Tracefinder - Kaje Harper Page 0,128

the barn toward them, long tails waving. He parked carefully near the house and raised an eyebrow when Nick reached over to turn off the engine.

Nick shrugged, sticking the keys in his pocket. “I’m going to take Luger and walk around a bit before I leave. We still have no clue who that was in the woods the other day, and I don’t like loose ends when we’re making plans.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Brian rubbed his eyes, the bright day dimming a bit. He’d forgotten that, or at least tried to. “Sure.”

Luger came running at Brian’s whistle. Yasmin stuck her head out of the barn too. “Ah, you’re back, good. Get changed and give me a hand, would you?”

Nick took hold of Luger’s collar. “Go on. I’ll let you know when I head out.”

“Take Luug with you. Then I can finally ride my bike home.” Nick had driven him and Luger the last few days, since finding the tracks out in the field, but he needed the exercise and his bike was sitting waiting in Yasmin’s shed.

“I’d rather leave him with you and come back tonight.” Nick glanced toward the barn, then rose on tiptoe to grab the back of Brian’s neck and kiss him hard, right there in Yasmin’s yard. “I like knowing he’s watching out for you.”

Brian knew he was blushing. Deliberately, he put an arm around Nick’s shoulders and kissed him back. “Nothing bad’s happened here for weeks. But you’re sweet.”

Nick kicked his ankle, slipped out of his hold, and stepped back. “Are you forgetting that guy in the woods? And I’m not fucking sweet, I’m careful.”

“Careful?” Brian couldn’t help a laugh.

“Well, I’m careful about you. In fact, I’m gonna take a look around before I head out.”

From the barn, Yasmin called, “Maybe sometime this week?”

Brian raised his voice. “Coming!” He hurried to the house to grab his overalls and boots, and get back to his real job.

Some uncounted time later, he was up to his elbows in goats, helping Yasmin put a dose of medication down each of them, when Nick materialized beside him, grinning. He didn’t mean to let the goat he was manhandling step on Nick as it bounded away. Or maybe he did. The goats were a lot less cooperative than the sheep, and that smile rubbed him the wrong way.

Nick yelped and grabbed his arm for balance. “Jesus fucking Christ!”

“Language,” Yasmin said from where she was keeping track of the tubes of paste. She flicked a finger at Lass, who jumped up from her patient crouch and herded the newly treated goat out into the field.

Brian dialed up the next dose, but Yasmin turned to Nick instead of pointing out a new victim. “Anything I need to worry about out there?”

“No, ma’am, not that I could tell.” Nick worked his stomped sneaker around in a circle, then let go of Brian. “Luger was interested in lots of stuff, but no new footprints today.”

“Hm.” Yasmin put a hand to her back and stretched. “I hope you’re right.” She waved at them, a flap of her wrist. “Kiss your boyfriend and get your tender feet out of the goat pen. Go on.”

Brian would have ignored the suggestion, but Nick grinned and grabbed him for a fast kiss. “I’ll leave Luger on patrol, just in case. Brian, I’ll be back at seven.”

“Good thing that dog stopped chasing my chickens,” Yasmin muttered. “Yeah, let him roam around if it makes you feel better.”

Brian turned his back, to not watch Nick walk away. He was glad of the goats and the dogs and the poop and straw and worming paste, because they meant he didn’t have time to worry about lurking strangers. Or about what Nick had planned for the weekend. Or anything except getting butted up the ass by one goat while he was wrestling with another.

Chapter 23

Nick glanced at Brian, looking relaxed in the passenger seat. “You’re still okay with this?”

They’d brainstormed legal ways to keep tabs on McNaught without him noticing. One attempt to follow his truck showed he drove deliberate circles before heading out in the evening, no doubt watching for a tail. With just two vehicles, it was too risky to stick close. Then Brian had said, “You can use me, you know. I can Find where he goes.”

Nick had protested because damned if he was going to see Brian hurt over this. Charlie had told Brian it was his choice. And Brian had said, “It might save someone’s life.”

So here they were, driving

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