Instead, I ducked my chin and walked with my head down, not wanting to draw any attention as I made my way to the stairwell and climbed to the fourth floor. Even after a day spent hiking, pushing my body, I wasn’t ready to let up yet. The physical outlet was my only release. Maybe if I exhausted myself, I’d get some damn sleep.
Sleep was never easy, even at home in my own bed. Six hours a night was huge. Since I’d come to Quincy, it had been even more sporadic. Three or four hours was all I’d managed. I just couldn’t shut down my brain.
With nothing to do but dwell on my mistakes, on the clusterfuck that was my life, I’d climb out of bed and spend hours charting my hikes. I’d pore over the maps in my pack, memorizing every inch. And when that was done, I’d spend hours reading news about Quincy.
For a small town, this community had suffered more than its fair share of trouble.
About three years ago, there’d been a murder, a young woman in the mountains. Indigo Ridge was more than twenty miles from where I was currently searching for Cormac. But had the newspaper archives not detailed the crime and how Winslow Eden had apprehended the person responsible, I would have wondered if he’d been responsible.
After that murder, there’d been an incident at a local daycare and an AMBER alert. Possibly an attempted kidnapping. Since it had involved a minor, the details hadn’t been released to the press. However, I’d come across a few social media posts that speculated the child involved was none other than Knox Eden’s son.
The hardships for Lyla’s family hadn’t stopped there.
The most recent news articles all centered around Eloise and the shooting. Lyla’s sister had been working in the lobby when a kid, a former hotel employee, had come in armed with a pistol. He’d gotten off a few shots, one of which Jasper had taken for Eloise. Then Winslow, who’d been in the building, had taken the kid down.
From everything I’d read, Winn was a damn good cop. Maybe it was stupid of me not to trust her. But I’d already made the decision to fly under the radar. That meant avoiding anyone with the last name Eden.
Except Lyla.
But I guess . . . I was avoiding her too.
Because I feared she’d ask about Cormac. And, if I was being honest with myself, because of how that woman stirred my blood.
I didn’t just wake up at night restless. I woke up hard and aching for release, Lyla’s striking eyes haunting my dreams.
Just the thought of her beautiful face sent blood rushing to my dick.
Of all the women, why did it have to be Lyla to capture my interest? Shit was complicated enough without adding this attraction into the mix.
I jogged up the last flight of stairs to the fourth floor, taking them two at a time, needing the burn in my thighs to shove the image of her pretty mouth wrapped around my cock out of my mind. When I reached my room, I set my pack on the table and breathed in the clean scent of fresh laundry and citrus.
This was the nicest hotel I’d ever stayed in. It was airy and spacious, yet it had a comfortable, homey feel. The king-sized bed was comfortable and its white comforter plush. Housekeeping had lined the pillows against the headboard. The heavy curtains I’d left drawn this morning were now pulled away from the window. I had a perfect, unobstructed view of the fog and mist that cloaked Quincy.
I crossed the room and tugged the curtains closed. A long, hot shower was calling my name, so I stripped, letting my wet clothes plop on the floor. My jeans smelled like rain and mud. Tomorrow night, I’d have to find a place to wash a load of laundry. My suitcase in the corner was piled high with dirty clothes—today’s were tossed into the heap.
I had one pair of clean, dry jeans left in the dresser drawer.
Wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs, I rounded the bed for the nightstand, snagging the two chocolate mints that the housekeeper left for me each day. I ate them both without hesitation. Maybe they’d tide me over until dinner.
Maybe I’d order room service from Knuckles again after my shower. The burgers were great. Though what I really wanted was one of Lyla’s chocolate croissants. Everything that woman made was top tier, but damn those croissants.
My stomach growled, the pangs sharpening to razor blades. But before I could disappear into the bathroom and get going on my shower, my phone rang. I walked to my pack, digging it out of the front pocket.
Alec.
He and I weren’t exactly friends. We were coworkers in the same department. Friendly, but not friends. I didn’t have a lot of friends in the department these days—I’d learned it was best to draw that line.
“Fuck.” If he was calling, it wasn’t to chat. Maybe he’d heard something about the shooting. Maybe the captain had said something in their weekly meeting. Whatever the point, I braced as I accepted the call. “Hey.”
“Hi, Vance. How’s it going?”
“Not bad, Alec. You?”
“Can’t complain.”
I waited, gritting my teeth.
“I ran into Tiff at the store earlier.”
Tiff and Alec had met at a few of the department’s mandatory gatherings over the years. The summer barbeques. The holiday parties. They’d bonded over their mutual love of karaoke.
I bet she’d told him where I was and what I was doing. Shit.
“Okay,” I drawled.
“She said you two broke it off.”
“We did.”
Alec hummed, the disapproval in his tone as thick as the blanket of clouds outside.
I didn’t need this bullshit. “Listen, I’m just about to head to dinner and—”
“What are you doing, Sutter? Are you trying to get your ass fired?”
I sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “I’m on vacation.”
“Right.” Alec scoffed. “Tiff told me what you’re doing. You’re going after Gallagher. Again?”
“It’s not like I’m swamped with work.”
If there was ever a time in the past four years to search for Cormac, it was now, when the captain had told me to take a break. Until the media attention died down. Until the investigation was over.
I wasn’t technically on administrative leave. Yet.
“The captain’s going to flip his shit when he hears about this.”
“The captain wants me gone. He’s already shoving me toward the door.”
“So what? You’re quitting?”
“No.” My captain was a raging prick. I refused to give him the satisfaction of me quitting. If he wanted me off the force, he’d have to fire me. “But this seemed like a good time to get away from Coeur d’Alene.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You shouldn’t have to leave town.”
“Agreed,” I muttered.
But everyone was pointing fingers at the moment. Everyone was searching for a person to blame. If the captain needed a fall guy, that fall guy would be me.
“Look, I, uh . . .” Alec sighed. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing to say.”
“I’m sorry about Tiff.”
Maybe I should have been sorry too, but this was best for her. For both of us. “It was time.”
“Funny. That’s exactly what she said.”
Good. I wanted her to move on. To forget about me and find someone who made her pulse race.
“Have you found anything on Gallagher?” Alec asked.
“Not yet.” In the past week, Cormac could have made his way to Canada for all I knew. Or he might have gone south for the winter like a bird.
“Think you’ll find him?”
If there was ever a chance, it was here in Quincy. But I wasn’t going to voice those hopes. Not to Alec. That would make them too real. “What’s going on with you?”
“We’re busy.” Alec had known me long enough to go along with the change in subject. “We’re a man down.”
Me. I was that man.
Alec and I worked for the same backcountry unit in Idaho. I didn’t consider him my partner. I didn’t have a partner these days. But we were coworkers.
Ours was a small team with one sergeant and two deputies. We responded to calls and patrolled the backcountry areas across hundreds of thousands of acres in the national forest land surrounding Coeur d’Alene. We spent a lot of time in remote, forested areas that were only accessible by off-road vehicles or on foot.
Given the nature of our job, the diverse terrains and landscapes, we also spent time working with volunteer search and rescue teams. The same was true with marine patrol and dive rescue.
I was a cop who got to spend his days outside, not trapped in a cruiser or assigned a desk.
It was my dream job.
Maybe another man with my skill set would have aspired to join the U.S. Marshals. Lead federal manhunts or solve high-profile cases. But I’d always been content as a deputy. I didn’t need flashy cases or shiny accolades.
When I returned home, would there be a job waiting? Maybe if I’d played the game, if I’d spent more time in the precinct making friends and practicing politics, I’d have more confidence in my future. I’d have a better relationship with the captain.
“Don’t work too hard,” I told Alec.
“Be careful.” Alec knew enough about Cormac to know what I was up against.
“Bye.” I ended the call and tossed my phone aside.
I appreciated Alec checking in on me. My family certainly hadn’t.
But Alec wouldn’t say anything, would he?