Page 112 of It Runs in the Family

I sat back in the seat, crossing my arms as I stared out the window.

“I’m suggestin’ this for you, Spitfire,” he said gently.

That pissed me off. I didn’t want to need him. I didn’t want to need anyone, but the truth was I did need him, and it was a hard pill to swallow. It was even harder to beg.

I turned on him. “I don’t need you to do anything for me, Boone, other than help me find my cousin. Because no one else gives a damn about her except me. If I don’t find her, she’s going to end up like that poor woman. I know it in my gut.” Tears flooded my eyes. “I’m the only one who’s tryin’ to help her. So please don’t take this from me, because if you do, I’ll just take what I know and look for her on my own.”

He watched me, concern on his face. I was sure he was going to grab his laptop, snatch the jacket, and leave.

But instead, he offered me a weak smile. “I don’t want you diggin’ through this shit on your own. Promise me you won’t do that.”

“As long as you agree to work with me, I won’t.”

His jaw set. I could see he didn’t want to agree, but he must have wanted to know what I knew because he said, “Okay. We agree to work together.”

The relief that rushed through me stole my breath. “Thank you.” I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.

He went rigid, and just as I was about to pull back, he wrapped an arm around my back and cupped the back of my head. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m worried we’re both gonna regret this.”

Maybe so, but if we found Selena, it would be worth it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Okay,” he said when he released me, and we returned to our respective seats. “I take it you connected the victim to this diner. Did you know her?”

I shook my head. “No, but after you left, I used my phone to get a better look at her. She had a logo on her shirt.” I slid my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the image. “See?” I said after I zoomed in and handed it to him.

“You took photos?” he asked, his voice tight.

Cringing, I said, “I’m not gonna show them around. I was trying to get a better look at the logo.”

He swiped the screen, and his eyes widened. “That’s not all you took.”

It took everything in me not to snatch my phone back. “I wanted a photo of her face.”

“Why?” His gaze was still glued on the screen.

“Because I didn’t trust myself to remember what she looked like.” He had to think I was morbid. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“It was a good idea,” he said, sounding impressed. “You recognized the logo?” He swiped the screen and zoomed in. “I can’t read it.”

“It’s their old logo. I was working here when they changed it four years ago.” I paused. “I knew Garrett was comin’ here to ask questions. They were hopin’ she worked here so they could get an ID. But I thought he already would have come and gone.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “How do you know all this?”

“After you left, two deputies moved over close to where I was hiding. They started talking, and then one walked off and a detective came over.”

“I take it you learned quite a few things,” he said dryly. “Why didn’t you tell me?” When I started to respond, he cut in. “And don’t give me some bullshit about worrying you’d incriminate Selena. What you learned has nothin’ to do with her unless you heard them bring up her name.”

“I didn’t tell you because when you came back, you told me you didn’t find out anything.”

“That’s because I didn’t find out anything!” he said, exasperated. “I was hoping to find a way to cut across the road or hear something on that end, but the briars were too thick, and the road was too exposed. Besides, no one was talkin’ down that way.” He paused. “Sounds like there was plenty of talkin’ down your way.”

“Well, I had no way of knowin’ that,” I said. “Of course I thought you were holding stuff back from me.”

“So you withheld information from me.”

Scowling, I said, “You make it sound like I did something illegal when you put it that way.”