Cold Shadow (Cold Country #2)(2)

"Yeah, same here." He hoped he sounded like he meant that. "What do I need to do to get inside the plant?"

"Go see Natalie. She's about to piss herself over all this as it is. She'll get you in with the right people." The smile was back, the amusement in his eyes had Drew practically quivering. "She doesn't hold a grudge. Okay, a small one, but nothing you need to worry about."

"Nothing happened between us, Nathan. I left her alone." He wanted to explain. "She was too young. I was too involved as it was. It wouldn't have worked."

"I know. You did the right thing. She doesn't see it quite that way, though. Especially when you stopped taking her calls. Why did you stop taking her calls?"

There it was. The million-dollar question in screaming bold-faced letters.

"There were complications. I had to distance myself from that time. To save my job." It wasn't a complete lie, at least.

"Oh," Nathan said, the silver in his eyes flashed briefly. "Tell her. You owe her that much."

One of the deputies in the field shouted, drawing Nathan's attention. "We found 'em! Well, some of 'em."

"The other five are over here," came from across the field from the first deputy.

"Why cut the fingers off and leave them with the body? It doesn't make sense. Why cut out the tongues?" Nathan spoke softly almost to himself.

Drew could see him pale; his tanned skin hid it except for around his eyes and mouth. "Any religious factions making noise?"

"None that like to carve up people. Other than that, it's the same old story: The Episcopalians bickering with the Baptists. Nothing new." His mouth relaxed as he spoke, his keen eyes raking over Drew. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm not thinking what you think I'm thinking."



       
         
       
        

"Worked through it all, have we? Hell, I needed therapy after that and it didn't happen to me. Sorry. It's just the first time I've come back to Tennessee since then, and it's right back here. Can't help thinking …  Anyway, this is new to me. We've got profilers on it."

"It's been two and a half years, Drew, but I deal with it. Took some time, but I deal with it. Quinn had to deal with his own demons too. I didn't expect that you would need to." It was more than he expected to hear from Nathan, not that he ever expected to see him again.

"I watched a man burn to death. A man I tried to save even though I wanted to put a bullet in his brain. I can still smell the scent of roasting human flesh. Yeah, that stays with you a while, know what I mean?" He'd never told anyone about the therapy. "I still can't eat barbecue."

Nathan laughed, it wasn't completely mirthless but damned close. "I never thought about what happened to Brody beyond being deprived of killing him myself. Sorry, man, I didn't know you witnessed that."

There was so much more, but Drew wasn't about to tell Nathan any of that. He'd seen torture before, but nothing had prepared him to deal with what happened to Nathan. A friend-any friend-not just Nathan. "Yeah, the screams …  Listen, I need a place to stay. I'm not staying at that local flea trap you people call a hotel this time. I think the bed bugs nearly ate me alive, and all the extracurricular activities that go on there … " He faked a repulsed shiver.

"If we bugged the place, we could bring down the whole county." Nathan's grin reached his eyes.

"Is there a bed and breakfast or a room to rent somewhere? Anywhere besides there." There must have been a wheedling tone to his voice because Nathan burst out laughing. "Come on, man, give me a break. I drove all the way from DC. I need clean sheets and air conditioning."

"Mom and Dad have a spare room. Dad is down in Florida fishing, but I'm sure Mom would love to have you stay. She had wedding bells in her eyes for about a year after you left. Natalie lives in town so she won't be a problem. Quinn and I live just up the hill from the house. I'd offer to let you stay with us, but Emma would drive you batshit crazy before you even got in the door." The smile remained, the light in his eyes sparkling when he mentioned Quinn's daughter.

"What is she now, about six?" Drew remembered the spoiled little princess of a toddler. All blonde hair and rosy cheeks with huge blue eyes and Quinn's face. God, she was beautiful. Loud, obnoxious, and damned annoying, but beautiful just like her father.

"She'll be five next month. She's calmed down some, just some. Quinn treats her like a princess. The rest of us have to keep her grounded. She's a good kid, though. Smart, talented, relentless."