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His gaze narrowed at some of the messages he read.

Ryan Mercer wasn’t the only guy who’d been pursuing Morgan. Logan wasn’t surprised.

Morgan was beautiful, successful, and single. Why wouldn’t guys pursue her?

Yet she’d mentioned nothing about any of those men to Logan.

He supposed it made sense. He wasn’t one of Morgan’s gal pals, someone she’d gab with about her romantic life.

Still, it seemed strange that this subject had never come up.

A jolt of jealousy swept through him, but the emotion quickly faded.

He had nothing to be jealous about. Morgan didn’t seem to be interested in any of those men. And Logan had never admitted his feelings to her. She had every right to be interested in anyone she wanted.

Logan made a list of each man who’d shown interest in her.

People Morgan had met while doing lectures. While doing her excursions. While at her favorite coffeeshop.

He intended on checking out all of them.

What if one of them was the killer?

Or what if one of them was the next victim?

CHAPTER

TWENTY

A few minutes later,Logan’s phone vibrated, the screen lighting up with Captain Ashcroft’s name.

Logan frowned. Not only had Ashcroft taken Durden’s place after he was fired, the man was also Durden’s friend and ally.

Logan briefly considered letting the call go to voicemail but knew that would only delay the inevitable. With a sigh, he answered, keeping his eyes fixed on Morgan’s text messages as he spoke.

“Gibson.”

“Where are you?” Captain Ashcroft’s voice was tight with barely restrained frustration. “The Fairbanks dealership called again about those car thefts. You were supposed to be there two hours ago.”

“My friend is missing. I reported it yesterday. Reeves and Yazzie are looking into it, and I’m helping. I figured they’d tell you.” Logan kept his tone deliberately measured despite the tension coiling in his chest.

A derisive snort came through the speaker. “Riley, right? The photographer? She probably just needed some time away. Did you ever consider that?”

Logan’s jaw tightened. “There’s more to it than that.”

“More to it?” Ashcroft echoed, his voice rising. “More than the string of high-end vehicle thefts that the mayor’s been breathing down my neck about? More than the fact that the latest victim is a councilman’s daughter? I’ve got the brass demanding results, Gibson.”

Logan’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Not yet.

“I need you working on your assigned case,” Ashcroft continued, the ultimatum clear in his tone. “Now.”

Anger burned through Logan. For six months he’d served under Ashcroft without complaint, taking the worst assignments, working the longest hours, cleaning up other officers’ messes. But not this time. Not with Morgan.

He swallowed hard as he contemplated how to respond.

“I can’t do that.” Logan’s voice dropped to a dangerously low tone that anyone who truly knew him would recognize as the edge of his control. “I’m going to need to take some personal leave.”

The silence on the other end stretched for several seconds.