Hunt and Prey (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 8) by Kaylie Hunter (novels to read for beginners txt) 📕

“I love him, but I’m mad. Super mad.”

“I see that. But what I don’t get is why you’re more angry than hurt?” He started for the elevator and spoke over his shoulder. “Makes me wonder if you’re angry at yourself for something. That’s usually when you can’t let it go.”

I was too tired to figure out his riddle, so I grabbed a clean cup and filled it with coffee.

“Grab me a cup?” Tyler asked as he walked into the kitchen. “I know why I’m still up, but why are you?”

I shrugged, handing him a cup of coffee. “My brain is spinning. I’m still trying to sort the cases and figure out where to start.”

“Maybe you should take a back seat on the other cases. Stay focused on the trafficking case at the dentist office.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

Tyler slid onto a barstool, watching me, but not answering.

“I’m not in one of my pissy moods. It’s safe to explain why you think I should butt out of the other cases.”

He watched me a few more seconds but must’ve decided it was safe enough to speak. “All I’m saying is that when people take on too much, things slip through the cracks.” He paused to take a drink of his coffee before continuing. “Take my duties around here as an example. Sure, I could’ve left with the boys to thump on some wife-beating asshole. I’d even enjoy it. But that’s not where I’m needed. I’m good at keeping watch over the family. And that gives the rest of you time to focus on everything else. And I’m okay with that. I like doing what I do. It’s important. Just like the trafficking cases are something you’re uniquely good at. And Charlie’s one hell of a homicide detective from what I’ve heard. Just stay out of her lane. Let her do her thing, and you do yours.”

“Your advice is to simply ignore everything else? Including the fact someone’s trying to kill Charlie?”

“Are you sure they’re trying to kill her? Sounded to me like the contract might be to kidnap her. But, yeah, work your dentist case, which might also be connected to the guy hunting down that Evie chick. And while you’re doing that, let the hometown homicide detective work her murder cases.”

“Who focuses on the contract hanging over Kid’s head then? Who works that angle?”

“The way Charlie explained it, if the other cases get solved, one of them might be linked to Mr. Tricky. If not, then at least everyone will be free to follow the next clue. Besides, every cop in the city, plus our security guys, are watching Charlie’s back. There’s a good chance we’ll spot him following her, and then we can toss the net and trap him.” Tyler smiled, imagining something. “If you do catch him, lock his ass in a room with Bones or Wild Card for five minutes. He’ll sing.”

Keeping the cases sorted made sense. We had enough help to divide and conquer. “When did you get so smart?”

Tyler chuckled. “The night shifts are quiet. Lots of time to think.”

Quiet. That sounded nice. “Maybe I should swap shifts with you.”

“You’d be bored. Now go to bed. You need some sleep.”

I poured my cup into the sink. “You going to bed, too?”

“I’ll wait until the rest of the guys return. I trust Grady, but I’ll sleep better knowing Bones and Wild Card are ready to fight if the warning alarms go off.”

“They probably wouldn’t hear anyone yell for help. This place is huge.”

“They’ll hear. Bones sleeps with one eye open. And Wild Card always sleeps in the center of the action. He’ll probably sleep on the couch in the front room tonight, so he’ll be close if needed.”

“Wasn’t he assigned a room?”

“Sure. He’s always offered a room, even in Michigan. But he never uses them when we’re on red alert— which is most of the time these days.”

I laughed. “I thought he liked the excuse of walking around with his shirt off after his naps.”

“Ha. That too. He enjoys getting Grady all wound up. I think it’s his way of dealing with Grady sleeping with his ex-wife.”

“Wild Card and I were married less than a minute.”

“Not the way I heard the story told. You two fell hard, and then—poof—it was over.”

“I don’t remember falling. I remember fighting, having sex, then splitting up, followed by a miscarriage and moving to Michigan to continue pretending to be normal as I searched for Nicholas.”

“See,” Tyler said, shaking his head. “I get the miscarriage part making everything fuzzy. That would be hard. But did you ever process how you would’ve felt about the divorce if you’d never been pregnant?”

“There was no point. I needed to find Nicholas. He was my priority.”

“And you couldn’t have stayed in Texas while you searched?”

“No.” I shook my head, confident of my answer.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t stay in Texas.”

“Are you sure you don’t know why?”

I sighed, throwing my hands up. “You sound like Uncle Hank. Trying to say something without saying anything. I’m too tired for games. I’m going to bed.”

Tyler hid his grin behind his coffee cup.

As I started up the stairs, I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. The men in my life spent too much time pondering over my love life.

Chapter Twenty-Six

CHARLIE

Tuesday, 3:22 a.m.

“What’s the plan?” Bones asked as we gathered near the corner of Lydia’s daughter’s yard.

The yellow house, sitting squarely on its allotted parcel of St Augustine Floridian grass, presented a challenging situation, even for a skilled team. The neighboring houses were too close. The entire blue-collar block was dark, lights off, except for the street light on the corner. One scream, one broken lamp, or hell—a car door being slammed shut—and