Page 2 of Back in the Saddle

That was all I said, but he got me, so he stopped and turned to me.

And he stated it plainly. “You find him, you quit coming.”

Oh my God.

On the one hand, it felt good that he trusted me, and him saying that meant he and his brethren appreciated me. I didn’t have the resources to give much, and I knew I didn’t help their situation at all, but it was nice to understand the little I did meant something.

On the other hand, I needed to find my brother.

“Are you…keeping him from me?” I asked.

He shook his head.

But he said, “Others might.”

That meant, since Homer knew everyone and everything, otherswere.

Damn.

I pointed out the obvious. “I’ve gotta know if he’s all right.”

Homer gazed around the dismal space that looked bad and smelled worse.

I took his point.

If Jeff was here, he wasn’t all right.

Then again, I already knew he wasn’t all right.

Just as I knew, the minute Mom kicked him out seven months ago and he didn’t do his usual—bunk with one of his buds, then figure his shit out and get back on his meds—I would be doing what I was doing right then.

And there I was, doing what I was doing right then.

We moved through the space, silently handing out waters and protein delivery systems, with me looking closely at faces and trying to peer into tents.

I came up empty.

As usual.

When we were back at Homer’s tent, he took the spent plastic bags from me (something else I’d learned: Homer had a thing for plastic bags) but handed me the clattering sharps container.

“It’d be good you bring syringes next time,” he said.

With that, he ducked into his tent and disappeared.

I stared at it, the feelings I was feeling balling up inside me, the weight so heavy, the urge was almost overwhelming to open my mouth and shriek my fear and frustration to the skies above Phoenix.

I didn’t do that.

I carried that weight with the container and my empty backpack to my car.

Though, I didn’t make it to my car.

I stopped dead twenty feet away when I saw Eric Turner, investigator at Nightingale Investigations & Security. The place of business of Eric, Cap (my friend Raye’s boyfriend) and a number of other badasses who were all ridiculously attractive.

Yep.

Every.

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