Page 12 of You for Her (The Edge of Retaliation 2)
Jo tilts her head to the side, and then murmurs, “Tatum Redford.”
I blink. “Tatum, as in Tanner’s best friend Tatum?”
“Yeah, that’s his last name.”
I shake my head. “Wait, Tatum is Chase’s older brother?”
Jo shrugs. “I mean, it’s possible, right? Do you think Tatum knows where Chase is?”
I rub my face. “This just got complicated. What if Tatum knows what Chase did, and he has been hiding it from Tanner this whole time? What if he is pushing Tanner to keep at me because he doesn’t want him finding out that my story is in fact true?”
“Wait, Tatum is pushing Tanner?”
“Last night, when I was listening, he was pushing Tanner a little, yeah. Like he didn’t want him to back off just because Andrea was having doubts. He wanted him to keep doing whatever it is they have planned.”
Jo frowns. “Tatum seems like such a good guy. Do you honestly think he would keep something like that from Tanner?”
“If it meant protecting his family, yeah. I mean, if Chase is his brother, it would make sense. Maybe he helped him disappear and cover things up. Maybe he knows and has known all along.”
Jo shakes her head. “You’re right, this is getting too complicated. We need to find out what Tatum knows.”
“How the hell are we going to do that?” I ask her. “We can hardly tell him what we know and then just expect him to tell us everything. He’s likely protecting something that would blow up his and Tanner’s friendship forever, possibly worse. If he’s hidden it, he’s hidden it well.”
“Lucky for him, I’m quite the detective. I’ll find out what I can,” Jo says. “Leave Tatum to me.”
I raise my brows. “I’m sure you’ll hate questioning the very gorgeous Tatum.”
She blushes. “Tatum is an asshole; he’s helping Tanner upset my best friend. I don’t like him.”
I grin. “Maybe, but he is pretty hot and you’re pretty horny …”
She bursts out laughing and shakes her head. “You’re disgusting. Horny is such a vile word. Besides, I’m married, remember. That isn’t changing anytime soon, so my Tatum fantasies have to come to a screeching halt.”
“So, there are fantasies?” I tease, nudging her with my shoulder.
It feels nice to laugh, to joke, and forget the horror that has been unfolding in both our lives in the last few days.
“There were a few, now I just want to gouge his eyeballs out. Especially if he helped Chase get away after doing something to Celia.”
I lose my smile. “Yeah, that’s a scary thought. Still, you’re right, Tatum doesn’t seem like a bad guy. Which makes me think there is a lot more to this story than we can even begin to understand at this point.”
“Which is exactly why we’re going to get to the bottom of it. I’ll find out what I can from Tatum, you keep searching for information about Chase. Amber said his family lived around here still. It might be time to pay them a visit?”
I think she’s right.
It might just be time to pay them a visit.
I want my answers.
But first, I have something else I need to do.
5
MY FINGERS SHAKE AS I pick the lock, trying to be as careful and quiet as I can. I glance around behind me, but the night is still and as far as I know, I’m going to be alone for some time. I shouldn’t be doing this, I know that, but I need answers. If Tatum knows anything, then I need to find out what. I got answers breaking into Celia’s house, I’m hoping to get the same answers breaking into Tatum’s.
It’s not the smartest idea I’ve had, but I know the two men are at work tonight, and I’m hoping they keep it that way for at least an hour more so I can look through the house and find out what I need. I focus back on the lock and keep picking it until I finally hear a click. Heart racing, I push the door open and carefully close it behind me, locking it again. I use the flashlight on my phone to light up my way, and step into the big house.
The good thing is, I know the place well enough to know where I’m going.
That bad thing is, I’m breaking and entering and I hate that I’ve had to resort to that again.
Jo would probably kill me, but I have to do this.
I carefully tiptoe through the dark house, trying not to disrupt anything, even something as simple as causing a shift in an item. I don’t want anyone to know I was in here. I can hear my panting breaths in the dead silence as I move towards the stairs, slowly climbing them and cringing with every creak. I know nobody is here, but it freaks me out all the same.
