Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 132962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
If he could just have found something substantial, he was certain his director would have pulled some strings to get this case noticed, but he needed help on this one. Whoever was behind this was too clever. There were too many different methods of attack, even if the underlying cases screamed similarities.
The million dollar question surfaced again. What was Mitch missing? Over and over, he asked himself this question. And every time, he mentally ticked off the facts, hoping to identify the missed element. All of the victims were regionally high profile gay men, but none of them had contact with the others. They didn’t hang out in the same social circles, nor were they in any of the same areas of the country. The only other common denominator was that all of these men were out—they accepted who they were.
It was at Aaron’s insistence that they added notorious hate groups into the mix. Mitch didn’t see the fit. For him, this was a one-man operation. Groups would have leaked the information by now. Somebody would have been talking or bragging, no way they could have held all this in.
Now, desperation had Mitch trying anything. If he could narrow down the groups, then dig through their hierarchy, maybe he could find a lead. From what he’d read so far, none of those groups were that well-organized, and whoever did this had his shit together. Mitch learned years ago that hate breeds hate, and those groups always had too much internal fighting to have mastered these types of crimes without someone getting pissed off in the process and blabbing their secrets.
Mitch pulled his wayward thoughts back together and sat down to continue isolating the groups. Who knew how long had passed when his phone vibrated on his desk, drawing his attention. He looked over to see Colt’s name on the caller ID. Reaching for the phone, he clicked the accept button, pulling up the text.
“Jace is off tonight. We’re good to go if you are. Let us know.”
“Cool. I’ll let you know if anything changes. Your cheer-boy’s treat, right?” Mitch texted back.
“What? You said something about a thank you dinner… Thank you to me for taking you in off the streets,” Colt responded immediately.
“Yeah, that’s before I saw where you live and what you drive. I’m a USMS public servant. I make shit.”
“I’m not overly happy with your obsession about my guy. I think I need to kick your ass.” Finally! He’d had to wait almost twenty-four hours for Colt to go there this time.
“Bring it, jockstrap. I’ll meet you at the house later. Pick a steakhouse,” Mitch responded back, grinning at their banter. He began to pack up his work. He needed to make time for a quick workout, and he could access just about any gym anywhere—part of the Marshals’ perks package. He also had to do some shopping, which he hated, but he hadn’t brought anything decent to wear.
Chapter 6
The sound of the newscaster’s voice had Cody looking up at the big screen television. He sat in his spacious room at the Embassy Suites hotel in the uptown area of Dallas. He halfway listened as the reporter spoke on the law enforcement and Geekfest conferences being held here in town this weekend. From Cody’s perspective, outside of the intense traffic, he couldn’t have picked a better time to visit the city.
The conference hadn’t even crossed his mind at the time he made his reservations, but on the upside, the hotel he’d chosen was overrun with good-looking men and that couldn’t be a bad thing. Honestly, he’d worked out in the hotel gym for about an hour after he first checked in, and there were so many hot guys pumping iron that he’d had to concentrate in order not to stare.
Heck, Cody had even considered going down to the free cocktail hour the hotel offered, but eventually decided against it. He really wanted to see what this JR’s nightclub was all about. After all, the club was the main reason he’d come all the way up to Dallas in the first place.
For a while now, he’d tossed around the idea of taking this trip and checking out the famous night spot. Any gay club in Dallas that had made its reputation all the way down to Austin had to be experienced firsthand. It had just been a lucky coincidence that he could help Mason out by going to Anna, Texas, and checking out that horse. He’d even let Mason believe that he’d made this whole trip just for him, since Mason couldn’t find the time right now to get away. Cody had justified that little white lie because that was just what brothers did to each other. But truth be told, he’d had this reservation for about a month now, right after he’d gotten his schedule and noticed he had both Friday and Saturday nights off. When had that ever happened?
The horse for Mason had been a no-brainer. She was exactly what had been sent to Mason in pictures. Cody had spent a couple of hours with her around lunch time, but he’d known right away they’d be buying her. He’d even negotiated a slightly better deal to purchase her.
As for his new patrol mount, Ranger, he spent hours with him early this morning. He really couldn’t have asked for anything better. He was a five-year-old chestnut Thoroughbred mix and stood around seventeen hands tall. Cody liked the bigger horses because they held his large frame a little easier.
After Cody completed the department-required paperwork, they’d saddled Ranger up, and Cody took him out for a ride. He was truly a perfect animal, one he’d enjoy helping care for. He’d gotten lucky with that horse.
Last night, he’d stayed in Waco after several hours of touring the Texas Ranger’s Hall of Fame Museum. He had to have looked at everything he could find, and he spent about a hundred dollars in the gift store buying up books for himself and souvenirs for his nieces and nephews. He absolutely loved that place, and the stop had given him a renewed vigor of wanting to be one of those men someday.