Gilded Craving: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 3) Page 8

  She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Really."

  "Still–" Dan broke off and then shrugged. "No excuses. We should have done better."

  The three of them stood there awkwardly for a moment before Dan nodded toward the group. It was weird to be with people that knew each other so well but now didn't have much to say to one another. A wall of tension had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making it even stranger than Mariah had expected.

  "Come and sit down. Order a drink. We're going to toast Brad."

  To her surprise, Ryan took her hand and she relaxed almost immediately. It felt warm and reassuring, strong when she felt weak and unsure. That was one good thing about Ryan Beck. He rarely felt unsure about anything. He was always completely confident that he was right. She'd loved that about him. And hated it, too.

  "Are you ready?" he asked softly as they made their way to the table. "Give me the signal if you need to get out of here."

  He'd remembered. They had a "signal" that they'd use when she'd had enough of people and parties. He was far more extroverted than she was, although as she'd grown older she'd learned how to pretend.

  "I'm fine. It's all fine."

  It would be. These were her friends - or at least they had been. They'd catch up and pretend that they'd stay in touch more. Hug and exchange phone numbers and social media. In the end, probably not much would change. Everyone was busy living their life.

  Everyone but Brad, and that's why they were there.

  11

  Ryan's friend group had changed quite a bit since they were in college, but in some ways, nothing had changed at all. Carl was still quiet, only speaking when he had something to say; Trent was boisterous and loud, even though this wasn't a party. He kept answering his phone and speaking loudly to someone that clearly worked for him. Ryan would have quit his job if his boss talked to him that way.

  Dan was reminiscing about Brad, seemingly unaware of Caroline crying softly next to him. Every story only served to make his wife more upset. She was currently finding solace with Daphne, who was the softest touch of their group. Daphne had always been the "den mother" that reminded the more irresponsible ones that they needed to get some sleep or study.

  Isla was a talker as well and she liked to hear the sound of her own voice, apparently, because she'd barely taken a breath since she'd started on her second cocktail. She was telling Mariah about her husband, kids, and the chain of day spas she owned.

  Theo, as usual, was more focused on the pretty waitresses than on the conversation. His head had whipped around several times already to catch a glimpse of a retreating server's shapely rear end.

  Liza and Mike were talking to Carl about their trip to Europe last year. Carl had visited Prague just a few weeks ago and was talking about the incredible food.

  And Mariah? She was listening to Isla politely, nodding and responding in all the right places which surprised Ryan. Isla and Mariah had never gotten on back in the day. Isla had often made fun of Mariah, calling her old-fashioned and a prude because she'd stuck with Ryan while Isla wanted to sow her wild oats while she was young. She didn't think it was healthy for a young woman to commit herself to one man before she was thirty. It appeared she hadn't taken her own advice.

  To be honest, Ryan hadn't liked to be around Isla either. She was often difficult to be with as she was quite opinionated and liked to argue. Then when she'd pissed you off thoroughly and frustrated the hell out of you, she would simply laugh and say she was just playing devil's advocate and that you shouldn't take things so seriously.

  "Dude, you've barely said a word." Carl elbowed Ryan to get his attention. Isla had turned her attention to Liza and Mike. "Earth to Ryan."

  He had spaced out a little. His mind was going a mile a minute. He needed to talk to these people about that night. About Brad and what they might know about what was going on in their friend's life at the time, but he needed to do it separately. Not as a group. He also didn't want to ruin the vibe of this get-together. This was about remembering Brad.

  But Ryan had a job to do and finding out what happened that night would bring closure to many people. This group included.

  "I was thinking about how much we've changed yet some things always stay the same."

  "We have bigger bank accounts but who we are as people probably hasn't changed much." He nodded toward Trent, who had finally hung up his phone and was regaling Theo with a tale about the time he'd beat Brad at basketball. "Some things never change. Still trying to outdo Brad and he isn't even here to compete with. He wants to be the center of attention at a wake, for fuck's sake. How needy is that?"

  "Do you remember what he and Brad fought about a few days before?"

  "No, but I assume it was something trivial because, let's face it, it always was. I do remember Brad saying that he wished Trent wasn't going on the Hawaii trip with us but I didn't pay any attention to it. They talked shit about each other all the time, but when the chips were down, they were there for each other." Carl's brows rose slowly. "Wait...you don't think? Not Trent. He wouldn't do something like that. No way. He's one of us. I mean, he's kind of an asshole but he wouldn't actually hurt anyone."

  This was what Ryan had been worried about. He wasn't here to accuse anyone. He simply needed to know what had been going on in Brad's life the few weeks before his disappearance. He was, however, afraid that his friends might "circle the wagons" and stay silent on an important piece of information.

  "I'm not saying that Trent did anything," Ryan explained. "I'm just hoping that one of us might know what Brad was doing and who he was hanging out with. Maybe Trent argued with Brad about someone else? I need to know that. You probably don't know this but I'm helping Brad's family investigate what happened to him."

  "Everybody knows that. We're counting on you to find out the truth."

  "Everybody?" Ryan echoed. "How could everyone know? I barely got into town yesterday."

  Carl shrugged. "Skip and Lily told Theo's parents who told mine or something like that. Does it matter? We all know, and we're all glad that you're doing this. It was lucky you became a cop. I wouldn't be much help on something like this."

  His friend was a mergers and acquisitions specialist. Carl traveled a great deal and had recently split from his wife, but they were working on getting back together in couples therapy.

  "So do you?" Ryan asked again. "Do you know what Trent and Brad fought about? Or do you know what Brad had going on right before he disappeared? Was he hanging around with anyone new? Did he talk about anything?"

  Shrugging again, Carl fidgeted in his chair. "Shit, I don't know. Brad was yelling that Trent was a cheat, and Trent was saying that Brad didn't know what he was talking about. I assumed they had made a bet and Trent wasn't keeping his end of it. You know how they were. Friends one minute and enemies the next. It was no big deal. As for what Brad was doing, I don't know. That last year he didn't talk to me as much. He was always closer to Theo and Dan. They'd know what Brad had going on."

  That was true. While they were all a group of friends, some were closer than others. Brad and Ryan had definitely not been as close as they had in the past.

  "I'm going to talk to both of them. I'm going to talk to everyone, actually." Ryan paused, wanting to phrase the next question just the right way. "Was Brad...seeing anyone that you know of?"

  Carl gave him a shrewd look. "You mean besides Caro?"

  "That's what I mean. We both know..."

  Ryan didn't have to spell it out. Everyone had known that Brad ran around behind Caroline's back.

  Sadly, she'd known it, too.

  Carl's gaze darted to Isla and then back. It was fast but Ryan had caught it.

  "Isla? He was seeing her?"

  "He didn't care about her or anything, he was just...you know...having some fun. She was up for it. I don't think she was in love with him or anything."

  "Brad acted like she wasn't all that attractive. He said she was too obvious."

  "Someti
mes he liked them obvious," Carl whispered. "They kind of hated each other but from what I gather the sex was hot. He said she was pretty wild in the sack."

  "When did he say this? Where was I?"

  Chuckling, Carl grinned. "With Mariah, where you always were. We were playing golf a few days before leaving for Hawaii. You hated golf."

  "I still hate golf."

  "That's why you weren't there."

  Isla and Brad. Interesting couple.

  "How long had he been seeing her?"

  "I have no idea and I wouldn't even call it seeing her. They were...having sex. That's it. More like enemies with benefits, if you ask me. I doubt he hung around afterward and cuddled and talked."

  "Did Caro know?"

  "I don't think so, but I could be wrong. She never said anything to me about it. She might have said something to Mariah."

  "Mariah would have told me if she had."

  Ryan was sure of it. They'd told each other everything.

  "So...you and Mariah. I didn't think I'd ever see you two together again."

  "It's not like that."

  His answer was reflexive and swift. His friend group loved a little gossip. For the most part, he'd managed not to be a focus of it.

  Carl scratched his chin. "Why not? She's single again and you both clearly still have feelings for each other."

  "Why do you think that? We're just friends."

  And barely that. Basically, they'd called a truce this morning. They were hardly texting each other and making lunch plans.

  "Because you've barely taken your eyes off of her since you walked into the memorial service. And the same for her. You can't deny that Mariah is one gorgeous woman. Hell, I'd be looking at her too if I wasn't trying to fix my marriage."

  "We're just friends."

  He was going to have to watch his behavior much more closely because people might get the wrong idea. If he was watching Mariah, it wasn't because he wanted to start something between them. It was because...

  Fuck it. He didn't have to explain himself to anyone. In fact, Carl was probably just busting Ryan's balls about Mariah. He probably wasn't even looking at her at all.

  Carl held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, if you say so. I was just saying that you could do worse. She's beautiful and she's always been terrific. Everyone thinks she's great."

  "Listen, it's okay," Ryan said with a sigh, trying to relax. He'd been too wound up today. "I'm just feeling the pressure about this investigation. I want to do right by Brad and his family."

  "You will," Carl assured him. "You're a badass cop. I tell all of my friends and co-workers about you. We're all proud as hell of you."

  If only Ryan's family felt that way.

  "Thanks, but I'm just doing my job. Just like you."

  Chuckling, Carl shook his head. "I don't get to do anything exciting or dangerous. In fact, my life is boring as hell while you're out catching bad guys."

  "It's not like it looks in the movies. Trust me. I spend a lot of my time in the office doing research."

  Carl didn't look like he believed Ryan.

  "So do you have any leads on what happened to Brad? Any theories?"

  None that Ryan wanted to talk about so he tried to joke his way out of the question. His friends probably didn't know about the medical examiner's report yet.

  "Hey, give me a break. I just got here yesterday. I haven't even unpacked yet. I have a lot of people to talk to."

  His friend wasn't the pushy type so he thankfully let it go.

  "Just know that we're all rooting for you. We know you'll figure out what happened to Brad."

  It wouldn't be easy. Cold cases never were.

  Brad, what did you do that night? What was going on in your life?

  At one point, Mariah and Caroline had been close friends. During their teenage years, they'd spent the night at each other's house and talked about what their lives were going to be like when they were grown up. Caroline had wanted to get married and have kids, and so did Mariah, although in her fantasies she was also a celebrated artist.

  One out of three isn't too bad. And I'm still young.

  Okay, point-five out of three. I can't call myself celebrated but I do make a living at it.

  After going to different universities they'd drifted apart slightly. Still friends, but not the kind that divulged deep secrets to one another. They'd mostly partied together with the rest of the group. Caroline had been dating Brad, and Mariah was with Ryan. Brad and Ryan were friends too, so they all seem to end up in the same places on a regular basis. She got along with Caroline and they'd never argued, but later when Mariah and Ryan ended things, somehow she hadn't heard from Caroline anymore.

  To be honest, Caroline had started separating herself from the group after Brad's disappearance. It had been a huge surprise when she'd married Dan, but she'd been absolutely radiant at the wedding and Mariah was thrilled that she'd found love after all that had happened.

  Mariah had let Daphne and Caroline do most of the talking but eventually the conversation wound around to her life and what she was doing with it.

  "You and Ryan look good together," Daphne said. "Do you still feel any of the old tingles? Maybe you guys could give it another shot. You're single again."

  Tingles? My heart races and my palms get sweaty. But I'll never admit it.

  "We're just friends. His apartment is across the hall from mine so we shared a taxi here. It's not a big deal."

  Daphne looked over Mariah's shoulder to where Ryan was deep in conversation with Carl.

  "He still looks good. Even better, actually. The cop stuff is kind of...manly, too. Not like my husband who sits behind a desk all day and then plays golf on Saturdays."

  Mariah wasn't sure what Ryan was doing to stay in shape but it was working well. If anything, he was in better condition than when they were in school.

  "I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

  Caroline frowned. "You want to be alone forever?"

  "Not forever, just...for now. Relationships are a lot of work. I'm just enjoying dating and my work. I'm not looking to take care of a man."

  Mariah's ex-husband had been high maintenance to say the least, and by the time they'd divorced she'd been exhausted trying to keep him happy. Eventually she'd had to admit that it was a goal that was never going to be achieved. Bobby was never happy and she didn't think he wanted to be either.

  "I don't like to think of you alone," Caroline pressed. "Do you have a cat or a dog?"

  "I'm thinking of getting a cat." She waved away their concern. "I'm fine. Honest. I'm just glad to see both of you. It's been so long."

  Welling up with tears again, Caroline sniffled. "I love both of you so much but I hate that we're together because of Brad's death. I guess I fooled myself into believing that he was really alive all of this time. You know, he used to talk about faking his death. Do you remember? He said he'd go off to some tropical island and sell fishing gear to tourists. I didn't want to think anything bad happened to him so I would imagine that he was there."

  "I heard him say it more than once," Daphne said. "I didn't take him seriously. I assumed it was a joke."

  "I'm sure it was a joke," Caroline replied, her eyes watery. "But it made me feel better, if that makes any sense. Now I can't pretend that he isn't gone."

  "When did you last talk to Brad?" Mariah asked. "What did he say?"

  "He said he wanted to stay and drink some more with Theo. He told me he'd meet me at the airport the next morning. I told him that we should both go home but you know how he was, stubborn as a mule. He wanted to stay so there was no point in arguing with him."

  "And you didn't hear from him after that?"

  "No, but I didn't expect to. I went home and went to bed. When we got to the airport, he wasn't there. But you know that."

  Caroline had been livid when Brad hadn't shown up that day. Absolutely furious. She'd tried to call him a dozen times at least while they waited to board the pl
ane. She'd been pissed off during the entire flight but had finally settled down when they'd landed, deciding to enjoy the trip without Brad.

  Sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, Caroline stood from her chair. "I'm going to the ladies' room to try and fix my eyeliner. I'll be right back. Will you order me another martini?"

  When Caroline turned the corner and was out of sight, Daphne leaned closer to Mariah.

  "She was cheating on Brad. I think that's why she's so upset. She feels guilty."

  This was news to Mariah. She'd never even suspected.

  "Cheating? Are you sure?"

  Daphne nodded toward Trent, who was talking to Ryan. "With him. She told me. She was mad at Brad for running around and not paying enough attention to her so she was sleeping with Trent. When we were in Hawaii, I saw her sneak into his hotel room when she thought the rest of us were asleep."

  "What were you doing up?"

  Smiling even wider, Daphne waggled her eyebrows. "I was sneaking into Theo's room."

  "How did I not know any of this?"

  "There was a lot of sleeping around back then but you and Ryan weren't a part of that. We didn't hide it from you, but we didn't shout about it either. Honestly, I think you just wanted to think the best of everyone, so even if you had seen me sneak into Theo's room, would you have thought I was doing it to have sex with him?"

  Was I that naive back then?

  "I wasn't a prude or anything. I wouldn't have judged you."

  "I know. You're not that type." Daphne's gaze moved to Caroline's husband Dan at the end of the table. "I don't think Danny knows about Trent, so let's just keep that between us, okay? It was a long time ago and it doesn't really matter anymore, right?"

  "Right. I won't say anything to him." Mariah wasn't so sure that it didn't matter anymore, however. "Did Brad know about Caro and Trent?"

  Daphne's eyes went round and she shook her head. "No way. He would have killed Trent."

  "They were arguing a few days before he disappeared. And he was kind of nasty to Caro that night. Are you sure he didn't know?"