Page 37 of Wildest Forever (Lovelock Bay #3)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

PACEY

I pace in the hallway of our family home.

Mom is soothing Lainey, Tripp's knee is bobbing as he sits in the living area and Riggs is leaning against the door frame.

Aspen and Dixie look lost, Morgan has no clue what is going on, her eyes are bouncing around the room trying to gauge anything that she could maybe ask or suggest.

Dusty stands by the large fireplace, hands tucked into his pockets.

“Where is Luke now?” Tripp asks, and Aspen's nose scrunches in disgust.

“Basement,” Riggs grunts, and I stop pacing.

“Has he spoke any more?”

“Not a word, thought I would try and scare him a bit, but he has stayed pretty tight lipped.”

“Asshole,” I hiss, walking into the room and I catch Morgan's gaze. She looks worried and I hate that. Wish I could scoop her in my arms and let her know that all will be okay.

But I didn't know how this was going to go.

We've had people trespassing and blowing up parts of our land looking for this diamond.

Honestly, we all thought it was a myth... but alas, our grandpa was telling us the truth.

He hid it well, I had no idea that Gerry and my Pa would have even been friends, but you learn something new each day.

“We all need to take a step back,” ma says, standing with Lainey whose little arms are reaching out for Dixie.

Dixie smiles, giving a soft look as she strides towards where her daughter is, lifting her into her arms and Lainey snuggles into her chest, her little fingers playing with the delicate gold chain that sits around her neck.

“We don't have time to take a step back, we have some sneaky cunt sitting bound downstairs, suits are still sniffing around, and we have no idea what the fuck we're going to do,” Tripp snaps, and Riggs bolts towards him, fists clenched.

I roll my eyes.

Moving across the floor, my hand is on Riggs' shoulder as I try and calm him down.

“Don't.” I warn.

Not that I stand a chance when it comes to Riggs.

He would floor me.

“Don't speak to her like that,”Riggs snarls.

Tripp’s eyes widen, his hand pushing through his hair and he drops his head.

“I know you're stressed, but don't you fucking dare,”his tone is a little softer now.

“Riggs,” ma's voice floats around the room like a blanket, swaddling the three of us up and calming us in an instant.

Tripp pushes up, chest to chest with our big brother.

His eyes are soft, and I feel the way Riggs' shoulders drop in an instant.

“All I am saying is, we don't want to jump the gun with this. We need to move the diamond, get it hidden, so if they come back and look, they'll be wasting their time.”

“Where do you suggest we hide it?” I step away from Riggs as he turns around and looks at ma.

“Leave that with me,” she gives a nod as she walks out the room, and Dusty's eyes are pinned to Morgan.

“I need to go,” Morgan whispers as her hand rests between my shoulder blades.

Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes fall to her lips, and I am so fucking desperate to kiss her again.

“Okay, I'll catch up with you in a bit,” I smile softly and my heart bangs in my chest.

“Okay,” she gives me a smile, “I’ll see you in a bit, cowboy,” her nose crinkles, her green eyes dancing with mine.

My cock twitches and I find myself clearing my throat as she steps away from me, her eyes dusting down my body and I know she has me right where she wants me.

She walks out and Dusty nods at the three of us before disappearing out the front door and no longer than a second after it is closed, Riggs is on me.

“Can we trust him?” his voice is gruff.

“Yes,” I don't give him a second to make him doubt me, when in truth, that's what I hope.

“Something is off,” Tripp says as he stands beside me.

Aspen sighs, pushing to her feet as she steps in front of Riggs, her small hands on his chest.

“You'll figure it out big man, I am sure of it,” she winks then presses onto her tiptoes, kissing his cheek.

He growls in response.

My lips tug into a smile as she turns and walks down to find ma, I am assuming.

Dixie says nothing, just twists her lips at Tripp.He shrugs a shoulder up and she gives a small smile back.

“We need to sort out a plan, something doesn't sit right in my gut and the gut never lies,” Riggs voice is low before he pushes forward and slams the front door behind him.

I sigh, shaking my head and tilt my head at Tripp and Dixie before I follow in the trail of my brother.

I had my own shit to sort out on top of this.

The drive into town was short and not enough time to let me decompress half the shit that was in my brain. But I knew my first stop had to be Sunny's.

Pulling into the parking spot outside, I lift my hat from the passenger side and place it on my head before I step out of my truck, closing the door behind me.

My chest aches and I find myself dragging in a deep breath as I walk towards the building.

It's quiet, which I was grateful for.

Pushing on the door, the small bell rings above my head and my heart constricts in my chest, a tightness spreading and I have to really try and focus on my breathing as I step closer.

Her eyes brighten when she sees me, her lips pressing into a smile but that soon fades when my lips turn down and I lift my hat from my head.

“Can we have a chat?”

She doesn't answer for a moment, her eyes just bounce between mine and finally, after what feels like a lifetime, she nods, ushering me out the back.

“What's wrong?”

I sigh.

“And don't tell me it's nothing to worry about because you wouldn't be here, like this... waiting to implode my whole day.”

I swallow.

“What is it?” she whispers, and I can't look at her. Her eyes are glassy.

“It's Conrad.” and that's all I can squeeze out without the burning lump lodging itself there, making it near impossible for me to continue.

“No,” she shakes her head, fresh tears roll down her cheeks as her hands cover her mouth.

“I'm so sorry Sunny,” and I pull her into my chest as she silently weeps in my arms. “So, so, sorry.”

I leave Sunny's and decide to walk down to my office. My heart feels heavy in my chest, and with each step I take, it grows heavier.

This is not what I thought the end of my week would look like.

Another dead body on our land.

Another heart broken.

And there is nothing I can do to take the pain away because I have my own pain lodged in my chest.

Climbing the stairs to my office, I unlock the door and sit at my desk. Fingers curl around the drawer as I tug it open and pull out the manilla folder. I unhook the clasp and pull the paperwork out.

My finger and thumb brush down my moustache as I look at the paperwork and seeing Conrad's face there in color haunts me a little.

He was beaten black and blue.

I just hope that he didn't suffer.

A shiver breaks over my skin and I give myself a moment before I continue looking at the file.

We were sure it was him.

But this was just another dead end.

I don't see how we got it so fucking wrong.

All roads led to him.

Shaking my head, I lay the paperwork down on my desk and lift my eyes to the window, looking out at the quiet sidewalks of Lovelock Bay.

My mind drifts to Morgan and I cannot wait for tonight.

I wanted to date her, wanted to take her out and spend the night with just her.

But I had to pick my moment.

I wanted to kiss her under the stars, make out at the back of the movies and walk hand in hand along the sidewalks sipping coffee.

I wanted all the little things with her, but I also knew we had to take it slow and I wanted to make all of her firsts perfect.

Yes, I rushed the kiss... I knew that but it just felt like the right moment last night when she was in my arms.

We were both feeling vulnerable and she wanted it as much as me.

My phone buzzes on my desk and I see Riggs' name.

Sighing, I scoop it up and bring it to my ear.

“Yeah,” I scrub my face before my eyes are lowered on the paperwork that sits on my keyboard.

“Have you looked into that number you took off Marty's phone yet?”

I sit up, eyes wide.

“Shit, I forgot about that, what with everything going on...” I pause just as I see Austin walking up the steps.“Austin is here,” I whisper into the speaker just as he walks through.

“The fuck?” he hisses, twisting the lock on the sheriff door and sitting in front of me.

“Which the fuck moment are you referring to?” my eyes bounce between his and Riggs is still sitting in my ear.

“Conrad.”

I push a breath out, then roll my lips.

“Look into that number and see if Austin can give anything away that might help, don't forget, he is on our side... always .”

The phone goes dead, and I toss it beside me.

“I know,” I sigh, sitting back in my seat. “Not long broke the news to Sunny, broke my damn heart,” I admit, and my throat thickens.

“I bet,” he nods, lifting his cap from his head, running his fingers through his hair before placing it back and twisting it around. “I'll pop and see her after I am done here.”

I roll my lips.

Austin sits forward, brows raised as he looks down his nose at the paperwork that sits on my desk.

“So, you thought Conrad was up to no good...” I catch his gaze and his lips roll into a tight line.

“I wasn't sure... just a tip off I got a couple of months back, then when he pulled away from everyone...” and guilt crashes through me.

“You had a hunch?” he sits back, head tilted to the side.

“Maybe?” I drop my face into my hands, elbows resting on the desk.

“Maybe was a big risk man,” he says softly and there is nothing malicious in Austin's tone, but I feel like he has slipped a dagger between my shoulder blades as I gasp for air.

“What would you have done?” I pin my question to him, my eyes now burning into his.

“I have no fucking idea,” he admits, and I lick my upper lip.

“What's Marty's stance on this? Who got the tip off about Conrad's body?” I ask, my fingers tapping on the paperwork beneath me.

“Marty got the call.”

“It wasn't on his call log?” my brows scrunch and my eyes narrow.“The time of the unknown number and Wyoming didn’t match up with what he has said.”