Death and Her Devotion (Rogue Vows #1)(6)

Zane was positive the body had bare wrists.

“Someone stole it.” Toby’s voice was high. “Whoever killed him stole it. And probably took his phone.”

“So this same guy went through Chase’s tent? While you all were snoring nearby? How would he know which tent was Chase’s?” Zane watched Toby carefully. The man couldn’t sit still in his chair. Zane couldn’t decide if he was truly distraught over his friend’s death or just nervous.

“I don’t know!” Toby yanked another Kleenex out of the box and loudly blew his nose.

“Are your phones linked?” Zane asked. “Can you track Chase’s phone?”

Toby froze, and then his face lit up. “They are! All of us can do that.” He pulled out his phone and started tapping. Zane moved around his desk to look over Toby’s shoulder and watched him open an app to search.

Nothing happened.

Toby wilted. “His phone’s powered off. Someone turned it off.”

“Can you see Spider’s?”

Toby touched the screen a few more times, and Zane heard a faint trilling coming from the waiting area of the police station.

“Yeah, I can see he’s right here.”

“Hang on a minute.” Zane left his office and headed down the hall to find Spider frowning at his phone. Brandon sat beside him, a frosting mustache on his upper lip. And cheeks. “Toby was just testing something,” he told Spider. “Ignore that.” Spider nodded, a wary look in his eyes.

Back in his office, Zane dropped back into his chair and eyed the man across his desk. “So you have no idea who would want to kill your friend?”

“No! Not at all!” Toby said with fervor.

Zane nodded. He didn’t know what to think. “I’m going to chat with Spider for a bit. Will Brandon be okay waiting with you?”

“Not a problem,” Toby assured him. “He’s comfortable with all of us.”





Stevie tightened her grip on her phone. Carly, her sister, who worked for Child Protective Services, had called after she heard a young boy had been present at the murder site.

“Are you sure the child is okay?” Carly asked. “He’s been through a shocking experience. I can find him someone to talk to.”

“I think he’ll be okay. He’s got his dad. He’s clinging pretty tightly to him, and I suspect that’s the best thing for Brandon right now. They didn’t let him see the body. He simply knows his uncle died.”

“Okay,” Carly said slowly. “If you see him acting out, we can offer some sort of help.” She was quiet a long moment. “Chase Ryan. I’m still stunned.”

Stevie understood. Her head had been spinning all morning.

“Everyone thought he was incredibly gorgeous,” Carly said. “He wasn’t my type . . . he was too dark and brooding all the time, but I know a lot of women had a thing for him.”

It felt inappropriate to listen to her sister discuss the looks of the murdered man, and she cleared her throat.

“And the show capitalized on it,” Carly continued in a speculating tone. “I swear they put in a shower scene every other episode.”

The image of Chase Ryan stepping out of the shower was too easy for Stevie to recall.

“And his towel was always just so, you know?” mused Carly. “They knew how to position that towel in all the publicity shots. Low on his hips and ready to drop at the slightest—”

“Carly.”

Her sister sighed. “Sorry. I watched with Mom a few times . . . she thought he was incredible. She would fan herself when Detective Gunn stepped out of the shower.”

“He had a wide appeal.”

“Have you talked to Mom today?” Carly asked.

“No. I’ve been a bit busy. I saw her last night.”

“Planning your wedding has put her over the moon. I haven’t seen her this happy since . . . well, since I don’t know when.”

Since before Dad died.

“I’m sincerely glad she’s enjoying it,” Stevie said. An image of Zane standing at the front of the church popped in her head. Tall, handsome, dressed in a tux, and smiling at her as she walked down the aisle. Soon.

“Will you have time to finish your wedding plans with this new investigation going on?”

“I am finished.”

“That’s not what Mom says.”

“Then Mom isn’t finished. I’m already head over heels in love with Zane. That’s the important part. Now I just need to show up.”





CHAPTER THREE


Stevie walked into the waiting area, where Brandon sat with Toby and Josh, as Zane interviewed Spider in his office. The boy suddenly yanked on Josh’s arm. “Can we leave now?” he asked. “I don’t want to be here anymore.I hate this place!”

Josh patted him on the back and raised a brow at Stevie.

“There’s a small park a block to the east,” she offered. “Why don’t you take him there until Zane’s done talking with Spider?”

The men agreed and left, with Brandon walking between the two of them.

Stevie watched them out the window, Carly’s words about Brandon’s emotional state running through her head. The boy appeared to have good support from his father and his father’s friends, but she’d keep an eye on him.