A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(45)

“Yeah, Levi,” another boy chimed in, his voice soft as though mesmerized. “Get her on the ground. We can take care of the rest.”

Her fingertips dipped farther until he wrapped a hand around her wrist, the movement slow and calculated, effectively putting a stop to her exploration. He lifted out her empty hand then he reached down his shorts and brought up the key himself.

She reached for it, but he pulled it toward him. Not to be mean like Hailey, but to study it, his dark hair with sun-streaked, coppery-blond locks falling over his face. He was the kind of boy summers were made for.

“Can I have that back, please?”

He ignored her, took the broken link, and re-clasped the chain so she could wear it again. Then he lifted it over her head, put it around her neck, and examined his handiwork.

She didn’t know what to do. Thank him? She’d had her bike stolen. She’d been threatened with physical violence from a pack of jackals. And she’d touched, for the first time in her life, the boy she’d been in love with since forever.

Emotion threatened to spill over her lashes. The last thing she’d wanted was for him to see her cry. This perfect boy who came from a perfectly broken home. A home that had been broken for generations.

With back ramrod straight, she turned and walked home, mortified and humiliated and more in love than she ever imagined possible.

She didn’t see him again that summer. She’d heard from other kids around town that Levi spent most of his summers on the Mescalero Apache reservation, but they didn’t know why.

Sun did. Thanks to her parents, she also knew he almost died because of it. His mother hadn’t been so lucky.

Levi’s gaze finally landed on her and he paused, his expression incredulous, the sinew in his arms straining as he flexed. “Really?” he asked, the edge in his voice razor sharp. “On your first day?”

Quince started to come to her defense, but she couldn’t let him. She needed to set the precedence for their interactions from here on out. “There’s a girl missing,” she said, her voice just as sharp. “We got a tip that she’s been seen several times with your nephew, Jimmy. We need to talk to him.”

If Sun had told him she was going to burn down his world and kill his family, she doubted he could have become more enraged. He stepped toward her, and both men closed in. Fields held up a hand, warning him to keep a safe distance.

The passenger got out of the truck. She couldn’t be certain, but she thought he was one of Levi’s cousins. A shorter, stockier cousin like they all were.

Levi took note of the FBI agent at last, his expression a blatant confession of just how unimpressed he was.

“What are you doing here?” the cousin asked.

Before she could ask Levi where his nephew was, an older man came out of the front door with Levi’s sister, Hailey. She screeched to a halt when she saw the officers, but then she ran to Levi, her eyes like saucers.

“Did you find him?” When Levi didn’t answer, hysterics took hold. “Levi!” she shouted.

“What are you talking about?” Sun asked.

Hailey finally noticed Sun specifically, and her face morphed into one of disgust. “What the fuck is she doing here?”

“Hailey,” Sun began, but the woman lost it.

She bolted toward her and was only held back by her much larger brother.

Sun kept one hand on her duty weapon, but showed a palm in surrender with the other. “We just need to talk to Jimmy. He’s not in trouble.”

She tried to fling herself at Sun again, but Levi held her back.

“They think Jimmy’s been hanging around with that missing girl,” Levi said to her.

And Hailey went ballistic. She clawed and scratched at him, trying to get to Sun. “How dare you!” she shouted. “He would never hang out with a St. Aubin. Those kinds of girls wouldn’t give my son the time of day. But maybe that’s why you’re here.” She stilled as shock took over. “You think he took her.”

“We don’t think anything, Hailey.” Sun worked hard on keeping her tone soft but confident. “We just need to talk to him.”

Hailey fought Levi’s hold again until he pulled her against him and spoke into her ear.

She whirled around and gaped at him. “What do you mean?”

Levi let out a long breath, then said, “I lost his tracks in the snow. He’s still up there.”

Hailey plastered both hands over her mouth as fresh tears fell down her cheeks. She looked like she’d been crying all morning. “He’ll freeze to death in those mountains.”

“He knows that rock better than I do. I’ll find him, Hails,” Levi promised as the older man came forward and put an arm over her shoulders.

She stiffened and shook him off before heading back inside the house. Just before she closed the door, she looked at Sun and said, “Get that piece of shit off this property.”

It was nice to see nothing had changed. Sun was still hated for no reason whatsoever, and Hailey was still a hellcat. At least she knew where she stood.

The slam echoed against the surrounding buildings, and Sun turned to Levi. “What’s going on?”

“We just came back for dry clothes. Dipshit over there fell in the river.” He gestured toward the dipshit.

“You’re searching the mountain. For whom?”