Taylor hadn’t seemed to mind a little roughness. But Taylor wouldn’t recognize he was out of his depth if the fucking ocean closed over his head. Will was disgusted with himself for giving in to feelings that had nothing to do with love and everything to do with control.
Why the hell hadn’t it occurred to him that Taylor had gone to the office? It was the most obvious explanation. Why had he leaped to such a dramatic and dumbass conclusion? In fact, he hadn’t even reached a conclusion. It had all been speculation and suspicion over one too many glasses of bourbon.
He studied Taylor’s downturned face. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Taylor blew on his coffee. “Hm?” He glanced up. Winked. “Fine.”
Will’s face warmed. His heart felt heavy. What a way to treat a guy you loved more than life. A guy you trusted with your life.
Taylor must have misread his expression. He said, “Sorry about yesterday. How did the meetings at WF go?”
“Like you’d expect.” Will shook his head. “Kohl, the head of security, is going to be a never-ending thorn in our side.”
Taylor’s lip curled. “The guy who introduced himself by showing you his gun collection software app?”
“That’s the one.”
Taylor hid a smile in his coffee mug.
Will said, “Do you feel like we suddenly grew up and had to get real jobs?”
Taylor’s laugh was wry. “Yeah. I do.”
Will sighed. “Are you going to be able to drive down to the Encinitas site with me?”
Taylor’s smiled faded. He looked apologetic. “I’ve got a lead on Zamarion. I feel like I need to follow through on it. He’s a guy who moves around a lot.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry, Will. I’m trying to get this wrapped up as fast as I can.” Taylor was up from the table again, going to the counter to shake granola into a bowl.
“I know. How’s the case coming?”
Will watched curiously as Taylor got milk out of the fridge, poured it into the bowl, carried the bowl to the table, and sat down.
Knowing him as he did, Will couldn’t help thinking Taylor was considering how much to tell him. It didn’t do a lot to soothe his unease.
He waited as Taylor dug his spoon into the cereal, stirred the oat clusters around, and said finally, “You were right. Ashe wasn’t being completely honest with us.”
Will resisted temptation, saying only, “How so?”
“Well, to start with, Zamarion probably did have permission to live on the estate. There’s even a possibility Ashe’s mom intended leaving the property to him.”
Now that was news. “You’re kidding.”
Taylor gave a brief shake of his head. “No. Ashe and his mother were estranged. I haven’t been able to discover the details. Whatever her intentions may have been, there doesn’t seem to be a will, so Ashe legally inherits everything.”
“That sounds pretty cut-and-dried.”
“As far as it goes.”
“Sounds far enough to me. So why isn’t that case closed? It’s going to end up in court, right?”
“Maybe. I’m not even sure there’s enough doubt to warrant a lawsuit.”
“Is there enough to warrant our continued involvement?”
“I think there is. I think, putting aside missing wills and squatters’ rights and a whole lot of hearsay evidence, Ashe is genuinely terrified. Of who or what, I’m not quite clear on.”
“Zamarion would be the obvious answer.”
Taylor frowned. “Yeah, presumably. He sounds like a rough customer. But I talked to the lieutenant at the sheriff’s station in Carpinteria. He didn’t come right out and say it, but it was obvious he thinks Ashe lied about someone trying to force him off the road. And about chickening out of setting fire to his own garage for the insurance money.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Will muttered. “And we’re still involved in this clusterfuck why again?”
“Because none of that changes the fact that I promised to help him. He needs help.”
“Christ almighty, Taylor. How the hell much do you think you owe this guy?”
“I think I owe him keeping my word when I give it.”
“Even if he’s lying to you?”
“Yes. Even then.”
This wasn’t really coming as a surprise to Will, but it was still exasperating. “Great. Okay. How long do you plan to spend trying to figure out what’s keeping your old pal up at night? Because I can handle Encinitas on my own, but after that we’ve got four more locations all over the state and eight days to complete those surveys. I can’t do it on my own.”
“I know that.”
“So?”
Taylor said, “I’m asking for twenty-four hours. Forty-eight at the most. If I can’t get this wrapped up by Friday, then I’ll tell Ashe we’re out.”
That was fair. And yet… Will regarded him for a long moment. He shook his head. “I don’t like it,” he said. “What is it you’re not telling me?”
Taylor hesitated.
“You don’t like this any more than I do.” Will was sure of it now. “What’s going on?”
Taylor said reluctantly, “Ashe pulled a gun on me yesterday.”
“He did what?”
Taylor winced. “Cool it, Brandt. He was fooling around.”
“Fooling around with a goddamned gun?” Will was sputtering with rage, and Riley scrambled out from under the table to see where the threat was.
“He claimed the pistol wasn’t loaded.”
That really didn’t make it any better, as Taylor, of all people, ought to know, and Will proceeded to share his thoughts on the matter.
“Jesus Christ, Brandt. You think I don’t know all that?” Taylor snapped when Will finally had to stop for breath.
“I don’t get it,” Will said. “What the hell hold does this asshole have over you?”
That, as he should have known, didn’t go over well.
“I already told you what hold this asshole has over me,” Taylor shot back. His face was white, his eyes greener than a pit viper.
