Free Commanded by Stacey Kennedy Page A

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     in fairy tales. Why was she stopping things in their tracks instead of letting them
     happen and seeing how they turned out?
    She let honesty spill from her lips. “I think it’s time to tell you the reason I broke
     up with Josh. With you, I—”
    The ringing of her phone startled a gasp from her throat. Sawyer’s harsh curse followed.
    Her hands trembled as she reached into her pocket, taking out her phone. She glanced
     at the screen. “It’s Shane.” She clicked on and said into the phone, “I’m taking it
     you have good news.”
    “Both good and bad,” Shane replied. “What do you want to hear first?”
    “The bad.” That meant things could only get better.
    “The credit cards led nowhere.”
    “Well, that sucks.” Chloe watched Sawyer’s frown deepen. “What’s the good news?”
    “Luckily for you, I dug deeper, and I’ve got a hit on his debit card.”
    Chloe nibbled her lip, cringing. This was good news for them, yes. But given Sawyer’s
     lecture a minute ago about skirting the law, she wondered how he would feel about
     Shane’s involvement, considering that Shane had gone a step further into illegally
     hacking Travis’s accounts. “Okay. Where?”
    “The Cowboy Saloon about a half hour ago.”
    “I owe you big-time, Shane. Thank you.”
    “I’ll bill Porter. You owe me nothing. He’s the one who pays me the big bucks.”
    The connection ended.
    Chloe snorted a laugh. Shane wasn’t cheap, but Chloe thought he was worth every penny.
     Sometimes fighting bad people meant you had to play the same game they did. She rose
     from the bench, tucking her phone into her pocket. “Shane’s got a hit on Travis’s
     debit card. We should go in case he’s still there.”
    Sawyer stood up, brows knitted. “Wasn’t Shane tracking Travis’s credit card?”
    “Hmm, how strange.” Chloe tapped her lip, pretending to think hard about it. “I have
     no idea how Shane obtained his debit card information.” As Sawyer opened his mouth
     to speak, Chloe stuck up her hand. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers
     to.”
    He stared at her hard for a few long seconds, then shook his head. “You’re right,
     I don’t want to know. Let’s go.”
    —
    Country music blasted through the Cowboy Saloon. Men and women were dressed in attire
     better suited to Nashville, and peanut shells littered the floor. Determined and focused,
     Sawyer strode ahead of Chloe, examining every face around him as the two of them made
     their way through the crowded tables where patrons were eating. Then Sawyer headed
     to the dance floor, glancing at the four-man band that played a classic country song.
     The group of intoxicated, scantily clad women putting on a show with their suggestive
     dancing didn’t impress him. And by the time he reached the dark oak bar, he wanted
     to leave.
    This might be a hot spot for some, but the place didn’t suit him. Beer and wings were
     more his style. He shoved his annoyance away and did what he came here to do: find
     the fucker who beat up his sister.
    At the bar, he pulled out a wooden stool for Chloe. She smiled and took her seat.
     As he sat next to her, he asked, “Do you see him?” He’d asked Chloe to look for Travis
     before they entered the bar. Sawyer didn’t want Travis to see him first and run.
    Chloe spun around on her stool, leaned her arms against the bar, and glanced out to
     the seating area. Sawyer stayed focused on her beautiful face. The way she drew her
     bottom lip in between her teeth was sexy. He noticed she did that move every time
     she concentrated. He thought it might be the death of him, as it made him want desperately
     to kiss those lips.
    She gave the bar a good sweep and finally grumbled, “Negative.”
    Frustration rose in Sawyer; unless Travis was in the bathroom, they’d lost him. Sawyer
     couldn’t accept that their only lead had likely fizzled out.
    “Can I get y’all something?” asked the