He nodded again and pulled the lollipop from his mouth. Roscoe trotted in from the kitchen and nudged my thigh for a pet. I obliged, and he plopped onto his butt and leaned in, expecting me to keep at it.
“Gabriel Burns. His wrap sheet’s a mile long. Based out of Spokane.”
“That’s a few hours away,” I commented.
“A long way to go to chat up a specific woman.”
“Go on.” I knew there was more. A long list of priors would have plenty to talk about.
“Loan shark. High-end broker of black-market goods–like stolen art, jewels, endangered animals, etc. He’s got a few legit businesses in the city and plenty of under-the-table ones.”
A guy like that chatting up a twenty-something woman? “Why’s he visiting Megan? A crook and a deputy. Not the perfect match.”
He pointed at me and turned to his monitor. Pushed a few buttons. “No idea, so I did a search on your girlfriend.”
She wasn’t a girlfriend because she was still kicking me out of her bed every night. But Megan didn’t turn down sex. Hell, she’d initiated it the night before, even dropped to her knees for me and–
Fuck.
Then she’d tossed my clothes at me like every other night, even though I’d told her I was staying. It was her eagerness to have me gone that left me worried. She’d been scared last night. Upset. She tried to hide it and refused to talk about it, but I could tell. If she wanted me out of there so badly–more so than other nights–then she was keeping something from me. Something big. Which meant I needed answers, and they weren’t coming from her.
I left so I could get answers, not to do as she’d said.
I got Kennedy involved because my woman was going solo on something that involved a big shot bad guy from out of state.
“Megan Ann Hager. Twenty-nine. Born here in Sparks to Patricia Spitz Hager and Colin Hager. Mom got a Florida driver’s license when Megan was eight, so I assume that’s when she bolted. Check out her DL photo.” He pointed to an image he pulled up.
“Shit, she’s beautiful,” I commented on the older photo. I saw Megan in her mom. A lot. Same dark hair, eyes. Full lips, high cheekbones.
“Yeah. Dad’s been arrested for some petty crimes. Pickpocketing. Burglary. Trespassing.”
“In Sparks?”
“London. Rome. One in Seattle. No steady paychecks. Hasn’t filed a tax return since he left Sparks.”
“Sounds like a winner,” I mutter. “Probably has a lot more jobs under his belt than the ones he got arrested for. The other day, Megan stole my ID right out of my wallet in my pocket. I wouldn’t tell her my middle name.”
Kennedy smiled. “Is that so, Rafael Rebel?”
“I didn’t think of it at the time, but now I’m guessing she has a particular skill set. Maybe Daddy taught her a few things besides how to ride a bike and parallel park.”
“No record of a high school graduation for Megan, but records show she got her GED.”
“Why would she get a GED? That means she either ditched high school, never went… or something else.”
“Went to the police academy, so she needed it for that. Then moved here. Alone.”
I scratched Roscoe’s ear, and he groaned in satisfaction, his eyes falling closed.
“Let me check on something.” He turned to his monitor and typed faster than a steno pool loaded with caffeine. “GED was issued in a suburb of Seattle.”
“She said she was estranged from her dad. No photos in her house of either of her parents,” I shared.
He turned to face me again. “Mrs. L said her mom’s been long gone since she was a kid. As for her dad, my spidey sense tells me I don’t like him.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
“Maybe she’s trouble, too.”
“No,” I snarled immediately.
Kennedy lifted his gaze to mine and held it.
I shook my head. “She’s not.” I searched for something that proved it but couldn’t come up with anything other than my own spidey sense. Megan was a good person. I was sure of it.
“If she’s not letting you in, maybe she’s not the one.”
I didn’t like his statement but appreciated the honesty. “She lets me in her bed, but it’s pretty obvious she’s hiding something. Add that Burns fucker into the mix, and there are definitely secrets. I don’t think she’s keeping them from me specifically. I think she’s keeping them from everyone.”
“The fact that you’re a Navy SEAL makes it a hell of a lot harder to keep secrets.”
She was scared last night. That much I was sure of. It proved something, didn’t it? It proved she wasn’t in with a man like Burns. She was afraid of him.
“She’s alone, and I think in way over her head,” I said.
Kennedy turned back to the screen. “I was able to pull her search history from her browser at home.”