Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [32]
Braden toggled through the missed call logs. Chase had called. Twice. At 4:30 in the morning.
“Fuck.” Braden rose, pulled on his boxers and stepped into the hallway, softly closing the door as he dialed Chase.
Chase picked up on the first ring. “Good. You’re awake.”
“I am now. This better be important, Chase. It’s 4:30 in the damn morning.” Braden leaned irritably against the kitchen counter, “You get hit by another Cutlass?”
“No.” An awkward silence filled the line.
Braden sighed. “What’s wrong, and where are you?”
“Out.” Chase paused. “We need to talk.”
“And this couldn’t wait until morning?” Braden grumbled, pulling the carton of orange juice out of the fridge.
“You need to know who’s sleeping in your bed.”
“Oh, for the love of God, not this again.” It took a moment for the rest of Chase’s implication to sink in. “How did you know Beth was here tonight?”
Silence filled the line again, then Chase said, “I stopped by earlier.”
“Whatever.” Braden took a long swig from the orange juice container, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Angie telling him to get a damned glass. “You’re off base here, Chase. She’s got nothing to do with Markko.”
“You don’t know her,” Chase retorted. “She’s setting you up.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Braden worked to keep his temper from boiling over. “We don’t even know what Markko’s doing here. So he’s followed me around. To then assume he’s somehow involved with Beth is premature.”
“Jason’s dead.”
Anger morphed to dread. “When?”
“Tonight. I found him in an alley about an hour ago; his throat slit.”
“Shit.” Braden rubbed hand across his face. “You think Markko’s responsible?”
“It makes sense.” Chase’s steady breathing came through over the line, a sure sign he was trying to control his temper.
“I’m sorry, Chase. I know you were friends.”
“We worked together. He was good at what he did.”
Braden let Chase’s casual dismissal slide. His brother had been friends with Jason for nearly ten years. No matter what he said, Braden knew Jason’s death would tear Chase apart. He also understood that Chase would refuse to talk about it.
“I don’t understand how this ties in to Beth.”
“Jason died in the alley across the street from where she parks her car. The same alley Markko was in that first night,” Chase continued in a harsh tone. “Whether you like it or not, Markko and that woman are connected.”
“Her name is Beth, Chase. Would it kill you to say it?”
“Are you sure about that?”
“About her name?” Braden slammed the orange juice onto the counter, sloshing some out onto the granite. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’ve got someone checking into her, and so far, they’re having trouble finding anything.”
“Maybe that’s because there’s nothing to find,” Braden ground out.
“Look, you may think I’m being paranoid, but better paranoid than stupid. They are connected. We need to figure out how, before someone else dies.”
“And just how do you propose we do that?” Braden snorted. He could only imagine how Beth would react to So, there’s a homicidal asshole following us around. Any idea what he wants?
“She working tomorrow?”
“Yeah. The morning shift.”
“Then meet me at her place. We’ll sniff around. We’ll know if Markko’s been there.”
“I haven’t been to her place. How do you propose we find it?”
“I’ve got the address.”
“Do I even want to know how you managed that?”
“She had to list her address on her employment records.”
The blood drained from Braden’s face. “Please tell me you didn’t break into Angie’s records, Chase.” Angie would go ballistic if she ever found out.
“Fine. I didn’t break into Angie’s employment records.”
Braden sensed the quiet amusement in Chase’s voice. He’d never been appropriately afraid of Angie. “Shit. You better have put everything back exactly the way you found it.” Angie would notice if anything in her office above the café was out of place. God help them if she ever realized they were responsible.
“She’ll never know the difference. What time is Beth leaving in the morning?”
Braden didn’t like the way Chase sneered