Read SavageLust for Free Online Page B

that next. And hope she read it.
    Carefully, he punched in his message.
    “I’m a cop from Chicago who can help you with your
brother’s death. My name is Dante Martello. You can check me out.”
    He included the name and phone number of the lieutenant who
had been his boss. Then quickly texted the man himself, to tell him he might
get a phone call and to ask if he’d verify him.
    In seconds, his phone rang. He’d hoped it would be Regan but
it turned out to be his old boss.
    “First things first,” Nick Roman said. “You doing okay, out
there wherever you are?”
    “I am,” Dante assured him. “But I need to speak with someone
who’s worried I’m a reporter.”
    He went on to explain, briefly, the situation. Roman had
never fully bought into the Chupacabra theory, but he had accepted Dante’s
resignation because he was in such emotional pain.
    “I can’t say I believe in what you’re doing,” Roman told
him, “but I’m happy to tell her she doesn’t have to worry about you.” He
paused. “Keep in touch, okay? We miss you around here.”
    “I will,” he promised, although going back to Chicago wasn’t
an option. “And thanks for this.”
    Pressing End, he went into the kitchen to pour yet another
mug of coffee. If the Chupacabra didn’t get him, he was pretty sure caffeine
might, but it was the glue that held him together. He was looking out the
kitchen window at the vast, empty land beyond the ranch house when he received
an incoming call.
    He looked at the screen. Regan Fortune’s number popped out
at him.
    “I hope you checked me out,” he told her.
    “And I hope you understand the necessity.”
    Her voice was edged with strain. Not unexpected, considering
what she was dealing with. But even despite that, her voice had a husky quality
that did something to his nerve endings.
    Nerve endings? He didn’t think he had any left. What the
fuck?
    “I do. Look. I really don’t want to get into this over the phone.
And your house is probably still surrounded by media. Can you get away without
the troops following you?”
    “I’ll figure a way. What did you have in mind?”
    Yes, what, mastermind?
    “Are you familiar with a bar in Rosario called The Black
Wolf?” he asked. “The town’s just a spot on the map but—”
    “Strangely, I am,” she interrupted. “I’ve driven through
that town a few times researching locations.”
    “Researching locations? For what?”
    “I’m an illustrator. I do artwork for children’s books.
Mostly westerns.”
    Interesting. What else might she have seen?
    “Okay, then it won’t be a problem for you to find it. If you
can slip away from the media circus, let’s meet there.” He checked his watch.
“In about an hour. That work for you?”
    “I’ll make it work. See you then. Oh, and this better not be
some kind of scam.”
    She was gone before he could think of an answer.
    * * * * *
    He spent the next hour with Ric going over everything they
had—maps of the park and the county, population densities, anything that might
be a factor in helping them. Ric had even hacked into the Ranger database and
pulled the crime scene photos—with a tinge of bitterness, considering none of
his old friends would even talk to him. Randi Turner sat behind them, sketchpad
in front of her, studying the photos on one of the screens and working on
simulated drawings of what might have happened. She’d helped them recreate some
of the scenes in Montana and she was tasked to do the same thing here.
    By the time Dante headed out for the bar, he was as prepared
as he would ever be. And wound so tightly he was sure he vibrated.
    It was one hour later exactly when he walked into The Black
Wolf. He spotted Sophia sitting in a booth to the right, busy working at her
laptop. He knew she often came to work with Clint, lugging her laptop and
cellphone. Despite his own circumstances, it pleased him that the couple had
found each other. He almost envied what they had.
    Today,