Protecting Dallas

“Yes.”

They were silent for a moment, as Kane poured me a mug. He set the sugar and cream down before me, and gave me a spoon.

“Did I ever tell you you’re the best?” I quipped.

“No,” he said, sinking back into his chair. “But I assumed as much.”

Austin bumped him with one leg. Maddox smirked before going on.

“So now let’s talk about Connor…”

I stopped mid-sip. I sat up straighter.

“Your brother’s personal effects disappeared almost immediately after he went missing,” said Maddox. “His phone, his laptop, even his car.”

“They took his car?” I asked incredulously. “That old thing?”

“As his next of kin, didn’t you ever wonder what happened to it?”

I shook my head slowly. “I— I just assumed they trashed it. I mean, it was really old.”

“Not old,” Kane said, folding his arms. “A classic. You don’t trash a classic.”

Shit, he looked almost offended. I shrugged again.

“Anyway, your brother’s phone records finally came in,” said Austin. “More of Kane’s contacts were able to clone a digital copy, backed up just hours before…” He stopped himself just in time. “Before the last recorded instance of use.”

He pulled out a smartphone and punched it open. It blinked on, and I gasped as I recognized the splash screen immediately.

It was a picture of Connor and me.

“Is… Is that his phone?”

“Yes and no,” said Austin. “It’s a copy of his phone, scribed onto a SIM card, installed into the same basic model.” He slid it my way. “It contains all his information, all his contacts, all his text-messages. All his photos too, in case you wanted them.”

There was a lump in my throat. I was definitely going to cry.

“W—Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because you said you wanted in on this, Dallas. You said you wanted to help us.”

I swallowed hard, and the tears fell. Somehow this time, it was okay. It wasn’t at all like it was the first time, where I was trying not to show weakness in the face of three practical strangers.

No, things were very, very different between us now.

“Take your time,” said Maddox, “and go over everything on that device.” He reached out and closed one hand gently over mine. “Even if it’s hard, Dallas. Even if it hurts. No one knew Connor like you did, not even us. Maybe you can find something we missed. Something important.”

I looked at him through glassy eyes. There was no pity in his expression now, no placation. Only sympathy. Sympathy and love.

“O—Okay,” I said.

They gave me a moment. Kane gave me a tissue. I took both, gratefully, and blew my nose.

“Finally, you need to know this,” said Austin. “According to your brother’s phone, he’s been out to the desert several times. Out in the middle of the desert, where there’s nothing to see and no one around.”

I glanced up curiously.

“And that’s not all,” he continued. “Your brother had been using a military-grade app to track transponder codes. And a pair of those transponders are somehow attached to two out of three of these SUV’s.” He tapped the photographs again. “These vehicles wouldn’t normally have transponders, unless someone like Connor put them there.”