Page 16 of Legends: Easton (Legends of Fire Creek #3)

“Don’t worry.” Easton pulled his plate back in front of him, eating the food despite the fact that it was cold. “My eyes are wide open when it comes to Bailee Maxwell.”

∞∞∞

Easton had the bar ready to open with a good hour to go before the first customers arrived. He took a rag and wiped down the already shiny bar just to have something to do. His eyes kept straying to where Luke sat with his laptop open.

When Luke wasn’t pounding on the laptop’s keyboard, he stared at his screen, sometimes using the touchpad to scroll, sometimes scowling at what he saw.

Hell, Easton couldn’t really be sure if what his brother read caused his expression.

Luke’s default setting was a scowl with some grumpiness mixed in.

There were moments when Luke’s stoic personality and unshakable poker face were assets.

This wasn’t that moment. Easton would have given his right arm to know what Luke was thinking, and that was a scary thought in and of itself.

Only a couple of minutes ticked by before Easton caved to his impatience.

“So have you found anything?”

Luke scowled, typed a bit more, and closed his laptop. His clear eyes gave nothing away as he stared at Easton, and Easton blew out a frustrated breath.

“Shit, Luke. Talk already. I’m dying here.”

“Your girl’s in trouble.”

Easton stiffened. “She’s not my girl. And I kind of already suspected that. How about telling me something I don’t know?”

“There’s a contract out on her. Chatter on the dark web said there’s a hefty price for her, dead or alive.”

Easton couldn’t have been more stunned if his brother had kicked him in the balls. “What? A contract? Like for an assassin to kill her?”

“Dead or alive. Which means whoever is bankrolling it wants their hands on her if possible, but if she makes that difficult — and I’m guessing she would — then killing her is the next best thing.”

Easton blew out a breath. “Well, hell. I wasn’t expecting that. According to the news articles, she practically dismantled the gang she was undercover with. I doubt they have the resources now to call in a professional. Could it be the cop she took down?”

“I don’t know who. Yet. They’re covering their tracks well. I’m going to need more time to figure that part out,” Luke explained.

Easton nodded. “Okay. So what about the guy she saw at the store? Could he be here to take her out?”

“I don’t know, but we need to find him. Having him in town can’t be good.”

Easton raised a quizzical brow. “You found out who he is.”

Luke nodded. “But I don’t know how he’s connected to your girl. He’s not affiliated with the gang or any known cartel. As far as I can tell, he’s never had a run-in with her or anyone at the Louisville PD.”

“She’s not my girl,” Easton repeated almost as an afterthought. “So who’s the guy?”

“Clive Melvin.”

Easton’s eyes widened a second before a loud belly laugh escaped his throat, shaking his frame. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What the hell kind of name is that?”

“Shit, I don’t know. It’s the name his momma gave him. It’s probably why he’s got the reputation he has, to keep assholes from picking on him.”

“And what is that?”

“Dangerous. Stealthy. He’s been connected to a lot of racketeering and extortion cases, with none of the charges sticking.

He doesn’t work for anybody of record. He’s a loner who won’t hesitate to take out anybody in his way.

He’s a killer, but not a contract one. He operates out of larger metropolitan areas — New Jersey, Chicago, New York, Detroit.

Melvin being in Fire Creek doesn’t make any sense, but I hacked into the security footage from the grocery store’s parking lot.

I found a clear shot of him leaving in a rental sedan. ”

Easton’s investigative mind whirled with the missing pieces in his brother’s intel.

“Okay. So how were you able to ID him when Bailee’s contact couldn’t find out?

Did you get a lead through the rental car?

Have we ever run into any of his known associates?

Could he possibly be here for us or Gish?

It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. ”

“No, we’ve had no reason to cross paths with him, and from what I can find out about him, none of the criminal activity around Fire Creek would be enough to interest him. I can’t say for sure he’s here for your girl either, but I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Easton had no response to that, not even to protest his reference to Bailee as his girl. He sensed that Luke was far from done with saying what he wanted to say, so he waited for his brother to continue.

“The rental car was under the name of a shell company. I can dig deeper into that and possibly turn up some more intel. As far as how I ID’d him, it was harder than usual for me.

He changes his appearance enough not to register in facial recognition software, which is probably what her contact used.

So I called Atlas. Their software is more sophisticated than anything I have or law enforcement has access to.

Don’t ask me how, but Alex’s guys were able to figure out who he was. ”

Atlas Security was one of the top private security firms in the country and was owned by Jackson’s good friend and former Army buddy, Alex Crandell. Alex was well aware of the boys’ work as Legends, and he and his operatives had assisted the Legends on cases before.

“Any chance Alex’s guys got it wrong?”

Luke pierced him with a hard stare, and Easton backtracked.

“Okay, okay. I know Alex’s guys are never wrong. I had to ask though.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

Easton shrugged. “Hell, if I know. I don’t have to figure it out now anyway. I got to open the bar and focus on our customers. Hopefully by morning, I’ll have a plan.”

“Right, because procrastination has always worked for you in the past,” Luke scoffed as he slid his laptop into his backpack.

“By the way, just to warn you. Gish is babysitting Jax, so Reagan can come tonight. She and Melody they’re having a girls’ night, but I think they want to press you for info about your girl. ”

Easton frowned. “She’s not my girl, and how would they even know about her?”

“Becky told Reagan who told Melody that her friend’s granddaughter was in town and that you had dinner with them last night.” Luke’s scowl was fierce. “Shit, I sound like a middle school girl spreading rumors.”

Easton laughed. “Yep, you do, but you can text Melody and tell her the third degree isn’t necessary. There’s no romance or sex or dating or anything like that. Not that I wouldn’t like to change that, but for now, she has me deep in the friend zone.”

His words sounded false to him, especially when he thought back to the mind-blowing kiss, but he doubted Luke picked up on that.

“Good luck convincing them of that.” Luke stood and headed toward the men’s room, leaving his backpack on the barstool.

Easton grabbed the backpack to secure it behind the bar since he was about to open the doors. Luke was hanging around to handle any rowdy patrons while Easton worked the bar and Jackson oversaw the waitstaff and kitchen crew.

With all that he had on his mind, he was hoping for a quiet night. It seemed his involvement with Bailee Maxwell was about to get more complicated than he anticipated.