Touch of Red (Tracers #12)(13)

A few minutes later Roland reappeared, and Brooke could tell he’d won by the deflated expression on Ben’s face.

“Okay, who’s next?” Roland asked. “Brooke, how about you and Ben versus me and Sara?”

Ben slid onto the bench beside Brooke. “I’m out.”

“Same.” Brooke lifted her beer. “I’m still working on this.”

“Come on. Really?”

“Really.”

“I’m out, too,” Sara said. “I’m having too much fun talking.”

Roland took the spot across from Sara and signaled a server.

“Whoa.” Maddie put her hand over Brooke’s. “Speak of the devil,” she whispered.

Brooke followed her gaze to the bar.

Where Matt was pulling up a stool.

Brooke’s stomach clenched. “Unbelievable.”

“You think he saw your car?”

“Ha. Yes, in a manner of speaking.”

Matt ordered a drink and pretended not to see Brooke as he chatted up a pair of women beside him. He was in his typical off-duty attire of jeans and cowboy boots. Brooke turned away and sipped her beer.

No doubt he’d noticed every person she was with, including Roland. He’d never liked that she and Roland worked together. Matt had a jealous streak and had frequently accused her of having a secret thing with Roland, even though Brooke had never cheated on anyone, ever.

Maddie leaned closer. “Has he been following you?”

“No.”

Maddie lifted her eyebrows.

“He hasn’t. He just keeps . . . showing up places. The grocery store. My gym. Our gym, I should say. Maybe it’s a coincidence.”

“Or maybe he’s following you.”

“No, sometimes he’s there before I am. Small town, right? I should get used to it.” Brooke pulled a twenty from her purse. “Listen, I need to head out. Throw my money into the pot, will you?”

Brooke slid from the picnic table and said a quick good-bye to Kelsey, trying not to put a damper on the birthday festivities.

When Brooke started to leave, Maddie was at her side. “I’ll walk you out.”

“I’m fine. I’m parked in the front row.”

“Really, I insist.”

When they were on the sidewalk, Brooke spotted her little Prius. Matt’s oversize pickup was parked right beside her car, making it look like a toy.

“Subtle, isn’t he?”

Maddie gave her a worried look. “Are you sure everything’s okay with him?”

“Actually, no.” Brooke glanced back at the door. “I thought maybe he installed a Snitch on my car or something. I took it to the shop, but they didn’t find anything.”

“Oh, my God, Brooke. That’s insane. Let me talk to Brian.”

“No. The last thing I need is an FBI agent confronting him.”

“But if he’s harassing you . . .”

“I’m being paranoid.”

“Maybe you’re not. Maybe he’s tracking you some other way. Like your phone.”

Brooke’s stomach sank. She hadn’t thought of that. “I’m so fucking done with this.” Gritting her teeth, she popped her locks and managed to get the door open just enough to squeeze through.

“You should have Alex take a look at your phone. If there’s anything on there, you can bet she’ll find it.” Alex Lovell worked in Delphi’s cybercrimes unit and had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

“I’ll get her to take a look.”

Brooke slid behind the wheel, and Maddie watched her leave. As Brooke pulled out of the parking lot, she let out a sigh of relief. No unwelcome taillights in her rearview mirror. And she was headed home.

She felt tapped. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was only 8:35. Almost exactly twenty-four hours since Samantha Bonner had been ambushed on her back porch.

Brooke rolled to a stop at an intersection, vividly remembering the blood-soaked crime scene. That poor woman. Brooke wondered if she’d had enough time to realize what was happening to her.

When the light turned green, Brooke pulled a U-turn. She wasn’t ready for home yet.





CHAPTER 5


Sean curved around the bend and dipped down over the low-water bridge, passing the spot where some guy had smashed his car into a tree last night. Sean turned onto Cypress Hollow and spotted Brooke’s white Prius in the glow of a streetlight near the victim’s house. He pulled over and parked as Brooke got out of her car.

She glanced up and down the block as she approached him. She had on the same clothes as earlier—including the sexy black boots—and her hair was back in the ponytail she always wore for work. Looked like she hadn’t been home yet, either.

She stopped and gazed up at him. Her eyes were a mesmerizing blue-green color that seemed to change with her surroundings. Right now they were deep blue.

“Hi.” She seemed . . . anxious. Maybe because only a few hours ago a woman had been slaughtered just footsteps away from here.

“Hi.”

“Did you find the child?” she asked, studying his face.

“No.”

She looked away. The child witness was not a hypothetical. Not to Brooke. It was a living, breathing person. A very vulnerable one.