Or so he’d told her.

Jamie didn’t know exactly what her brother did. They stuck to generalities when they talked. No specifics. She’d learned a long time ago not to ask questions.

“After I left yesterday, you made a phone call to Eastern Oregon. Is that where he is?” Michael asked.

Jamie stared and heat flushed her face, her spine straightening. How in the hell did he do that? “Isn’t that illegal?” she choked out, her words tripping. “How can you get away with that?” What else could this man find out about her? Or Chris?

Michael shrugged crossing his arms. “It’s my job.”

“I seriously doubt breaking the law is part of your job. That’s outrageous…snooping into other people’s private business. And my brother and I are not part of your job.”

He looked at the ceiling and blew out a deep breath. “No, you’re not. But I’ve been dealing with a missing brother for twenty years, and this is the first solid lead. I’m going to dig and rip at it until I’ve exhausted every bit of it.” He brought his gaze to hers, dark green eyes hard and cold as granite. “Excuse me for snooping, but right now I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

A missing brother. Understanding and guilt flooded through her. She’d always felt that part of Chris was still missing.

“I don’t know where he is,” Jamie said quietly. “If he’s in Eastern Oregon, this is the first I’ve heard about it.” She refused to be embarrassed that she knew so little about her brother. It was how Chris wanted it. He’d claimed it was for her own good.

Which made no sense at all.

Michael glanced at his watch, and Jamie watched his tan arm muscles ripple as he twisted his wrist.

Christ.

She turned her back on him and looked out the window. Now she wouldn’t stare. She focused on the empty swings of the playground but lost concentration as she noticed in the window’s reflection that Michael was stepping closer. She whirled around, arms crossed, and he stopped.

His mouth turned up at one side. He’d known she was watching him even with her back turned. “I’m heading to the recovery site right now. Do you want to come?”

Jamie shuddered. “God, no. I don’t want to see where…”

All those children.

“I’ve got someone working on the source of that phone number. Hopefully, I’ll have a lead pretty soon. I’d like to narrow the field before I head over to Eastern Oregon.”

“You’re going to the other side of the state? A seven-hour drive?” The questions burst from her lips. Was he nuts? He’d never find her brother.

His forehead wrinkled. “Of course. How else I’m I going to talk to him? I wouldn’t mind some company for that trip. He’d probably be more open to a visit from me if you’re with me. Unless you can convince him to talk to me on the phone.”

Jamie shook her head. Chris deserved his privacy. “I also told the police I couldn’t convince him to talk to them.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I guess Chris knew what he was doing when he wouldn’t tell me where he was. I was completely useless to the police, and I didn’t even have to lie. He always said the lack of knowledge was for my own good.”

“What? What do you mean?” Michael had that “I see prey” gaze again. Jamie stared. Had his eyes actually grown darker?

“He always said it was for my own good that I didn’t know where to find him. I didn’t understand that explanation until just this second.”

Again, Jamie watched the gears churn behind those stunning eyes.

He broke the moment by glancing at his watch again. “I need to make some calls. I’ve got a line on a sheriff from the remote area where I think your brother is at. I’m outta here. Last chance to come.” He gave her a sly glance, letting heat infuse his gaze.

He was teasing her, trying to make her uncomfortable. Men.

She shook her head again. No question. That was the last place she wanted to be. Buckled into a seat next to Michael Brody in a car for seven hours.

“Fine.” He gave a wink. “Till later, then.” He turned and vanished out her door.

Jamie sat down hard in her chair, making it groan in protest. She sucked in a deep breath and was rewarded with the reporter’s toasted sunshine scent that made her brain spin and her stomach growl. The man was getting under her skin. She’d told him more about her brother than she’d told anyone else in the last ten years. It was those eyes, she mused. He obviously used some sort of Jedi mind-control skill with them to make her talk.

Must be nice to pack up and take off for where-the-hell-ever when his job called for it. She stewed for a few seconds, resenting her job and lack of wanderlust. She wasn’t the type to simply up and take a trip. Proper travel took planning and scheduling. Who takes off at the drop of a hat?

Michael Brody—steaming hot reporter and manipulative Jedi mind-bender—did.

Thank God for fir trees.

The temperature wasn’t nearly as staggering under the giant trees. Michael scanned the area. Same official responders as the other horrible day at the old farm. Only the stage was different. No dry, dusty fields smelling like old cows. Today it was tall trees and the smell of moist dirt. Three miles from the old dairy farm and buried deep in the Cascades, the police had made two discoveries. They first found what appeared to be an old bomb shelter under the Oregon dirt.

It wasn’t a bomb shelter; it was hell.