Today, though, I couldn’t even bother with the pretense. There was too much on my mind. Too much Reeve on my mind. It had been four days since I’d left him in his bed, and I hadn’t heard a word from him. Even the title to the Jag had no accompanying note when it arrived the day before and I was riddled with doubts. Had I done the right thing in leaving? Had I fucked up in some other way? Did he decide that he didn’t like me after all?
I picked at my tuna salad, so wrapped up in my head that I didn’t see Joe walking toward me until he was practically at my table.
The set was a closed one with strict security. And I hadn’t put Joe on any clearance lists. “How did you get —?”
“It’s Vilanakis,” he said, cutting me off. He sat across from me and threw a manila envelope on the table in front of him. “In the picture. She’s with Vilanakis.”
“Wow.” I knew he’d get up to speed eventually. But I hadn’t prepared myself with a reaction. “How, um, did you figure it out?” Mostly I wanted to ask, Does this mean that you’re going to tail Reeve again? Because then I’d need to prepare more than a reaction. I’d need a defense.
Joe shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. The question is how did you figure it out?”
“I…” Fuck.
Joe pulled a document from his envelope and placed it in front of me. “This came through my reports yesterday.”
I glanced at it, not needing more time to study it to recognize it as a copy of the official title that had been delivered to me by courier the day before. Guess that answered whether or not I needed a defense. Unable to look at him, I focused on moving my fork around on my plate.
Joe leaned forward, forcing my attention. “Emily. Why is Reeve Sallis signing over the title of one of his cars to you? One of his expensive cars, at that.”
I swallowed. “I thought you weren’t watching him anymore.”
“I’m not. But I still have a few flags out for suspicious behavior. This” – he pointed at the paper – “is definitely suspicious behavior. Want to tell me what’s up?”
“Just. He. It’s.” I ran a finger down the bridge of my nose. “It’s complicated.”
Joe muttered something under his breath then leveled me with a stern look. “It would be easier to work for you, you know, if you weren’t always working against me.”
“I’m not working against you, Joe.” My volume was higher than I meant it to be. I caught myself and both lowered my voice and leaned in closer to make sure no one could hear me. “This isn’t about Amber. It’s about me. Mostly. I can’t explain or defend myself. All I can say is don’t worry about me and Reeve.”
“Dammit, Em,” Joe said, hitting his fist on the table hard enough to make my plate jump. “He’s not a good man. I can’t protect you from the things he might do to you.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I know.” Then I threw them in the air. “I know.” I didn’t need Joe to tell me Reeve’s faults. I knew he wasn’t a good man. At least, I knew that he wasn’t good for me. It was the same thing as far as I was concerned. “And I’m not expecting you to protect me. I’m in this on my own.”
Joe shook his head. Then he sat back and shook it again. “Jesus, Emily. I don’t even know what… Are you even still interested in what happened to Amber?”
“Yes.” When he didn’t look convinced, I said it again. “Yes. I am. More than ever.” I searched his face, looking for understanding or at least acknowledgment. There was nothing. Joe was excellent at hiding his emotions. I bet he was a great poker player.
I sighed. “I don’t expect you to understand. But hopefully you can do your job without having to. I have to know where she is. And if I get lost on the way to finding her, then that’s what has to happen. Just… we have to find her.”
Joe scrutinized me for several seconds, his knee bouncing against the table leg. Finally he cursed under his breath and pulled another paper from his envelope. He turned it so it faced me and set it in front of me.
I picked it up. It was stapled in the corner, several sheets of what appeared to be a list of phone numbers. I flipped through, finding some were highlighted, some crossed out. One was circled several times. Not understanding, I raised a questioning brow.
“Her last call was made from Sallis’s ranch in Wyoming.”
“What?” I looked down at the paper again realizing it must be a copy of calls from the ranch. “So that’s where they were when she called me? Are you sure?”
“Apparently, it’s one of his favorite resorts. He spends a lot of time there. They were there all summer after leaving the Springs.”
I have to get there. It was the most prominent thought I had even though I wasn’t sure what I could do or find out once I got there.
I set the paper down and looked at Joe. “What are you doing with this information? Are you following up on it?”
“I took a trip up there. Did some poking around but all I really got was confirmation she was there. Now I’m dropping this lead.” He picked up the phone list and slipped it back into his folder. “She’s been seen since then. This isn’t necessarily relevant.”
“But you told me anyway. Knowing I think it is.” He also had to know that I would try to do something with the information myself. Did that mean he supported me even if he didn’t understand?
Joe closed his eyes and circled his neck around, stretching the muscles. Then he cracked his knuckles and said, “Actually, I think it might be relevant too.”