Cam was with Grandma for less than five minutes.

Just long enough so she could say good morning—and make sure everything she’d just told Alex wasn’t a complete and total lie.

As soon as she left her grandmother’s apartment, she headed for the double doors that led outside. She hurried to the car, yanking her phone out of her purse as she used the key fob to unlock the door.

“Blaine.”

“Cam?” His friendly voice was laced with confusion. “You still sick?”

“No. I mean, yes.” She jammed the key into the ignition. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Uh…okay.”

She pulled out of the lot and navigated toward the highway. “Can you pull up info on former officers with the Bentley PD?”

“Bentley?” he repeated.

“I’m looking for a guy named Travis.”

“Does this have something to do with the BOLO from this weekend?”

Blaine was a good cop; she’d give him that. But she wasn’t giving him answers.

“Just let me know what you find. I need a last name and an address, if you can find it. Thanks.” She ended the call before he could ask more questions.

She set the phone in the cup holder and accelerated through the green light and onto the ramp that led to the highway.

Her plan was simple. Find Travis.

Because if there was someone who might be able to provide answers—and who wasn’t currently connected to anything with Alex—it was him.

She’d made the decision to try and find the former officer as soon as Alex had told her about him. The night she’d spent with Alex hadn’t impacted her decision in any way.

That wasn’t completely true, she realized. It had actually solidified her decision to track this guy down. This Travis guy was the only person she could think of to talk to who might be able to provide a clearer picture of the Bentley police department, and who would perhaps know how to get in touch with other individuals who could provide even more information.

Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the caller ID before she picked up. She’d only been gone from her grandmother’s building for less than ten minutes, but she knew her cover wouldn’t last long. Eventually, Alex would wonder where she was. She didn’t know how he’d gotten her cell number—she’d forgotten to ask—but the fact that he had it meant she would probably be receiving a call from him soon.

She wasn’t looking forward to it.

This time, though, it was the outgoing number from the station.

“You have it for me?” she asked.

Blaine’s voice didn’t respond.

“What are you doing?” It was Nate.

She muttered an expletive. Why the hell couldn’t Blaine have done what she asked him to do without getting Nate involved?

“I need to talk to Blaine,” she said curtly.

“Yeah, well, he’s not available.” Cam could picture the steely look in Nate’s eye, the firm set of his jaw as he held the phone against his ear. She could tell from the sound of his voice that he wasn’t happy.

“He was getting me info on someone,” she said.

“I know.” Nate sighed. “Tell me what you’re doing, Cam.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I bet it isn’t,” he countered. “This has something to do with the Castillo guy. You’re digging.”

“Those were hypotheticals,” she reminded him.

“Oh, cut the bullshit,” he growled. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Cam hesitated. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to share with Nate. She’d given him a general overview when they’d had coffee at Lulu’s, but she’d gone light on the details. And she hadn’t said a word about Alex being with her or the guys showing up at her house.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “Alex told me about a guy he used to work with. Travis something. I figured he might be a good guy to touch base with, see if I can get any details out of him.”

“What kind of details?”

Cam had all sorts of plans. She wanted to know if the official story of Travis’s resignation was the real one. She wanted to ask him about the sergeant in charge of the gang unit. And she wanted to ask him if he had more info on Necco. Because she knew that the kid was the key.

“Just stuff about the department,” she said. “I want to see if there’s any validity to the version I’ve heard.”

“Which is…?”

“I told you.”

“No, you gave me hypotheticals,” Nate reminded her. “I want details.”

She made a face. “I’ll give them to you. Later. Right now, I need to talk to Blaine.”

“Blaine gave me the info,” Nate said.

Hope sparked inside of her. “What do you have? Last name and address?”

“Details.”

“Dammit, Nate, I don’t have time to wax poetic on what I’m doing,” she snapped. “I have a finite period of time to get up there. If he’s even in Bentley anymore. We can talk later. I swear, I’ll fill you in on every last detail.”

The line buzzed.

“You’re lucky I have a dentist appointment,” he finally said.

“What?”

“A dentist appointment,” he repeated. “I’m leaving now for it.”

She would have clapped her hands with glee if one wasn’t firmly attached to the steering wheel. She was off the hook with him. For now.

“I’ll tell you everything later,” she promised. “I’ll…I’ll buy you a beer. You and Sally.”

He grunted. “Bingman.”

“What?”

“He’s your guy. Travis Bingman.”

She committed the last name to memory. “And an address? Is he in Bentley?”

“Close enough. Rosedale. It’s a hamlet just outside the city limits.” He rattled off an address.

“Can you text it to me?” she asked.

“You’re driving there now, aren’t you?”

She thought about lying.

“Yes,” she finally admitted.

He sighed. “You know Kellan is gonna freak when he finds out you’re out digging around on an investigation he knows nothing about, right?”

She swallowed. “I’m not on the clock.”

It was a weak defense and they both knew it.

“Still. You’re doing police work. Outside your jurisdiction and without approval from your superior.”

“It’s unofficial,” she said weakly.

“Yeah, and hypothetical.” The sarcasm was heavy in his voice.

“All I’m looking for is information,” she said. “I’m not going to do anything with it today.”

“Well, I would hope not. From what you told me, this Castillo guy has multiple people interested in tracking him down. People who might not take too kindly to anyone nosing around and asking questions.”

Cam’s throat was tight. She wished she’d grabbed the cup of coffee she’d told Alex she was getting. “I know,” she said. “I’m just going to see Bingman. That’s it. If I get anywhere with him, I’ll come up with a plan.”

“And where is Castillo right now?” Nate asked. There was an edge to his voice. “I assume he’s not with you.”

“No. He’s safe.” She purposely didn’t elaborate.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass if he’s safe,” Nate gritted out. “The person I care about is you.”

Her gut tightened.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Cam,” he warned. “Go see this guy, since you’re so hell-bent on doing that, and then get out. We can come up with a plan after you talk to him. Me and you and Kellan. And whoever else it makes sense to involve.”

He ended the call, but Cam kept the phone clutched tightly in her hand. Nate’s words had had an effect on her. Yes, he’d been a hardass, but the true tone of his words wasn’t lost on her.

He was worried about her.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, startling her. It was a text from Nate. The address.

She clicked on the hyperlink and it opened in her maps app. It was forty minutes away.

She leaned back in the driver’s seat and eased her foot harder on the gas.

All thoughts of Nate and his words of warning dissipated.

Her primary focus became finding Travis Bingman.

And getting answers.