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“When you’re old and lame, maybe,” he muttered, and Ink nearly hit him with the gun. He would have, if he didn’t have to worry about noise.

“I’m going to forget you said that. For now.”

The threat in those last two words finally seemed to give him some leverage. “Oh, come on,” L.J. said. “It was a joke. You can take a joke, can’t you? I’m not going to take any risks.”

“You better not.”

“I won’t! But I don’t know if breaking into that other cabin is any smarter. It’s bad odds. Two against four. Or worse.”

“We’ll have the element of surprise on our side. No one gets back after a long day of hunting expecting an ambush.”

13

A motorcycle sat parked against the side of Vivian’s house. Myles spotted it as soon as he started over with Jake and Mia. While the kids ran in to talk to their mother, he stood outside wondering where the hell that bike had come from. It’d obviously seen a lot of miles. And it was far too big for a woman…?.

Before long, Jake appeared at the door to the little antechamber that led to Vivian’s kitchen. “Hey, you coming?”

“Looks like you have company.” Myles motioned to the bike.

He grinned. “My uncle Rex. You gotta meet him.”

Myles had heard about an uncle Virgil. Just this morning. Now there was an uncle Rex? Vivian had more family than he’d thought. Yet she’d gone two years without an out-of-town visitor. Why hadn’t either of these brothers come to see her?

“Sheriff King?” Jake prodded when he didn’t move.

Despite his curiosity regarding Vivian’s family and her past, Myles felt oddly reluctant to go inside. But he climbed the stairs and followed her son into the kitchen, and there he saw a wiry man about his own height and age sporting a little too much razor stubble to be making a fashion statement. Dressed in a torn T-shirt with the sleeves cut out, some holey jeans and unlaced boots, he was leaning up against the counter and laughing with Mia, who was hugging his leg. When he saw Myles, his eyes narrowed. And that was when Myles knew—this was no family relation.

Vivian had said she’d only slept with two men in her life—her ex-husband and a steady boyfriend. This wasn’t the ex; that was plain. Myles didn’t want to believe it was the boyfriend, either. Not after last night. But the way Vivian refused to meet his eyes suggested otherwise.

Trying to squelch the jealousy that sprang up, Myles forced a congenial smile as Jake ushered him across the room.

“Uncle Rex, this is Sheriff King.”

Determined to be polite, Myles extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Rex glanced at Vivian before responding with a halfhearted shake. “Same here.”

“The sheriff helped me gut my fish,” Jake announced as if Myles had just done something incredible.

Rex considered Vivian’s son. “The law helps with that sort of thing these days, does it?”

“The law?” Mia wrinkled her nose in confusion.

Jake tried to explain that a sheriff was “the law.” He caught on to a lot more than most nine-year-olds. But no one else bothered to clarify. From what Myles could see, Vivian was too uncomfortable having him and Rex in the same room to allow herself to be distracted—another indication that Uncle Rex held special, and most likely romantic, significance in her life.

“Least I could do, for a neighbor,” Myles replied with a shrug.

Rex poured himself some coffee. “Nice of you to take the time. Especially since I hear you’re in the middle of a big murder case.”

The underlying accusation—that he should be at work—caused Myles to bristle. Vivian reacted, too, by attempting to defend him.

“He has his investigators on it,” she said, but Myles kept his focus on Rex.

“You know what they say. You want something done, give it to a busy person.”

“They say that, do they?” Rex blew off some of the steam rising from his coffee before risking a sip.

Myles let his gaze range over the other man, all the way down to his untied boots. He didn’t care who this guy was. He wasn’t intimidated by him and he wanted “Uncle Rex” to know it. “Maybe only among the working segment of the population.”

Rex surprised him with an outright laugh. “That so? Guess I know how I missed it, then.”

“What do you do?” Myles asked.

Lifting his cup in a taunting salute, he sobered but a faint smile remained. “Whatever I want, Sheriff.”

“I figure whatever you’ve been doing must’ve been important. Otherwise, I’m sure you would’ve shown up long before now, given the fact that Vivian could use a hand around here.”

That mocking smile finally disappeared. “You know, I’m not particularly fond of anyone who wears a uniform. You might’ve noticed.”

“Oh, yes, I’ve noticed. And I’m guessing it comes from past experience.” He turned to go, but Jake grabbed his hand.

“Wait! You’re leaving?”

“I’ve got to get to work, buddy.”

“But you’re coming to dinner tonight? So we can cook the fish? You said you would.”

One glance at the stone-faced Rex and embarrassed Vivian, and Myles decided he should’ve listened to his better judgment yesterday. Whatever he’d felt when he was with Vivian last night…he must’ve been confused or looking for an escape from the tedium that’d become his life. Vivian was beautiful; there was no question about that. And there was something about her that stirred him on a very deep level. But he wasn’t about to get involved in some kind of love triangle. If Vivian wanted this guy, who was obviously not a productive member of society, she could have him.

“Actually, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me and I’ll probably have to work late.” He mussed Jake’s hair, hoping a bit of affection would soften any disappointment. “But I’m sure Uncle Rex will be happy to help out.”

It was small consolation that Jake didn’t seem enthusiastic about the substitution. “I don’t think he cooks,” he said with a frown. “He doesn’t even eat much.”

Myles wanted to say that drug addicts rarely do but bit his tongue.

“Anyone can fry a fish,” Rex muttered, and Myles accepted that as the end of it.

Without acknowledging Vivian, he offered Jake and Mia a quick goodbye and left. Then he sat in his car for several seconds before starting it, wondering why he felt sick.


Tags: Brenda Novak Bulletproof Thriller