“Thank you,” I murmured.
She reached up and patted my cheek. “You won’t think it, but Buck would be pleased.”
I tensed. “About what?”
“That she’s finally yours.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t even breathe.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” she prodded, looking up at me with the same blue eyes as mine.
I had to laugh and kiss her head again. “Gram, you’re always right.”
Indi came back, a cloth bag slung across her body. She’d braided her hair and put on shoes.
“We’ll see you boys later,” Gram called. She hooked her arm through Indi’s and led her out of the house.
Indi glanced over her shoulder at me, and all I could do was smile and shrug.When they were halfway down the sidewalk, I spun around and took in my team.
“Where do you want us to start?” Hayes asked.
I went to Indi’s desk and picked up the pile of papers I’d set there. “With this.”They moved close, and I passed them to Taft.
“Indi had a bulletin board with all this tacked to it.” I set my hands on my hips.
Taft flipped from one page to the next, scanning the articles and letters.
“This is all about Buck’s death,” he stated.
I nodded. “Need you to read it all and let me know any similarities,” I told him.
Everyone underestimated the kid because he had farmboy looks. Before his knee was busted, he could swim faster and further than anyone on the team. But he wasn’t just a babyface. He had an eidetic memory. Once he read or heard something, it was forever in the vault.
“A bulletin board?” Kennedy asked.
I nodded then tipped my head. “On her bedroom wall.”
“Why?” Hayes asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
I met his dark gaze. “She’s got the same questions as me. As all of us.”
“She doesn’t think her brother’s a murderer,” Kennedy stated.
I shook my head.
“Smart woman,” Hayes added. “Although she’d be smarter if she hooked up with me instead of your sorry ass.”
I bristled. “Watch it.”
“You and Buck’s sister?” Taft asked, glancing up from the papers for a second.
I wanted to say no. To say hell no, but that was wrong. It was a complete fucking lie. After Indi gave me her body, shared her desires, her needs, and trusted me to take care of them and see them all fulfilled, there was no going back.
“Yes. Me and Buck’s sister. She’s mine.”
“She know that?” Kennedy asked, sliding the lollipop from cheek to cheek.
“Working on it.” The last thing Indigo Buchanan was going to admit to was being mine if I told her that’s what she was. It didn’t matter that she creamed all over my dick or gave me her ass to spank, that woman needed to make a decision all on her own. In her own fucking time.
I, of course, liked to boss people around. It wasn’t going to be easy.
Taft passed the papers to Kennedy and met my gaze. “She knows about the ranger team Buck was with. The guy Buck replaced–—William Gentry. How Buck was killed. Even a later letter about how Buck was posthumously found guilty for murdering Abdul Tareen, the Afghan police officer.”
“How’d she collect this intel?” Hayes asked.
Taft glanced around then pointed to her desk. “I’d say a simple Internet search.”
“She doesn’t believe Buck murdered Tareen.”
“Did you tell her we’re looking into it all?” Kennedy asked.
“Hell no,” I replied. “I had to lie, to let her think it had to be dropped. I want her as far from this shit as possible.”
“She’s going to lose it when she finds out the truth.”
“I think we’re all going to lose our shit when we find out the truth. Because the person—or people—who are behind this aren’t the patriots they’re pretending to be. They’ve pinned it on Buck because dead men can’t defend themselves. Whatever they’re up to, it’s still going on.”
“Think William Gentry knew and was killed too?” Taft asked.
I nodded.
“Think all this was because she was poking around?” Hayes asked, taking in the mess strewn around them.
“From what Taft said, there’s nothing new in what she’s dug up. No mention of the translator’s death which Lincoln shared with us the other day. This intel’s stale. I’m not sure why they’d come after her, but I’m not taking any chances. Even if it was only fucking Goldilocks looking for porridge, I want this place secure.”
They nodded at the order and got to work. Indi needed to be safe. Not because I owed it to Buck to protect her, but because Indi was mine, and I’d see nothing harm her.
Chapter
Nine
INDI
* * *
Since Sparks was so small, Mrs. L and I only had to walk a few blocks to get to Landers Auto Shop. Buck had grown up with Lee, so I’d known him forever. He’d started working with his dad right after high school and had taken over the business a few years ago when his parents retired to Galveston, Texas, the beach and warm winters.