She closed her eyes, not at all proud of the fact that he’d taken the bait she’d laid out for him. “That would be great. I’m sure Caleb is gone, but I really don’t want to take a chance on running into him.”
The man’s face hardened. He obviously wouldn’t mind running into Caleb. “What color is it?”
“Dark gray.” She did have a jacket like that, but it was in the back seat of her car, not in the booth. “Cream-colored collar and cuffs.”
He nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be right here.”
He’d barely been out of sight five seconds before she had the wallet in her hand and was looking through it for cash.
Her stomach curdled further as she pulled the bills out, not stopping to count them. It was at least a couple of hundred dollars. He had credit cards and even a library card in there too, but that wouldn’t help her.
She couldn’t resist looking at his driver’s license. It had a local address here in Reddington City.
Gavin Zimmerman.
She trailed her fingers across the picture. “I really wish we could’ve met under different circumstances, Gavin Zimmerman. In a different life.”
She sighed, then stuffed his credit cards and ID back into his pocket, keeping the wallet and cash. She slipped the jacket off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground, ignoring the chill that surrounded her instantly.
She balled her fist around the cash and, without looking back, hopped awkwardly over the railing and into the dark, cold Wyoming night.
3
“If you keep staying in here and working all hours of the day and night, they’re eventually going to elect you sheriff for real, you know.”
Gavin grinned and looked up from his computer at Zac Mackay standing in the doorway of his office. “Would you vote for me?”
Zac leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb. “Hell, no. We need you too much at Linear Tactical. Plus, remember all the times you told me how you were never running for any sort of public office?”
Gavin leaned back in his chair, smile falling a little. “Reminds me too much of dear old Dad. I’ve got neither the temperament nor the stomach for politics.”
Gavin’s dad, Ronald Zimmerman, had been the governor of Wyoming for the past six years and in the state’s legislature before that. Gavin knew exactly what was involved with politics and wanted nothing to do with it.
Zac nodded. “I hear that. I’ll take being a soldier any day. At least that way we have a better chance of knowing who our enemies are.”
“That’s the damned truth.” Gavin pointed at the chair in front of his desk for Zac to sit in.
Gavin had been the acting sheriff in Oak Creek for the past six months since Curtis Nelson, the actual elected sheriff, had had a stroke. Fortunately, Nelson had recovered and for the past couple weeks had been back at work part-time. He’d be back full-time by the first of the year.
“You need something I can provide in my remaining time as sheriff? Bodies hidden? Parking tickets taken care of?”
Zac grinned. “Both, probably. But the guys sent me over from the Eagle’s Nest to get you. They said your brooding time is up and it’s Friday.”
Gavin raised an eyebrow. “My brooding time?”
“Yeah. We generally give you two days to recover from a visit to Reddington City if just your dad is involved, four days if it involves your ex. It’s been five days that you’ve been buried in here.”
“I did see both Dad and Janeen.” Gavin let out a sigh. Neither of them was the source of his brooding. That dubious honor belonged to a wallet thief. “And that went about how you would expect.”
“Janeen still planning to run for Congress?”
Gavin scrubbed a hand down his face. “Yep. Another couple of years in state politics and then she’s heading for the big league. Like her or not, you have to admit she knows how to make a plan and follow it.”
“She may be a bitch, but she’s definitely an organized one.” Zac gave a sympathetic nod. He’d been part of the group who’d helped Gavin get shit-faced drunk after Gavin had walked in on Janeen with another man five years ago. “And your dad still won’t cut her loose?”
Gavin rolled his eyes. He loved his dad, he really did, and generally they got along very well. But Ronald Zimmerman had a long-term plan that involved the White House. Janeen was part of the plan, the ideal running mate: young, smart, female, and politically aligned.
“You know Dad. He’s looking at a much bigger picture than just our divorce. I’m sure if I pressed it and made him choose, he’d pick me over her.” Probably. “But honestly, I don’t care. Janeen has remarried. She’s someone else’s problem now. And Dad’s.”
That was true. His and Janeen’s marriage had been in trouble before he’d caught her cheating, and the speed of his subsequent divorce had been more a sting to his pride than any true emotional turmoil. Janeen definitely wasn’t the reason Gavin had been cranky and keeping away from people all week.
“You okay, brother? I feel like this is something more than normal political family dysfunction. Generally by this point, you’re back out in public. Maybe I should’ve gotten over here sooner, but I know you don’t like babysitters.”
Gavin eyed Zac. They’d known each other for nearly ten years now. He’d originally written the other man off because of his surfer looks—ridiculous wavy brown hair with some blond highlights. Blue eyes. Quick smile.
But the son of a bitch had proved himself shrewd and a strategic thinker. Zac had made an excellent team leader in the Special Forces and had made an even better friend over the years, both in and out of the army.
Gavin had never planned to be part of Linear Tactical when Zac and another teammate, Finn Bollinger, first started talking about it, but they’d made a place for him when Gavin’s plans had blown up just as he’d gotten out of the service.
He shut off his computer for the night. If his friends were hunting him down, it was time to resurface. Time to stop thinking about green eyes and sad smiles. “So you drew the short straw to come babysit Broody McBroodster?”
Zac grinned. “I was always the first to volunteer for hazardous missions. You know that.”
“Well, I’m not about to arrest anybody for no good reason, so I think we’re safe.”
Although he very definitely wanted to arrest someone. Or at least find her.
He’d been suckered, and he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself. He’d sat at the bar and gotten all hot and bothered over the woman across the way. He’d been about to go talk to her but had made the mistake of taking his father’s call, and when he’d looked up again, she’d been sitting with that asshole.
“Oh my,” Zac said, eyes big. “What’s that look about? You really are thinking about arresting someone.”
Gavin rubbed his face. “It’s a very short, humiliating story.”
Zac stretched his legs out in front of him. “Those are always the best kind. You know you’re going to have to tell me.”
“I left Dad’s house, tired of the political bullshit—Dad still can’t understand why I don’t jump at the chance to be in the same house with my ex. I decided to have a beer and watch the game for a few before driving home. Ended up at the Hilderbrand Hotel.”