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Second, I didn't want her anywherenearthis case. Or me, for that matter. She was too... friendly. Kind. Sunny… but in a way that told me if I hung around her too much, I’d surely get burned.
She didn't have a place in any of this.
"We'll see," I said dismissively, opening the door to the B&B as a group of kids in puffy coats scrambled past me. They dove off the wraparound porch and made a beeline for the giant piles of leaves on the inn’s lawn. "Short walk. I'm coming up."
I headed through the bed and breakfast. It was one of those overly charming small-town joints that seemed to ooze quaintness from the top down. Everything smelled faintly of cinnamon, and the hardwood floors groaned underfoot like they were protesting anyone who dared disturb their slumber. The hallway was too narrow, the wallpaper too floral, and I didn’t trust a single piece of the vintage furniture not to collapse under its own weight, let alone mine.
As I passed a side table, a calico cat darted out of nowhere, nearly tripping me as it zipped past. I barely dodged the thing, thanks to my embarrassingly painful butt wound, muttering under my breath as I straightened up and kept moving.
The room wasn’t much farther, thankfully. My patience was running thin due to the effort it’d taken to do something as simple as climbing one flight of stairs, and I was one wrong step away from taking my work boot to the next piece of antique furniture just to watch it shatter.
Finally, I made it to the door, where I could hear Austin and Colt inside. I knocked twice, then entered before they had a chance to answer.
"Tuck!" Austin exclaimed the second I walked through the door. "You okay? I'm so sorry."
I winced, not from the literal pain in my rear but also because I hated the obvious guilt on my little brother's face. I held out an arm, and Austin rose from the chair and stepped into it. The hug was brief, and then he inched back, staring at his shoes.
I brought my hand up to where his shoulder met his neck, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Austin, it's not your fault I got shot. If anything, you showing up when you did saved my life."
His gaze shot to mine as he took in a sharp breath. "I… Wait, what?"
I smiled, shaking his shoulder. "It’s true. If you hadn’t called my name, I still would've been crouched in the bushes when that gun went off.”
Meaning… my forehead would’ve been right where my butt wound up being. I was staking out Hope’s house when I'd heard Austin whisper-shout my name through the trees, and I was so thrown off—so utterly confused as to why he was there—that I stood from my hiding spot and whirled to face the sound of his voice.
Then, I felt the sting of the bullet as it grazed me.
If I hadn't stood when I had, would that shot have landed in a much more deadly place? I'd never know. Maybe whoever shot me did it when they saw me stand, and it hadn’t been all that close of a call. Either way, my kid brother shouldn’t carry an ounce of guilt over what happened, and I’d stop at nothing to make sure he didn’t.
"It wasn't the girl you're after, by the way," Austin said, brightening a little as he met my eyes. "Uncle Colt found out Hope was at work when it happened."
My hand slipped off Austin's shoulder and landed at my side as I faced my best friend. "Seriously?"
"What?” Colt asked. “You really thought it was Hope?"
“Not why I’m mad.”
“Then why are you mad?” Austin asked, Colt’s expression telling me he was just as lost.
I hooked a thumb at my brother, eyes on Colt. “Why does he know so much about the case if you didn’t tell him anything?”
Colt’s broad shoulders slumped, and then he raked a hand through his messy, dirty-blond hair, the weariness of the last twelve hours etched into his features. He usually seemed so unshakable—so quick to make a joke to lighten the mood, so smooth with his words when we needed to get out of a jam. But right now, I saw the cracks in his armor, and I hated that my getting shot was what put them there.
"Tuck, man, you got shot,” he said, sighing heavily. “I was on a mission to figure it out, and I couldn't keep it from the kid. He’s nosy. Plus, he was too worried to be kept in the dark."
Right. And what exactly was Colt supposed to do? Austin had probably been pacing like a trapped animal, badgering him for answers until Colt finally caved.
I couldn’t fault him for giving in, even if it grated on me that my little brother had any part in this mess. It wasn’t Austin’s world, and it shouldn’t be. But I knew my brother. There was no keeping him on the sidelines when he decided to get involved—a point he proved by showing up here the way he did.
I gave Colt the side eye, then crossed my arms. "So, Hope was at work?"
"Yeah. Wasn't her. Which is actually kind of a bummer. It probably would’ve made our job a little easier. But now… we've got a wild card to worry about."
I wanted to reply. I had questions, and I wanted to spitball with Colt. But not with Austin here.
I flicked him a glance, then looked back at Colt. He seemed to be thinking the same thing. Neither of us wanted to work this case right in front of the kid, but now that he was here, what were we supposed to do? Not work it at all? That seemed like the only choice, though. The alternative was finding somewhere to put the kid, and being that I just got shot for getting too close to that house, I didn't want to let Austin out of my sight.
"Wanna grab some food? I'm starving," Austin suggested, looking between us. “The pizza place down the street has arcade games.”
