Gone - Anna Brooks Page 0,36

very little free time he had, it took a little longer than it usually would for him to locate somebody.

So far, it hasn’t gotten to the point where we need to call in reinforcements. He’s simply been trying to find Mario on the down low, and I’ve been trying to pretend everything is okay, when deep down I’m worried it won’t go easy.

Izzy’s still out, so I leave her a note in case she wakes up, but I intend to be back before she even knows I was gone. So now I walk into Royal and head straight for Q’s office. “What’s up?” I ask as I shut the door behind me, thankful it’s still really early and not many men are here yet.

He slides a file folder over to me. “Found him.”

“God, you’re good.”

He ignores the praise. “Seems like he’s been hiding out in fuckin’ Idaho. Got a job as a ranch hand under the table. Still dabbling in dealing but barely surviving. Everything you need is in there.”

I pull the papers out of the file and study them for a moment. Address to his work, which is also where he lives above one of the stalls, street cam shots of him, everything. “I owe you.”

“It’s all good.”

I shake my head. “That’s not how I roll.”

“I’ve had eyes on Danny, too… well, more than I usually do. He isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, so no indication that he’s going back on his word to you.”

“Wouldn’t expect him to.”

“So…” Q clears his throat and takes his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This woman. Isabel Reyes?” I hate that I had to tell him about her, but there was no way I couldn’t; not in order for him to have all the information he needed.

My spine stiffens just hearing her name, and I’m defensive of her instantly. “Yeah. What about her?”

“Just wondering if she knows what you’re doing, or if you want someone to keep an eye on her when you’re gone.”

I won’t take the bait and talk about her any more than I already have with him. “She’s bringing Judy with her and staying at her house.” At least I hope she will. I need to ask her still. “Which has a top-of-the-line system that someone from here installed, so I’m not worried. There’s no reason to suspect Danny would try to harm her, and if he did, he knows what the consequences would be, so I think she’s good.”

“Yeah.” He clears his throat and turns his back to me, but I swear I see him smirking before he does. “I agree.”

“Thanks, man. Like I said, I owe you.”

He ignores me and goes back to his computer, and I once again say a silent prayer for the gifts that God has bestowed upon that man. His ability to find information is honestly a little scary, but I don’t question it because he’s on my side. I’d hate to be someone trying to hide from Q.

I head to my office and quickly check a few emails. After catching up with a couple of things, I shoot a message to Royce that I’m taking a week of personal time before I head back home. To Izzy.

There aren’t words to describe how much I love opening my door and seeing her in my space. If I could, I’d keep her here forever. And I intend to. Well, not here. We’d eventually get a bigger house to fill with babies.

Judy is waiting for me when I walk inside, and Iz calls from the kitchen, where she’s gotta be frying up some bacon.

“Mornin’, Izzy baby.” I wrap my arm around her from behind and plant slow, wet kisses on her bare neck. “You got my note, I take it?”

She turns around and pushes up on her toes, where I capture her lips in mine. “Yeah, I did.”

“Took longer than I thought.”

She wipes across the corner of my mouth. “Sorry, I got lip gloss on you.”

“I love the taste of you any way I can get it, Iz.”

She tosses her hair as she spins back around. “I wasn’t sure if you ate before you left, but I figured we could do BLTs for dinner if we didn’t finish the bacon for breakfast.”

Shit. I need to hit the road. I don’t want to leave her, but I need to get this out of the way. I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t want her worrying for no reason… and