something about Elliot and the trouble in New York. He didn’t seem at all surprised that a New Yorker would randomly pick Arnesdale to move to. Crap. That was bad. It meant he’d try to cover for his pal Elliot like he always had and would reveal nothing. She knew she shouldn’t have brought Nick here with her.
Ames inserted herself between the two men and made eye contact as she accepted a beer from Jake. “I’m so thirsty. Thanks.” She licked her lips, then sipped from the bottle as suggestively as she could—anything to distract Jake from his suspicions about Nick.
“Hey, have you heard from Elliot lately? You know I’ve been trying to reach him for literally months, and I’m really starting to worry about him.” She’d already asked Jake about Elliot in passing, but this was the first time she watched him carefully for a nonverbal response.
His quick frown might signal worry or the fact that he had heard from Elliot. She wasn’t sure which.
“No, Ames. Wish I had. I’m worried about him too.” Jake started drumming his fingers against his beer bottle, and Ames had her answer. She used to play poker with Elliot and his pals sometimes, back in the day. She knew Jake’s tell.
“Seriously, Jake. If you talked to him, you’d tell me, right?” She moved closer, crowding him a little and looking up into his eyes and practically batting her lashes. It was mean to manipulate him when she knew he liked her, but desperate times…
And there it was, a flicker of something in Jake’s eyes while his fingers tapped faster. She had a strong feeling he’d talked to Elliot face-to-face. She would have bet real money that her brother had been right here in Arnesdale and hadn’t come to see her.
She followed her instinct, pushing Jake to admit the truth. “What did he say?”
“Nothing,” Jake burst out, then tried to backpedal. “I mean, I haven’t talked to him in like a year.” It was a poor performance with no conviction.
Ames glanced at Nick, who was wisely remaining in the background near the car, letting her interrogate Jake. Ames decided to let a little truth shine through in order to win Jake’s trust.
“I believe Elliot’s in some serious trouble in New York. I think he got caught up in some stuff and some dangerous people may be after him.”
Jake immediately looked at Nick. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”
Yeah, right you don’t know. What was Elliot doing, confiding in Jake?
She suppressed the wave of fury by gulping down a big mouthful of beer. “I think he could dig himself out of the situation if he returned something that didn’t belong to him.”
Jake shrugged. “Like I said, I have no idea about Elliot’s business. Wish I could