Page 25 of Devoured By the Forbidden Mountain Man

My gaze caught on it.

Rex followed the direction of my attention.

“We’re not opening that before your call.”

“I wasn’t suggesting it.”

“I know.”

The fact that he understood the difference between noticing the bottle and wanting it made me like him a little more than was useful.

When I finished eating, I left my plate in the dishwasher and headed for the loft.

“I’ll be back down before six.”

Rex nodded from the sink. “Take your time.”

Upstairs, the storm made the small apartment feel insulated from the rest of the property. Rain streaked the windows, turning the trees outside into dark smudges beneath a low sky. I switched on the lamp near the bed and opened my bag.

The green sweater had been perfect for work. For the call, I wanted something that felt less like the version of myself who had been moving tables and solving staffing problems since sunrise.

I changed into a deep burgundy sweater dress that skimmed my waist and hips, added dark tights beneath it, and kept the brown boots because I expected to go back downstairs. A pair of hammered gold earrings replaced the hoops I had worn all day. I brushed out my hair until the thick waves stopped carrying the flattened shape of my coat collar.

None of it would change what Meredith told me, but it changed how I felt when I looked in the mirror. That mattered.

I carried my notebook downstairs at five forty-five and found Rex already seated with Gavin’s folder closed on the table between us.

He hadn’t opened it without me, and I noticed that too.

Instead of trying to script the entire conversation, we spent the next few minutes narrowing the questions to what I legitimately needed from Meredith. Gavin had worried about her before the night Brad died. She had witnessed the first confrontation. She had been interviewed. Nothing in Rex’s file showed that she had supplied a lead after Gavin skipped.

Everything beyond those facts remained unknown.

“I don’t want to make her feel like I’m interrogating her,” I said, turning my pen between my fingers. “If she gets defensive, I’ll learn nothing except that I made her defensive.”

Rex leaned back slightly, giving the thought room rather than rushing into an answer. “Start with Gavin. You know what he was like outside the file. Ask about the connection you remember, and let her tell you what she remembers before you get into the night Brad died. If something doesn’t fit, you’ll hear it.”

“What if she asks what I think happened?”

“Tell her the truth. You don’t know.”

The simplicity of it settled me.

I looked at the time. It was six oh two.

Rex closed the folder and slid it toward himself.

“I’ll stay down here.”

I glanced at him.

“She asked for somewhere private. I figure that means she probably doesn’t want the bondsman who chased Gavin sitting beside you.”

There was no wounded pride in his voice.

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand.

“Thank you.”