Jesse put his hand on Noah’s shoulder. “Please, Noah, let’s take this outside. Have a talk. I don’t want to have to—”
Noah pulled Jesse’s hand off his shoulder and tried to punch him. Jesse easily dodged and, in one fluid movement, pinned Noah’s arm against his back with his chest against the bar.
“Shit, that hurts.” Noah tried to dislodge himself from Jesse’s grip. “Get your fucking hands off me!”
“It’ll only hurt more if you keep trying to get away from me.” Jesse spoke calmly, but he was obviously rattled.
Two sheriff’s deputies came through the front door a minute later, hands resting on their weapons. Zach recognized them as Jim Force and Dan Blankenship, longtime members of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. They walked over to the bar, where Noah had stopped squirming.
“Looks like you’ve got this one under control, Jesse,” Dan said.
“Might be easier if I had a pair of cuffs.” Jesse moved away to expose Noah’s wrists, and Jimmy cuffed Noah. Jesse released his hold on Noah and backed away.
“What’s the problem?” Dan asked Noah.
Noah’s lids were barely open, and Zach half expected him to pass out. But he managed to mumble something about “fucking lousy service” and “can’t even get a beer without a fucking production” before Dan and Jim led him out of the bar.
“You okay?” Kendra asked Jesse.
“Yeah.” Jesse still looked pale.
“You know that guy?” Brand asked.
Jesse nodded. “It’s a long story.” He shook his head, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I need to go.”
“We’ve got it covered,” Zach said. “No worries. I’m sure you’re good for a drink.” He offered Jesse a reassuring smile, but Jesse didn’t seem to notice.
“Thanks.” Jesse shoved his wallet into his jeans pocket and was out the door a moment later without so much as a goodbye.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Kendra asked Brand, who was righting the table as one of the waiters swept up the glass.
Brand shook his head. “I’m thinking he won’t talk about it until he’s good and ready.”
She sighed. “I hate an unresolved story.”
“Occupational hazard.” Zach smiled at Brand and added, “He’ll tell you when the time’s right.” He motioned to their table. “I for one am starving, and those wings are growing icicles, not to mention my whiskey’s lonely.”
“I think that was the equivalent of ‘move along,’” Kendra said as they headed back to their seats.
“SORRY ABOUT all the excitement,” Brand said as he walked Zach to his apartment two hours later. “Our drink nights aren’t usually that interesting.”
Zach shrugged. “You going to check in with Jesse?” He unlocked the door and they stepped inside.
“Do you mind?”
“No. I think it’s a good idea.” This time Zach recognized the flicker of jealousy for what it was and chose to ignore it, instead leaning in and kissing Brand, one thigh pressed between Brand’s legs so Brand could feel his hard response. Brand tasted good, and the way their tongues tangled as Zach ground against Brand, it didn’t take much for Brand to get hard as well. He’d hoped that tonight they might do more than just sleep in the same bed, but sex could wait. Brand wasn’t going anywhere.
“Shit.” Brand sounded breathless as the kiss broke. “You make leaving really hard. Among other things,” he added with a crooked grin.
“See you tomorrow for dinner?”
Brand nodded. “You got it. Call or text if you need me. I’ll be running errands, doing laundry. You know, typical exciting Sunday.”
“I will.” Zach leaned in and kissed Brand.
Zach watched Brand walk down the hallway a moment later, then closed his door and smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Three
BRAND MADE it to work just before nine on Monday morning. Sunday had pretty much been a bust, since he’d gone to the sheriff’s office on late Saturday night to see how Jesse was doing after the incident at Craven’s and hadn’t made it home until nearly two in the morning.
Jesse hadn’t been too talkative. “Yes, I know him” was all he said when Brand asked about Noah. “We were at Carolina together.”
Brand considered looking Noah up on the UNC-Chapel Hill website but thought better of it. He’d nearly fucked things up with Zach when he’d stuck his nose into Zach’s personal life. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
“If you need to talk,” he told Jesse, “you know where to find me.”
He woke around noon with half of Sunday gone, and after he spent an hour in the gym, he started on the pile of work and personal email he’d been avoiding. Thirty messages in, however, he struck pay dirt—an email from Andrea Lewis, his friend who used to work at the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Other than Bradley Haynes’s stellar record with the state bar,” she wrote in her email, “there’s nothing public about the man. But I asked around, and a few of my former colleagues say there have been consumer complaints filed with the AG’s office naming other companies he’s represented. They’re usually settled pretty quickly, and that’s the last they hear about the problems. When Consumer Protection calls to confirm the resolution, the complainants are pretty tight-lipped. Hope this helps!
Brand sighed. “Gag clauses.” He forwarded the email to Zach. No big surprises here, he wrote, but I thought you’d like to know.
Brand glanced at the time on his desktop. Nearly 7:00 p.m. He was sorely tempted to call Zach and ask him over to eat, but he decided it was best to give Zach a Brand break. Overkill was still overkill, however tempting it was to spend time with Zach.
He tossed and turned most of Sunday night, though, thinking about Zach. Dreaming about him too, and waking up wishing things had turned out differently after that incredibly hot kiss. Come Monday morning, he wasn’t surprised he felt like shit. The latte with an extra shot of espresso he’d picked up from Port City Java on the way to the studio would likely be the first of several caffeine infusions he’d need during the day.
Kendra poked her head in not five minutes after he’d booted up his computer. “Late night?”
He shrugged. “Long weekend.”
“You went to see Jesse and it didn’t go so well.”
“How did you know I went to see him?”
She laughed. “It’s not in your nature to let someone stew. You’re the guy who shows up when his friends need him.”
“I went to see him after we left the bar. Turns out Noah’s a former college classmate. But that’s all Jesse was willing to tell me.”
“Figures. And much as I wish I had time to talk Jesse strategy with you, we’ve got a situation. Jake said to grab you as soon as you made it in. Seems your last report made quite a splash.”
Brand had been expecting blowback. He’d made it a point of mentioning how a certain state representative voted against a measure to make it more difficult to get away with price gouging after natural disasters like Hurricane Florence, but had run ads in the lead-up to the general election where he’d called for the “crooks to get what was comin’ to them.”
After nearly two hours spent working with his team to formulate a response about the accuracy of his reporting, Brand made it back to his office. In his rush to get to the meeting, he’d left his cell on his desk. He tapped the screen and saw several missed calls and a text from Zach.
Hey. I know you’re busy but I promised I’d let you know before I charged off on my own. I got a tip that Terry Warfield’s over at King’s Shores in Myrtle Grove and there are problems w construction. Heading there in 15.
“Shit.” The text had arrived forty-five minutes before. Brand had passed that site several times in the past week while putting together his most recent story—it was right outside Wilmington city limits and less than fifteen minutes away.
Brand grabbed his jacket. “Marcy, can you please let Kendra know I�
��ll be back by one? Tell her to call if she needs me before then.”
“Gotcha.” His admin waved.
Brand was on the road a minute later, headed to the construction site.
He pressed the phone button by the dashboard. “Call Zach on cell.”
The phone rang twice before Zach picked up. “You got my message.”
“I’m on my way. Be there in about ten.”
“No rush. I still haven’t caught up with Warfield yet, and the place is pretty huge. Give me a call when you get here and we’ll meet up.”
“You got it.”
Brand made it to Myrtle Grove in just under ten minutes, thankful there hadn’t been any cops pointing radar guns at him as he flew down Route 421. He parked and dashed out of the car and down the main construction road through the development. He pulled out his cell and called Zach again, but Zach didn’t pick up. He’d give it a minute or two and try to locate him on his own.
A few blocks down, he spotted a woman with a hard hat near a trailer marked Equity Builders and headed over to her. “Excuse me?”
“Can I help you?” She smiled and put her clipboard under her arm.
“I’m looking for someone. Late thirties? Salt-and-pepper hair and a beard? I’m supposed to meet him here.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t seen him. Sorry.”
“How about Terry Warfield? He’s a building inspector,” Brand pressed.
“Don’t know the name,” she replied. “There are a few here today, though. They’re supposed to be checking the southernmost corner. Look for the sign for Southern Shores.” She pointed to the edge of the woods in the distance, about a half mile away.
“Got it. Thanks so much.” He jogged toward the area she’d indicated, all the while calling Zach again.
“This is Zach Caldwell. I’m unavailable to take your call right now, but if you’ll leave a detailed message—”
Brand disconnected the call. “Damn. Where are you, Zach?” He stopped twice more and asked for Zach or Terry Warfield, but no one seemed to remember Zach or know that Warfield was supposed to be inspecting the property today.
He dialed Zach again. “Come on, Zach. Pick up the phone!” But again, it went to voicemail.
He finally reached the area of the development the first employee had directed him to and the sign for Southern Shores. Workers unloaded several trucks near the corner of the property, and several skid loaders rolled about, carrying tall pallets of asphalt tiles and other roofing materials.
He checked his phone and tried again to call Zach, but with the din of the trucks and the shouts of the workers struggling to be heard, he wasn’t surprised that Zach didn’t answer. He worked his way up one street, then another. The scale of the development was even larger than he’d envisioned from the street.
The last block of the development bordered on farmland. Behind the houses, a deep irrigation ditch stretched nearly to the main road he’d driven in on. The street was a cul-de-sac. He’d made it halfway down the block when he finally spotted Zach looking up at someone working on the roof of one of the houses.
“Zach!”
The worker on the roof was clearly having trouble hearing Zach, because he kept gesturing to his ear and shaking his head. About twenty feet from Zach, a loader was moving a pallet of shingles toward the house. Brand didn’t think much about it until it appeared to speed up and head directly toward Zach.
“Shit. Zach! Watch out!” Brand sprinted over the muddy yard, waving his arms in an effort to get Zach’s attention, but the loader kept moving. Zach didn’t see him.
There wasn’t time to think. The loader might stop in time, but Brand wasn’t taking any chances.
Brand charged at Zach, knocking him off his feet. They rolled down the incline on the side of the house and into the irrigation ditch at the same time the loader spilled the pallet, causing the heavy supplies to tumble into the mud.
“Brand?” Zach lay on his back, looking up at him, covered with mud except his face and chest.
Brand, still trying to catch his breath, grabbed Zach and held him without speaking.
“Brand?” Zach loosened Brand’s death grip and stared at him. “What just happened?”
Brand swallowed hard. “Pallets… tried to call… couldn’t find you… I saw….” He gestured to Zach to give him a minute, and he gulped down some breaths. “That thing was headed right for you.”
“Thing?”
Brand gave Zach a hand up and the climbed the edge of the muddy ditch. He pointed to the loader and the bags of tile. “That thing.”
Zach’s lips parted. “Holy shit.” He grabbed on to Brand with a shaking hand.
There was no one inside the loader, and the guy on the roof stared down at them, clearly just as shocked. “Are… are y-you okay?” the man finally asked.
Brand nodded and turned to Zach.
“I’m fine. At least I think so.” He glanced down at his clothing, then back at Brand again. “Thank you. If that had landed on me….”
“We’re not going there. Not now, at least.” They could deal with the what-ifs later. For now, Brand was going to find the person in charge and give them a piece of his mind.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“RIGHT. NO problem. I’m fine. Really. I’ll stop back at the office later.” Brand set his cell phone down.
Zach’s hands were still shaking, even after the long shower and a change of clothes. His shoulder hurt where he’d fallen when Brand tackled him—he’d hit the same spot he had when the mugger tackled him. Better than winding up dead.
“We should call Jesse.” Brand’s hair was still slightly damp, and his pale skin was flushed. Zach caught himself wishing Brand had showered at his place. Better to focus on his beautiful body than how he’d nearly ended up crushed to death.
“I agree.” Law enforcement at the scene hadn’t blown them off, but they’d clearly believed the near miss to be an accident. He and Brand were the ones wandering around at a construction site without someone to look out for them, after all. One of the cops even asked why they hadn’t been wearing hard hats. As if that would have helped! Zach looked it up on his phone—each of those sealed bags of shingles weighed between fifty and eighty pounds, and there’d been six of them.
An hour after they called him, Jesse arrived at Zach’s place, having insisted on meeting them in person. He looked tired but more focused than the night before. “I heard what happened. I’m glad you’re both okay.”
“You think it’s an accident too?” Brand asked.
“I don’t know. Why were you there?” Jesse asked.
“Investigating the same story I was working on when someone mugged me and didn’t ask for any money.” Zach rubbed the back of his neck.
“I told Zach to call me next time he went out. Better safe than sorry.” Brand shook his head.
“Good thing too,” Jesse agreed. “What else can you tell me?”
“I got a tip sent through the paper’s website that someone I’ve had my eye on might be at the site. Anonymous, of course. Turns out it was bogus. He wasn’t there. I checked the message’s IP address, and they’re in North Carolina.” Zach knew it wasn’t much to go on.
“Not a big surprise.” Jesse frowned, then said, “I did see a report about a building inspector a few weeks ago. He was injured at a job site. They say he’s going to be okay, but he won’t be back at work for a while. You think that might be related?”
“Could be.” Zach would check it out. They didn’t have a lot of leads. He’d circle back with one of the inspectors he’d spoken to early on in the investigation, see what he could find.
Jesse stood and shoved his notebook into his jacket. “If anything interesting comes up, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.” Brand shook Jesse’s hand.
Jesse turned to Zach. “I’m thinkin’ it won’t do much good to tell you to stay away from construction sites here on out.”
“Not really.” Zach smiled. �
��But we’ll be careful.”
“If y’all’re right, these guys aren’t going to give up so easily. Don’t do anything stupid.” Jesse frowned and tilted his head to one side. “If you need someone to watch out for you, call me, okay? And if I’m not available, I’ll have someone else come instead.”
“Okay.” Brand didn’t look too concerned.
Zach turned to Brand after Jesse left. “He’s right, you know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you saved my sorry ass today, but you could have been badly hurt. Or worse.”
“Another good reason for you to bring me along the next time something comes up.”
Zach glared at Brand. “Who knew that bratty kid would grow up to be so stubborn.”
Brand grinned.
“I’d need to get back to the office. I’ve got a couple of things I need to take care of.”
“Sure.” Brand shoved his phone in his pocket, then stopped and turned back to Zach.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you okay?” Brand asked. “Really okay? Because the last few days….”
“I’ve had better.” Zach offered Brand a reassuring smile. “The thing in New York… that’s long-term, no matter what I tell myself.” He hadn’t even gotten around to figuring out what to do about it. Just processing it seemed like a challenge. “And today? Yeah, I’m a little shaky.” He walked up to Brand and put his hands to his face. “But something tells me that underneath all the bluster, you’re shaky too.”
Brand nodded. “I’ve never been so scared. Even at the hospital, after my dad had a heart attack and I just knew….” He sighed, and it sounded as though some of the weight on his shoulders had lifted. “That felt inevitable. Frightening, but something I couldn’t control. But this….”
Brand’s eyes welled with tears. In spite of his bravado and over-the-top romantic gestures, Zach had never seen that kind of emotion from Brand.
“Talk to me. Doesn’t matter if it’s about us or work. This needs to go both ways.” Zach needed to know Brand needed him too, even if it was just a little bit.
Chasing the Story Page 12
