Page 20 of Tango (Hunt Brothers Search & Rescue #4)

Tucker

S eeing Alice frantic and terrified that she’s lost another friend was the wake-up call I needed. She’s not guilty. Any shred of suspicion I had after seeing that video validated is gone. Vanished.

I doubt the woman has ever even double-parked.

She’s silent beside me as we drive the UTV to my favorite place in the world. Tango is behind us in the bed, excited to be getting out. It’s still dark, barely five in the morning, but the sun will be rising soon, and I’m hoping with it, we’ll get happy news.

Or at least, not terrible news.

The fact that Alaric still hasn’t called me back is a bit concerning, but I’m trying to remind myself that it takes time to drive in LA traffic, no matter the time of day. He’d assured me he’d go himself, and that’ll take time.

I pull the UTV to a stop beside the river that runs through our property. Then I shut the engine off so we can hear the water rushing through the riverbed. For me, the white noise is a soothing way to drown out the worries. Here’s hoping it works for her too.

Tango jumps out to explore a bit, just like he always does.

“Logan and I dated for about six months,” she says, speaking for the first time since we left the house.

I hate the bite of jealousy because it’s not at all how I want to feel. And it’s completely unwarranted. “I figured as much. Though the length of time was what I wasn’t sure on.”

She offers me a half smile. “He’s a great guy and was a fantastic boyfriend. Treated me to nice dinners, helped me move into my apartment, and bought me flowers. Aside from the jealousy he felt over Ramiro, he was the perfect boyfriend.”

“Yikes. Didn’t like the best friend? That’s a no-go.”

I get another smile out of her. “Yeah. I tried to assure him that he had nothing to worry about, and I guess I get it—I knew how Ramiro felt about me. But I couldn’t bring myself to turn my back on him.

Not when he’d been there for me when I first started at the company.

And Ramiro was always respectful of my relationship with Logan. ”

“That’s good.”

“He was a great man.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “They both were.”

“None of this is your fault.”

She turns to me. “Until that message came in, you were going to have me arrested for murder.”

“I was thinking about it,” I reply with a grin.

Truth is, I’d already made up my mind that I wasn’t going to turn her in.

Even if it meant keeping something from my brothers for the first time since I ate Riley’s last chocolate Easter egg in the seventh grade.

“The truth is, I believe you’re innocent, Alice.

I feel it in my gut. I just don’t know how to prove it. ”

“We need to stop focusing on proving my innocence and start pushing to uncover what they’re trying to hide.”

“I agree.”

“I’m not sure how we do that without getting into Web Safe, though.”

“We’ll find a way.”

Silence descends around us, with nothing but the rushing water and crickets to fill the air. Even Tango is silent as he watches the water, probably looking for shadows of fish moving beneath the surface.

“You know, I never questioned my career choice. Not even for a second. But these days, I’m honestly wishing I’d just gone into graphic design like I wanted to in the first place.”

“Graphic design?”

She nods. “I did a little on the side when I was in high school and college.”

“What made you go cybersecurity instead?”

She falls silent for a moment then turns to me, tears shimmering in her eyes beneath the bright moon overhead. “I wanted to do good in the world. Even if I couldn’t be out there fighting crime, I wanted to help.”

“Kind of seems like you’re doing both now.” I bump her with my shoulder, and she smiles at me. But that smile fades almost as quickly as it came.

“If he dies, I’ll never forgive myself, Tucker. It’ll be my fault. Just like the man in that alleyway was my fault.”

“Alice, that man attacked you.”

“I still took a life. Someone’s son.”

“Alice.” She closes her eyes tightly, and a tear rolls down her cheek.

“Look at me.” Because I sense she won’t do it on her own, I break one of my rules and reach out to gently touch her face.

The contact sends a jolt through me, recognition that this woman means so much more to me than she should in such a short amount of time.

As Dylan has been joking lately—it seems we Hunts fall hard and fast.

A thought I shove aside because I cannot be in a relationship.

Not now, and maybe not ever. Regardless of private oaths to myself, Alice needs me to remain focused.

She needs me to protect her and pursue the truth—not fall in love.

Still, I stroke her cheek with my thumb and turn her face toward me.

When she opens those crystal eyes, her pain is a punch to the gut. “Even with what he would have done to you, you still didn’t mean to kill him.”

“Fine. What about Logan?” Her bottom lip quivers. “He had nothing to do with this. I asked him to keep an ear to the ground. To let me know if he saw or heard anything.”

“But you didn’t ask him to intervene, right? To ask around? He did that on his own.”

She closes her eyes again and takes a deep breath, as though it’s all she can do to keep from falling apart.

“That was Logan. He never could leave something well enough alone, and I should have thought about that before asking him. I was just so desperate for an ally. For someone to help me get my life back. I didn’t stop to think about what that would mean for him. ”

“Alice. Listen to me. If Logan—” I trail off. “If he’s gone, then that’s not your fault. Do you blame Ramiro for what’s happening to you now?”

She opens her eyes. “Of course not.”

I drop my hand. “Ramiro brought you into this. He’s the reason you’re involved. So if you don’t blame him, then do you really think Logan would blame you?”

She hesitates. “I’m alive. Logan’s not.”

“If something had happened to your parents. If I hadn’t gotten there in time. Would you have blamed Ramiro then?”

“Of course not.”

“Then stop blaming yourself for something that’s not your fault.”

Alice takes a deep breath. “I’m trying to remain positive. To keep my head on straight because I know, at the end of the day, none of this matters. Our happiness isn’t promised here. But it’s so hard, Tucker. It’s so hard to keep my head up when all I want to do is give up.”

“I won’t let you give up,” I tell her.

“No?” she asks, turning to face me again.

Seconds of silence pass around us as we watch the sun rise above the hills. “Not a chance, 404Wonder. You’re stuck with me until the end.”

Three cups of coffee and a shower later, and my cell is finally ringing.

Lord, whatever happens, please help me help her. “Hunt,” I answer.

Alaric’s initial hesitation tells me everything I need to know.

“When?” I ask.

“ME is estimating his time of death to have been right before five in the morning.”

“So, right after we got that message.”

“We found him near his computer. Two bullets to the back. Another to his chest. There was blood smeared all over his keyboard, and whoever did it ripped his hard drive out then shredded his apartment looking for something. They were in and out quick.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I step out onto the porch. “Any idea who did it?”

“We’re running prints we found on the scene, but my guess is they belong to him. The killer was in a rush but not messy.”

“It has to be Web Safe.”

“Fine, but we have no proof. Aside from the word of a woman whose face is currently plastered all over the news here in California.”

“I know.” Turning, I face the sliding glass door right as Alice steps into the kitchen. She stops in place when she sees me, and the expression on my face must speak volumes because her hand falls to her side, and she closes her eyes. “I’ll find you something.”

“Just be careful. These guys went after Loyotta’s company and managed to get a search warrant for Ramiro’s apartment as well as his mother’s residence. They’ve got friends in high places. Though you already knew that.”

“They searched the mom’s house? When?”

“First thing this morning. I just found out myself.”

“It would help if we knew what they were looking for.”

“It would, but until then, all we can do is keep following the evidence where it leads us. I’ll let you know if anything comes up from the scene.”

“Great. Thanks, Alaric.”

“Sure thing. I’m sorry for her loss.”

“Thanks.” I end the call and hesitate for a moment before stepping into the house. How do I do this? How do I tell her that another one of her friends is dead?

With my heart aching, I close the door behind me and turn toward the living room. Alice is sitting on the couch, her Bible in hand, while Tango is sitting at her feet. She looks up at me.

“He’s gone.”

It’s not a question, but I nod anyway. “I’m so sorry, Alice.”

She swallows hard, and her eyes fill. “He deserved better.”

“We’ll find out who did it, and we’ll bury them.” I set my phone on the end table then set her Bible aside before kneeling at her feet. I grip her forearms gently, stroking the undersides with my thumbs.

“We know who did it. Proving it is the hard part.”

“Hard—yes. Impossible—no.” I pull her in and wrap my arms around her in what’s supposed to be a quick hug. A way to help her feel not so alone. Instead, the brush of her body pressed against mine makes my heart race.

She feels so right. In every way.

Which is only one of the many reasons I need to solve this case and put some distance between us. Otherwise, I stand to break a lot more than a promise I made to myself.