by Wendy Vella
He listened a bit longer, then cut the call. Hope felt ill as he made another one.
“Jake, I know you and Tex are in the Hoot. I need you to come to the Lair now. I’m outside in my cruiser with Hope.”
“I’m scared, Cubby,” Hope said when he’d pocketed his phone.
“I know you are, and after what you’ve just suffered I don’t like putting you through this shit either. Newman’s going to be pissed.”
She didn’t speak, because the thought of Newman made her want him.
“I need you to listen to me now, Hope.” Cubby’s voice was calm, but Hope felt the tension inside him. “You do whatever I say from now on, because the governor is here to override any decision I make, and in all likelihood try and take you away. I won’t let that happen, but you have to stay calm and follow my lead.”
Cubby’s hand squeezed hers briefly. It should feel strange to someone like Hope, who usually kept everything private and close, that Cubby was comforting her. Strangely, what it felt, was reassuring. Newman had done this to her, made her accept comfort and friendship from people.
“You okay?” He touched her cheek.
“My life was uncomplicated a few months ago.”
“I was the same when Katie reentered my life. I thought I had everything, and then realized I had nothing.”
“It’s this town,” Hope said. “It messes with you.”
“We’re all here for you, Hope, and I’m real sorry about the baby.”
“I know, me too.”
“Newman told me to call him if you needed him.”
“Wh-where is he?”
“Denver. Said something about a meeting that couldn’t be put off.”
Hope nodded. “I shouldn’t need him. But—”
“You do, because that idiot tugs at your heart, and right now when things are turning shit shaped, you want him at your side?”
She nodded.
“You want me to contact him?”
She shook her head. She’d caused him enough trouble, and this wasn’t his problem.
Cubby opened the door when Jake and Ethan appeared. The Texan helped her out, and it showed how unsettled she was that she let him.
“I’m deputizing you two.”
“Again?” Jake said, rolling his eyes. “What’s happening now? Drug lords? Money lenders?”
“None of the above. Now shut up, and I’ll explain.”
Ethan’s arm slipped around Hope’s shoulders as Cubby talked.
“Well hell.” He whistled. “Sounds like someone really wants our girl here locked away. The question is why?”
“I have a few answers to that, but right now we have a backpack full of evidence, and inside the Lair, people who will smell blood when they see it. Bringing in the governor has made things difficult, but we can work with that, if you all follow my lead.”
“Don’t you worry, honey, I don’t care how much money or weight they throw around, no one’s taking you out of Howling,” Ethan said.
“You believe I’m innocent?” Hope had to ask the question.
“Of course.” Jake and Ethan looked shocked that she’d asked.
“Oh, well, I….” Hope sniffed, and Ethan patted her shoulder.
“And FYI, I have some money to throw around if it comes to that, and a few Texan relations who can out-heavy Linear. And the governor.”
“Oh now, I don’t want you—”
“Stop talking now, Hope. Let’s go. And you two, keep her between you at all times.” Cubby then said something to Jake that Hope didn’t hear.
“Consider it done,” Jake said, following Cubby. Hope was then urged to follow him, and the Texan fell in behind.
They walked into the Lair in a line, and up to reception. Hope was very aware of the backpack Cubby carried.
“You go on and put this in my office now, Maureen.” Cubby handed it to his administrator.
“You doing okay there, Hope?”
“Sure, thanks, Maureen.”
“You need anything, you just holler, and I’ll get it for you, honey.” It humbled her that these people believed in her innocence. Humbled, and gave her strength.
“I want her arrested!” Casey Rae Linear stormed out of a room to their left. “You malicious bitch! How could you do this to me… to Wildlife! Jay was right about you!” She burst into loud tears and threw herself at a tall, distinguished-looking older man who had followed her.
“Those tears are totally fake,” Hope whispered to Ethan. “The woman’s harder than a ten-inch nail.”
Ethan snorted, but remained silent.
“Governor Tyler, you’re a long way from home.”
Hope tensed as Cubby addressed the man who made his way to stand in front of the Linears.
“Mr. Linear has grave concerns for his daughter and the crimes committed against her, and was forced to call me in to ensure the correct process was followed. Especially as last night there was an escalation and now one of Ms. Linear’s team is injured.”
The governor was the same build as Mr. Linear. Tall, slick, and smooth. Hope knew the sort, and didn’t like them overmuch. Some of her newfound confidence ebbed away. How could Cubby keep her from prison if Casey had this kind of power at her back?
“As the latest crime, an assault on Ms. Miller has only just been committed, Governor, I’m not entirely sure I’ve had time to follow that due process.”
Cubby’s words were calm and concise.
“Ms. Linear did not lay charges after the other incidents, so I’d be grateful if you could enlighten me as to why you’re here now. It’s also my understanding that until probable cause is established, Ms. Lawrence is innocent.”
The governor didn’t look happy that Cubby was challenging him.
“I want justice!” Casey shrieked.
Cubby nodded, remaining calm and unruffled, while Hope started to shake.
“Completely understandable, Ms. Linear. But as no charges have been laid, or a trial date set, I don’t think we have need of your interference, Governor.”
“I know the laws, Sheriff Hawker, and I don’t like the inference that I’m interfering. The Linears’ concern is that Ms. Lawrence should be taken to Brook and questioned, as she was raised in this town and there may be bias.”
“I’m not entirely sure I’m happy with that insinuation, Governor Tyler, considering you know nothing about how I run my town. If Ms. Lawrence is guilty then she’ll be charged, but until then she is staying in Lake Howling. Where,” he added, lifting a hand to stop the governor from speaking, “she will be arrested and charged should it come to that.”
“He’s an impressive bastard when he’s in full-on sheriff mode,” Jake whispered to Hope.
“He is,” she managed around the dryness in her throat.
“You doing okay there, sweet cheeks?” Jake asked.
Hope shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you.” It was a lie. Life behind bars was flashing before her eyes. “I don’t want to end my days in prison, however.”
“Not going to happen,” he said, stepping closer, which sandwiched her between him and the Texan. Hope enjoyed the solid weight of both of them supporting her. At least if her legs gave out, they’d hold her upright.
“I have brought in two of my men, who will transport Ms. Lawrence to Brook.”
“With all due respect, Governor Tyler, there are no grounds for you take Ms. Lawrence there, so that’s not going to happen anytime soon. She is one of my citizens, and will be left here until I have evidence that she is guilty or not. The charges will be investigated fully. I’m sure I can handle it, given I’ve done so many times before. I have no reason to believe this will be any different.”
“He’s pissed now,” Ethan whispered.
“How do you know?”
He flashed Hope a smile. “Small tic in his neck. Barely noticeable unless you know him well.”
Hope searched Cubby’s neck and saw it.
“I want her arrested, Mike!” Mr. Linear s
tepped into the conversation.
“Well now, seems to me you’re awful friendly with the governor there, Mr. Linear,” Cubby said.
“Wouldn’t read very good if it were to get into the papers that you’re being coerced, Governor,” Ethan added.
“Who the hell are you?” Casey’s father glared at Ethan.
“Ethan Gelderman III. In fact, I think you’ve flown in my daddy’s jet a time or two, Mr. Linear. You also, Governor.”
Both men paled, but the governor rallied.
“I have travelled in many jets, Mr. Gelderman, that is not the matter at hand here. The issue is one of concern that Ms. Lawrence be charged for her crimes, and that Ms. Linear’s property is returned to her. Therefore, we are taking Ms. Lawrence back to Brook for questioning, and there is nothing you can do about the matter, Sheriff Hawker.”
“You remember what I asked you, Jake?” Cubby turned to his friend.
“Yup, is now the time?”
“Yes.”
“Bring Hope, Tex.”
One minute she was standing, the next she was picked up by Ethan and thrown over his shoulder. They were soon running past reception and in the direction of the cells.
“What are you doing?”
“Ensuring no one takes you anywhere,” Jake said.
They arrived at the cells seconds later. He opened one, and Ethan carried her inside and put her back on her feet. He left, and they shut and locked the door. The keys were then handed through the bars.
“Hold these and don’t give them to anyone, or come out till we say.”
Hope took them, then staggered backward to the small cot. Falling onto it, she clutched the keys to her chest.
“No one, Hope, promise us?”
She nodded. The door to the cells then burst open, and in came the Linears, and the governor. Fury then rained down on the Sheriff of Lake Howling.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Newman’s eyes felt gritty and his head ached. He missed Hope, there was no getting around that fact. He wanted to hold her, talk to her about this emptiness he seemed to be carrying around inside him.
Leaving the building after the meeting that had lasted three painful hours, most of which he’d participated in on autopilot, he looked for a cab. Finally, those idiots had seen reason, and just maybe he could keep them out of bankruptcy. Sleep first, and then he was going home and making her talk to him.
I should have tried harder , Newman thought, turning on his phone. Made her speak to him, instead of walking away because she’d asked him to. For once in his life he should have gone after what he wanted, and not done what someone else told him to.
Looking at the screen, he noted messages were waiting for him, and three missed calls from Cubby. He hit redial.
“What’s up?”
“Your girl’s in trouble, Newman.” He listened as Cubby outlined what had happened. How he’d found the backpack at her house, and how the Linears wanted Hope charged. His body shook with rage by the time Cubby told him that the governor had wanted to take Hope to Brook for questioning, because they thought Cubby would be too lenient on her.
“What! Tell me you didn’t let them?” Newman’s chest literally hurt at the thought of Hope scared and alone in Brook.
“Don’t insult me! Do you think we would allow that to happen?” Cubby roared down the phone at him.
“No, okay, sorry.” Newman exhaled.
“You should be!”
“Okay, so where is she then, if you didn’t let them take her?”
“I deputized Jake and Tex, and they locked her in the cells and handed her the keys, so only she can let herself out. I have the other set, and they’re hidden.”
He didn’t have a laugh in him, so he snorted. “I owe you, bud.”
“Yes, you fucking do, because it’s damn lucky I was voted into my job, or I’d be unemployed. That pencil dick Tyler and Daddy Linear are pushing my buttons, so to say the looks on their faces were pleasing when they didn’t get what they came for, is an understatement. Now get your ass home, because your girl needs you.”
“She did not say that.”
“She did actually, seems she has a thing for you. Now haul ass, bud.”
“On it,” Newman said.
The next few hours were the longest of his life as he thought about how Hope was suffering. One thing that had become abundantly clear to Newman as he walked into the Lair, tired and seriously pissed, was that Hope meant a great deal to him, and he wasn’t about to let her walk away from him again.
“Newman.”
“Tank.” He nodded to one of Cubby’s deputies as he entered the reception area. Seated on a bench was another man dressed in a black suit, who Newman guessed was there keeping an eye on things for the governor, and the Linears.
“Who are you?”
Newman looked at the man as he spoke. “And that’s your business why?”
“I’m on official business from Governor Tyler.”
“I’m sure I should be impressed, but as I’m not, you’ll excuse me,” Newman said, walking around the desk Tank still sat at, now smiling. He made for the cells.
“No, Hope, it’s knit one, pearl one.”
“Seriously, Ms. Roberts Haigh, I’m not sure knitting is for me.”
He smiled as he recognized Hope’s voice. Some of tension inside him eased as she came into view.
The entire book club was seated outside Hope’s cell, knitting.
“These squares are to be made into blankets and sent to those in need, Hope. It’s an excellent cause,” Helen Todd, local schoolteacher and Declan O’Donnell’s girl, said.
“I’m sure it is, Helen, but it’s hard.” Hope’s tongue was clamped between her lips as she concentrated. She looked so cute he felt warm all over.
“Ladies,” he said, but his eyes were on Hope. Her head shot up, and the flash of joy was very real in her eyes.
“About time you got here,” Militant growled.
“I had to go away on business.”
“Not excellent timing, but understandable,” HRH said, standing.
She was head of the infamous book club that everyone in Lake Howling knew was the real authority in this town.
Branna O’Donnell, Dr. McBride, Lizzie Heath, and Militant. A weird combo of women if you asked him, but as he knew the selection process was as strange as the club, he guessed it was bound to happen.
“I’m glad you’re back, Newman.” Branna kissed his cheek. “She may not say it, but she needs you.”
He nodded, but kept his eyes on Hope, who still sat on the floor of her cell.
They all hugged him, even Militant, which was like being hugged by an ironing board.
“I’m working on the governor,” HRH said. “Man has no right to come in here throwing his weight around, and I’ll be speaking to his father about the matter.”
HRH, he’d come to realize, had far-reaching tentacles.
“I’d be grateful,” he said, because he thought a reply was expected. She slapped him on the back, hard enough to force the air out of his lungs.
Newman dropped down before Hope when he heard the door shut after the women. She came up on her knees and gripped the bars.
“You okay?” He wrapped his hands around hers.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He touched her cheek, and she leaned into his hand, something she’d never done before.
“It’s not. I had no right to turn you away, or treat you as I did. You were suffering too.”
She bit her lip, and he realized it was to stop herself crying.
“Pass me the keys now, Hope.”
“I-I can’t, Cubby made me promise.”
“Now, Hope.”
“He found a bag at Mom’s house—”
“I know the details.” Newman cut her off. “Get the keys now, Hope.”
She stumbled to her feet and went to the cot, returning with the keys. Newman unlocked the door and entered, locked it behind
him, then pocketed them.
“Hey, you,” he said, and she was in his arms seconds later. He held her while she cried. They weren’t loud sobs, just soft, heartbreaking ones.
“I have you, sweetheart.”
“I-I’m scared, Newman.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You can’t make that promise.”
She was right, he couldn’t, but he wanted to. He hated feeling helpless. Hated that she was locked in here.
“No, you’re right, I can’t, so how about, I’ll be with you whatever happens.”
She sniffed, and then eased out of his arms. Slipping a hand into her pocket, she pulled out a white card.
“Mom’s looking for a good lawyer for me, but I have this.”
He took the card and read the words. “Who is this?”
“My father.”
Newman whistled.
“Why did you wait until now?”
“I don’t know, I guess I didn’t have the strength before.”
“But you do now I’m here?”
“Weird, but yes.”
“Good weird,” he said. “If this is what you want to do, then do it. If not, I’ll get you another lawyer.”
She drew in a deep, shaky breath and punched in the numbers. She put it on speaker so he could hear. Hope was opening herself up to him, he could feel it. Did she feel something for him, like he did her?
“Hello, Hope.” Her father had a deep, steady voice.
“I’m in trouble.”
“That does surprise me, given what I know of you.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
Newman sat on the cot and pulled her down between his legs. She was tense, and he guessed had been so since landing in this cell. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
“Not true. I’ve followed the lives of you and Ryan, even if I haven’t been involved in them.”
“Do I have other brothers and sisters?”
It would be a question he’d ask if he ever spoke to his birth mother. Newman had always wanted siblings.
“Yes. Two brothers, and a sister.”
Newman took the hand not clasped around the phone in his. Slipping her fingers between his, he made a fist with her hand trapped inside.
