built against the outside world, but my phone buzzed from inside the bathroom, and I looked at the clock. It was just after seven so I knew it couldn’t be one of my brothers. Saturdays were meant for sleeping.
Rolling until I had the top sheet wrapped around my body, I ran to the bathroom as my cell stopped ringing. It started up again just as I pulled it from my jeans pocket. Jamie was calling.
“Hello?”
“Did you find Duke?”
I hesitated, unsure of what to say. “He’s still missing.”
“But they’re still looking for him, right?”
She sounded hopeful, like there was still a chance of Duke being found safe and sound. Hearing that caused a knot to form in my throat. I didn’t know how to tell her what we’d concluded in the middle of the night. Duke had been one of the only father figures Jamie had as well. “Yellowstone police ensured us they would keep looking.”
Silence.
“Jamie?”
“You think he’s dead, don’t you?”
“Nobody knows anything for certain until we find him.”
More silence.
“Jamie?”
“He was like a father to me,” she whispered in a rough voice. That knot in my throat turned into a tourniquet, cutting off my voice.
“I know, Jamie. He was like a father to everyone under the age of thirty. Logan will figure this out, and he’ll bring him home, one way or another.”
Dead silence.
“Jamie?”
“Figure out what? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Jamie . . . I—” It was an open investigation and the only reason I knew anything was because of Logan. If I told her the whole town would know within an hour.
“You’re saying it wasn’t an accident? That if he’s dead . . . Oh, my God.”
“We don’t know anything yet.” I tried for a calm voice, but she wasn’t listening.
“Who would kill him?” she wailed. “Duke never hurt anyone.”
Hearing her pain weakened my resolve to be strong and kick-started my own silent tears. I tried to get words out to comfort her, but it was useless, so I slid down the wall and listened to her grief until the phone was pulled from my hand.
“Jamie?” Logan sounded calm, soothing. “I need you to take a deep breath.” He waited a beat, looking down at me, so I took a deep breath like he’d ordered. “That’s it. Deeper.” I pulled more air into my lungs and my eyes stopped burning with tears. He listened for a moment longer, never taking his eyes off of me, then nodded and mumbled softly, “Good girl.” It was meant for both of us.
“I promise, Jamie. I’ll do everything in my power to find out what happened to him.” A promise to both of us I knew in my core he would honor. “Is the bar covered or do I need to head back with Skylar before I get started?”
“Tell her to call David and Rachel and have them open for me. I’m not leaving.” I stood as I spoke and dropped the sheet then grabbed my clothes from the floor to dress, so we could leave as soon as he was done with Jamie. When I turned, Logan’s gaze scanned my body with heat. I raised a brow at him while he listened to Jamie, and started to leave the bathroom. He snagged me around the waist before I made it through the door and pulled me back into his chest so he could nip my shoulder gently. Just the brief touch sent a shiver straight to my core. My cheeks heated at the memory of what his mouth and hands had done to me the hour before. I was sore in all the right places, and a few that reminded me I should have taken more time in between, but I couldn’t have turned him away. His eyes were haunted when he’d rolled onto me. I would have done anything to erase that look from his face.
When I looked back at him, he mouthed the word bath. My forehead wrinkled and I shook my head. I’d cleaned up after we’d finished earlier, I could shower fully when we got home.
Logan let go of my waist and stepped to the tub, then mumbled his goodbye to Jamie, restating his promise to her that he would find out what happened to Duke. I was pulling on my bra when I heard the bath start. Whipping around at the sound, I came face-to-face with Logan. “I don’t need a bath. We need to get going.”
“You’re soaking in the tub. I wasn’t gentle with you, so you