Page 211 of Mountain Men Heroes

Dyson

Istepped into the bar and slid close to the wall, keeping my back protected while my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Eeli stepped in and moved to my side. I scanned the room, my gaze traveling over the crowd, looking for our guy.

Eeli’s shoulder flexed against mine. A quick glance showed me the hint of discomfort on his face. I returned to searching the room for our bail jumper, but shifted my weight so our shoulders pressed together.

He dragged in a sharp breath and his shoulder relaxed into mine. Anxiety accompanied both of us pretty much everywhere we went since we hit stateside. Places like this bar—crowded, loud, dimly lit—amped it up. The faster we found the bail jumper, the better.

Not seeing our target, I straightened my shoulders and moved into the crowd.

“Fucking, Sawyer.” Eeli's quiet growl hit my ears and I chuckled. We had big plans for Kratos Securities. But while we implemented those plans, Sawyer came up with the brilliant idea to go after high bond criminals who skipped out on their bail and came to either Hardwood, Wild Ridge, or this small neighboring nowhere town. It was easy to let the mountainside towns swallow you and just get lost.

I scan the crowd again, this time letting my gaze touch every male in the room. I’d never planned on getting into bond enforcement, but I could see Sawyer’s reasoning. High bond skips meant big influxes of quick cash while we got things up and running which protected one's nest egg.

Didn’t mean I liked doing this shit.

A band started playing on a stage at the back of the bar. The crowd near us thinned as people drifted toward the sound.

“Least the music’s good.” But as soon as the words left my mouth, a strange feeling pinged through my nervous system, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“Feel that?” Eeli asked.

I gave him a quick nod, all my senses on high alert. Eeli and I walked shoulder to shoulder, easily falling into the rhythm we’d perfected together during our stint in the military.

I registered the relief that poured through me as we slipped back into sync, moving as one through the bar. The last few days have been weird. Or maybe I should say weirder than usual. Eeli and I still felt that cloying need to be close. But now there was a new element—Clara.

I pushed thoughts of Clara down immediately. The last thing I needed to do while hunting for our jumper was allowing her to invade my mind.

“Front clear,” Eeli said.

With a lift of my chin, I directed us to where the crowd was forming around the stage. Every sense on high alert, I could almost smell danger in the air.

Eeli stayed at my side, our movements completely synchronized. His presence beside me made entering the crowd much easier.

And there was my problem, not to mention the source of some tense moments between Eeli and me the last few days. Despite an inner warning system setting off bells inside my head demanding that we seek out our girl—and there was no doubt in my mind that Clara was our soulmate—the clawing need to have Eeli at my side hadn’t left.

Sucked bad enough when it seemed like my sanity depended on Eeli. Add a soul-deep need for the woman I knew was mine to the mix, and I had a whole new meaning for the term fucked up.

One more time I made a determined effort to focus my attention on the room around us. The last thing I needed to do right now was get myself or my partner injured because I couldn't keep my head in the game.

“Where is this fucker?” Eeli’s question told me he was feeling the same edginess I was. Our guy had to be here. Or something else was about to go down.

My nerves felt like rubber bands stretched to the snapping point.

My phone vibrated against my leg. I dug it out of my pocket, keeping my eyes moving over the room, scanning one face before moving on to the next one.

I glanced at my phone and clenched my teeth at the words there.

“Eeli, Sawyer, and Mac got our guy.”

Eeli stopped and looked over at me before doing another scan of the room. “Is he sure?”

I texted Sawyer quickly and passed on his affirmative response. “We’re done. We can head back to the office now.”

Eeli turned in a slow circle, not giving up his search. “Something still doesn’t feel right.”

I nodded. Normally I wouldn’t hesitate a second before moving out of the bar. But my instincts were roaring at me to stay.

“Beer?” Eeli asked.