Page 30 of All the Missing Pieces

I parked my bike outside the bar and locked it, heading for the thick wooden door. The moment I stepped inside, I had to blink. The sun outside was bright, but in here, it might as well have been midnight. The low glow of bar lighting made people forget they were drinking their days away.

As my eyes grew accustomed to the low light, I took in the crowd, or lack thereof. A woman and man sat at the bar a few stools apart, while another guy sat at one of the tables with a burger and fries in front of him. My stomach rumbled. All I’d had for breakfast was an energy bar, and I’d been too pissed off to eat anything after Colt’s visit.

Gray eyes lifted from a worn paperback and locked on me as I approached the bar. They were assessing eyes. They didn’t have the anger Colt’s had carried, but they weren’t exactly welcoming either.

I didn’t let that stop me. I headed straight for the bartender. “I take it you’ve gotten a warning message about me.”

Trey stood there, his form at ease but somehow still appearing ready to strike as he set the book down. “Small town. News travels.”

“You want me to leave?” I asked. It was better to know now.

He studied me for another long moment. I had no idea what he was searching for, but he seemed to find it. “Lunch, booze, or both?”

Relief swept through me as I pulled out the stool and sat. “Food please, and I wouldn’t hate a Shirley Temple.”

Trey’s lips twitched, making the dark-blond scruff there move in a comical sort of way. “Shirley Temple?”

I shrugged, resting my bag on the stool next to me. “Don’t judge. It’s a happy drink, and I think we could all use some happy now and then.”

“Fair enough.” He slid a single-paged menu across the bar and got to work on my drink.

“Plus, who doesn’t have a weakness for maraschino cherries?”

Trey chuckled. “I’d say the majority of the population. Most pluck ’em out of their drinks and leave them behind.”

“They’re missing out,” I mumbled as my gaze scanned the menu. “Any recommendations?”

“I’m partial to the barbeque chicken wrap and you can never go wrong with the fries.”

“Sign me up,” I said, setting the menu down.

“You got it, boss.” Trey placed a tall Shirley Temple complete with cherries and an umbrella on a napkin. Then he set a small dish full of more cherries next to it.

I stared at them for a long moment as I heard Trey holler my order back into the kitchen. When he turned back to me, I was still staring at the two items.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

I blinked a few times, trying to clear the burn in my eyes. “Why are you being nice to me? Pretty sure your bestie is googling ways to have me evicted from town limits or how to dissolve a body in acid.”

Trey barked out a laugh and leaned against the back bar. “Colt takes the weight of the world on his shoulders. And he’ll do anything to keep his sister or anyone else he cares about from harm. It’s the kind of duty that’s burned into a person.”

All of that read true. I’d seen it flare to life at Emerson’s house. But also in his concern for every person that crossed his path. Even me.

“All right. But shouldn’t you have his back and be giving me the boot?” I lifted the drink and put the straw to my lips, the sweet combination of Sprite and grenadine playing on my tongue.

Trey was quiet for a moment. Even in the short interactions I’d had with the man, I could tell he wasn’t afraid of silence, and he wouldn’t be rushed. This time it was as if he was deciding whether I was worthy of the truth. “Emmie says you linked her case to others.”

My brows pulled together for a split second before the confusion cleared. “Emerson?”

He lifted his chin in assent. “You’ve found other similar incidents?”

That buzz was back. Trey was one of the last people I’d expected to be my in. The fact that he was close with Colt being high on the reasons why not. But it also made sense that he’d know Emerson for that very reason. “Twenty-three of them.”

Trey’s fingers tightened on the bar behind him, knuckles bleaching white. “Holy hell.”

“I want to follow the trail, but I have to start where I think it all began, and that’s with Emerson’s case.”

Trey’s gray eyes flashed. “You don’t know what you’re asking. Digging up that sort of pain.”

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