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CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

“Ashcroft?” Duke’d eyes widened. “Your new captain?”

“That man has it out for me,” Logan said. “He really hates me. Enough to do all this? Doubtful. But I’ve also learned to keep an open mind.”

“Open minds are essential,” Andi said. “Is there anyone else?”

Logan swallowed before sharing the next part. “I also went undercover in a biker gang in Denver just over five years ago. I got in deep. Brought a lot of people down. Made a lot of people mad.”

Surprise flashed in Andi’s and Duke’s gazes.

“So you think someone affiliated with this gang found you here, and then realized you were connected to Morgan?” Andi squinted as if mentally calculating possible scenarios.

“Maybe. Morgan’s brother was also in the gang.” His stomach tightened before he said the next part. “They killed him.”

He looked at Andi and Duke and saw the realizations in their eyes. Saw how they were putting the pieces together.

It would have only been a matter of time before they found out these things about him. He wished he could bury some of those details from his past forever. That he could turn back time. Rewrite history.

Unfortunately, that was a luxury he didn’t have.

“Okay.” Andi played with her paper straw wrapper, winding it in her fingers. “So maybe a state trooper is responsible. Or it could be someone with this biker gang. Anybody else?”

He leaned back against the uncomfortable plastic booth and let out a deep breath. “I suppose it could be someone associated with Morgan like she indicated in that journal entry. She didn’t name any names, however.”

Andi frowned. “If this is someone association with Morgan, that’s going to make it even harder to find him. Especially if she never saw face, if he was like a shadow.”

“Exactly.” His jaw ached as he said the word.

Logan paused their conversation as the waitress delivered their food.

After lifting a prayer, they dug in, the fried, savory aroma around them tantalizing.

Duke raised a bundle of shoe-string fries between his fingers before asking, “So where do we want to look next? You want to see if Ashcroft really could be our guy?”

He thought about it a moment before shook his head. “No, I don’t think it’s him. He has other ways of making me pay—ways that don’t involve brutal murders.”

“So who then? Or what?” Andi asked.

“I have the video footage from the award ceremony.” Logan picked up a triangle of his thick sandwich. “Like I said earlier, we don’t even know if this guy was at the award ceremony or if he lured Morgan outside somehow. But it’s another consideration.”

“If it was someone from the state trooper’s office or the biker gang, there’s a good chance Morgan would have recognized him, right?” Duke asked.

“There’s a chance. But a lot has changed in the Iron Brotherhood since I’ve been out. They have new blood. As far as the state trooper’s office, people who work there would know how to cover their tracks.”

“We can help you review that footage,” Andi said. “Although clearly we’re not going to recognize the same people you will, we might spot something helpful. I’ve also been going through the list of people at the award ceremony, calling each one. So far, no one saw anything. But I’ll keep trying.”

“That would be fantastic.”

They continued to eat, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts.

Except Logan was no longer hungry. The thought of someone hurting Morgan . . . he couldn’t stomach the idea.

Andi pushed his plate closer to him. “You can’t just not eat, Gibson. Even brooding state troopers need sustenance, am I right?”

Logan opened his mouth to respond when his phone vibrated against the table. The screen displayed “Reeves,” and he felt a flicker of anticipation. She wouldn’t call unless it was important.

He excused himself and answered.

As he listened to her update, his muscles tightened.

“I’ll be right there.” Logan ended the call and pushed back from the table.

“What is it?” Andi already reached for her jacket.

“They’ve IDed the hanging victim.”