The Sheriff's Secret

by Julie Anne Lindsey

  “That’s the stress,” he said. “Your mind’s putting distance between you and the horror so you can process it.” He stopped short. “Of course, you already know that.”

  “Yeah, but it’s good to hear. Do you really believe Lily’s okay? He didn’t take her so he could hurt her or...” She exhaled a long, quiet breath.

  “He’s not going to hurt her.” West hovered a hand over hers, but pulled it back. He had to be the sheriff, not some old flame, consumed with her presence or rekindling the past. He had a job to do. And truthfully, getting too close to Tina right now would make losing her again all the worse when he put her life back together and she walked away.

  Tina unlocked the door to her home, and West led the way inside.

  Tina flipped every light switch she passed until the house was fully lit.

  West cleared the rooms. “We’re alone,” he said, holstering his sidearm. He hadn’t expected to find the killer waiting on her again, but it was better to be prepared than surprised.

  Ducky whimpered in his cage, waiting impatiently where they’d left him hours before. West crouched to unhinge the latch. “I bet you need to go out.”

  “Woof!” Ducky wagged his tail and attempted to hop and pounce in the locked crate.

  “If you need anything else, now’s the time to get it,” West advised Tina. “I’ll take Ducky out and walk your perimeter before we load up. Keep the doors secured while I’m gone.”

  “Thank you for doing this,” she said.

  He caught her weary stare and forced a tight smile. “Anything and always.”

  He opened the door for Ducky, and chastised himself for using their old words of endearment now. What had possessed him? Hadn’t he just told himself to back off five minutes ago? The woman had lost everything, yet there he was trying to get back into her heart. As if he wasn’t the reason her dad got a maximum sentence and her mother was in the wind. West shook his head. He hadn’t predicted her mother’s reaction to her father’s sentence. If he had, he never would have pushed. Now it was too late, and once Tina understood the role West had played in her family’s disintegration, she’d never speak to him again.

  Ducky chased smells on the wind and through the grass with gusto, running full speed, then stopping repeatedly to jam his nose into the rain-soaked lawn.

  West flicked his flashlight beam over the shadowed ground. He’d assumed the primary crime scene was inside when they’d arrived the first time. Strange how quickly things could change.

  He kicked a boot through the tall grass at the back of Tina’s property. The tree line stood thick and foreboding, less than a dozen yards from her home.

  From his new vantage point, West had a clear view of Tina’s kitchen, living room and bedroom. The windows of her home glowed like a television screen against the night. He watched, mesmerized, as she ghosted past the glass, a silent movie to which any lunatic could add his own script.

  West went back to work, only to discover something far worse than the view. His heart thudded dangerously at the discovery of a large matted section of grass. A thermos and cooler were masked by the low-hanging cover of an evergreen branch. The remnants of a sandwich wrapper rustled in the wind, caught on the edge of a hardened shaft of a weed.

  West lowered into a crouch and marveled at the view of Tina’s home. Someone had scouted the property line and chosen the best spot for his twisted voyeuristic games.

  West needed someone out here to collect and process the evidence before another storm came and washed it all away. He snapped photos and forwarded them to his team with the directive to get over there as soon as possible, then he checked the cooler and thermos contents. Water in the latter, packaged jerky and melted ice in the former. The grass was dead beneath the cooler. Whoever came here did so often enough that they’d stopped hauling supplies back and forth. It was the equivalent of having a drawer for your things at your girlfriend’s house. If your girl was an unsuspecting single mother you stalked from the property line.

  A tight knot wound in West’s gut as he watched Ducky roam the yard. Ducky knew his territory. He knew every scent. What belonged. What didn’t. Ducky hadn’t attacked the intruder earlier because he knew him.

  She’d gotten the dog following the loss of her husband.

  The psycho had always been a part of her dog’s life. How many times had the killer been inside Tina’s home? Played with her dog? Her daughter? Was Tina ever there when he crept through her rooms?

  West raised his eyes to the graceful silhouette floating through a golden backdrop of lamplight. His muscles tightened, balling both hands into fists. Tina Ellet had been his first true love, and like it or not, his heart had never fully released its claim on her. Whoever had done these things was going to pay, and when he knew she was safe, West was going to win her back.

  Chapter Seven

  Headlights drew Tina’s attention to the front window. West was in the backyard with Ducky, and she had no intention of opening the door to anyone without him. Whoever had just arrived could walk around the house and meet him out back. Not to be rude, but she simply couldn’t face another lawman right now. Her daughter was missing, and Tina was in no mood to play hostess.

  She pressed the soft fabric of Lily’s favorite blanket against her cheek and fought another round of heart-wrenching sobs. The sweet scent of baby wash pinched her chest and stung her eyes.

  Where was her baby?

  The headlights continued to shine against her window without blinking out. No slamming car doors. No footfalls upon her porch stairs. Just a gloomy October afternoon and a set of blinding headlights.

  Tina hugged the blanket to her chest and pulled the curtain back for a peek. She dropped the little quilt, having been nearly blinded, and blinked her vision back to normal. No one was in her drive. The light was coming from a truck parked on the curb across the quiet intersection from her home.

  Fear pressed her back a step.

  Was she overreacting, or was some other horrible thing about to happen?

  She freed the phone from her pocket, then peeked outside again. What if the shooter was in that truck? Or her stalker? Or her daughter? What if Lily was only a few yards away, and Tina still couldn’t reach her? “Pick up,” she whispered to the ringing phone.

  “Garrett,” West answered.

  Tina wet her lips and willed her voice to come. “There’s someone out front,” she whispered. “A truck with its bright lights on, and they’re pointed into my living room.”

  “Stay inside,” he snapped.

  The call disconnected.

  Tina rolled her shoulder against the wall. She lifted her head for one more glance through the window. A familiar shape streaked across the yard and into the flood of light. No.

  “Ducky!” Tina swung the door open with bumbling hands.

  The driver’s door opened and a man stepped out, scooping her dog into his arms and dropping him into the pickup’s bed before returning to his place behind the wheel.

  Panic welled and boomed in her, beating between her ears and pounding in her chest. “Ducky!” She scrambled into the yard. “Come!”

  An arm stretched through the open driver’s-side window and motioned her closer, but her dog stayed.

  With a stranger?

  “Stop!” West’s voice echoed through the air. He moved into Tina’s peripheral vision, weapon drawn. “Cade County Sheriff,” he announced, moving steadily toward the truck. “Get out and put your hands up!”

  The pickup’s engine growled and roared. Powerful amounts of torque tilted the faded red pickup with each press of the gas, successfully drowning West’s demands for subordination.

  Ducky barked and paced the truck bed, tail wagging.

  Tina’s stomach rolled. It was the pickup that she’d seen fleeing the shooting this morning. Her dog knew this man? Chose to ride in the truck
over returning to her? How often had Ducky seem him? How well did Tina know the truck’s driver? Had she invited him to her home? Had he made the trip on his own more often that just this day?

  Who would do something like this? What had she done to him that had caused this? Her baby wasn’t enough? He’d even come for her dog? She pressed desperate palms to the sides of her head, protecting her ears and attempting to hold her mind together.

  West continued his approach, gun up, wrists locked. He stepped slowly and confidently into the blazing light. His mouth moved, but the words were smothered by the revving truck.

  Slowly, the doors on neighboring homes began to open. Folks spilled onto their porches, only to take note of the armed sheriff and dash back inside.

  The engine reduced to a steady purr, and West moved into the light. “I won’t say it again. Get out now.”

  The truck’s tires barked, and the vehicle lurched forward with a roar.

  “West!” Tina screamed as the pickup careened onto the sidewalk, heading straight for the sheriff.

  West dove out of the way, colliding with the pavement in a wild roll as the truck fishtailed back onto the street.

  “West!” Tina slid to a stop against his side, grinding pebbles from the sidewalk into her knees and shins. The truck had escaped with her dog and another piece of her broken heart. “West!” She fell onto his chest, pressing her cheek to his motionless torso. “No!”

  A low groan rumbled against her ear. Heavy arms wrapped around her trembling frame. “I’m okay.”

  Tina pulled back for a closer look at his filthy, bloody coat and face.

  “I’m all right.” He shoved into a sitting position, dusting his arms and stretching his neck with a wince. He ran a fist under his bloodied nose and grimaced. “Ow.”

  Tina brushed dirt from his stubble-covered cheek. “I thought you were dead.”

  He shot her a disbelieving look. “Please. I’m not that easy to kill.”

  She pulled him to her again and squeezed. “Thank goodness because I can’t lose you, too,” she whispered, utterly horrified by the possibility. Someone as truly good and selfless as West Garrett was not the sort of man a woman should ever let go. She’d already done that once, and she preferred not to let it happen again.

  He rubbed her back and cleared his throat. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good.” She hooked her flyaway hair behind one ear and tried not to be sick. “Do you think Lily was in that truck?” Her stomach knotted as she imagined her infant in a vehicle driven so recklessly. One mistake. One small error. She couldn’t bear to think of the potential consequences.

  West ran a gentle palm along Tina’s cheek. “I don’t know.”

  “Woof!”

  Tina jumped at the blessed sound. “Ducky!”

  The retriever hobbled toward her, tail beating behind him. “Woof!”

  She released West and pulled the dog onto her lap.

  Beside her, West pressed onto his feet and reported the truck situation to Dispatch.

  Tina held Ducky tight and promised herself Lily would soon be in her arms again, as well.

  * * *

  WEST FINISHED HIS call while checking his limbs and appendages for range of motion and functionality. Everything seemed to be in working order, though his ribs and nose were a little worse for wear. “I put a bulletin out on the truck,” he told Tina. “I missed the plate, but I got a real close look at the vehicle, so I think I nailed the description. It was the one you saw this morning. Wasn’t it?” She nodded.

  “I figured.” He limped several steps, testing his legs and ankles with a hearty grunt. Between that roll on the pavement and the recent knock on the head, West was nearing his daily capacity for physical beatdowns. “Damn. I’m not twenty-five anymore.” He rolled his shoulders and shook out his arms. Nothing was broken, but he felt like maybe he’d have been better off getting hit by the truck.

  West pulled Tina onto her feet. “Come on. Let’s get Ducky’s things and get out of here.” He needed to go somewhere he could rest and heal.

  “Shouldn’t we wait for the ambulance? You need to let a medic take a look at you.”

  “Nah.” West urged her toward the front door. “I didn’t call an ambulance.”

  “You were just hit by a truck!” She struggled to slow him down as he nudged her forward. “You need an exam at least.”

  “I wasn’t hit. I’ve been hurt worse, and most of this mess will come off in the shower. Now, move.”

  Ducky hopped along at their feet until they reached the steps, but stopped without attempting the climb.

  “You, too,” West told him. “Let’s go.” He pulled the retriever into his arms and nodded at Tina and the house. “A little help?”

  She rushed inside, bracing the door for them to pass. “I don’t understand why no one’s coming here? A madman just sat outside my home while we were inside. He tried to steal my dog, nearly killed my...” Her mouth snapped shut. Her chest rose and fell with several short breaths. “You.”

  West wished like hell she’d have finished that sentence, but that would have to wait. “I’ve got limited resources, and this nut is everywhere today. Blake’s sending a man out to talk to your neighbors. He’ll get here as soon as he finishes at Mary’s. Meanwhile, if you give your vet a call, I’ll see if being the sheriff can get Ducky seen immediately. Then we’ll head to my place, where I can clean up and review all the data we gathered today. It’ll probably take me until dawn to wade through everything. Maybe you can get some rest.”

  Tina stared through her front window. “I’ll go to your place tonight, but I won’t sleep.” Not until Lily was home safely. “Maybe I can come up with some characteristics for a profile on the kind of person who’d do this, then form a list of every person I’ve ever met who fits the bill. Maybe something I think of will help Blake’s team find this guy.”

  West smiled. There was fire in her eyes again. That was the woman who had tossed his teenage world into upheaval, and he was mighty proud to be back at her side. “Atta girl. This guy didn’t live in a bubble before today. He has friends, coworkers, relatives, neighbors. One of those people will be willing to assist in his capture and the safe return of your daughter.”

  West loaded Tina and Ducky into the cruiser.

  He gave Tina a long look at the first stoplight. Even with a background in counseling, he couldn’t imagine how anyone could deal with all she’d been put through today. “Hey.”

  Tina turned unseeing eyes on him; exhaustion and grief twisted her pretty face.

  “What did you do while you were away all those years?” he asked, hoping to be a distraction from her sorrow.

  “College,” she answered flatly, a note of disappointment in her tone. “Undergrad. Grad school. Internships. After that, I shared a chic little apartment above a yoga studio with a New York City transplant named Elise. She grew sprouts in a window box and blended them into smoothies with kale and bananas.” Tina offered West a small smile. “I know what you’re doing.”

  “What?” He feigned innocence. “I’m curious. Can you blame me? I missed out on a third of your life.”

  “You’re trying to keep me from going into shock or completely over the mental edge. I know. I do it with patients in crisis.”

  He motored through the green light and took the next turn toward the local veterinarian on Main. “Sounds like you had an interesting time. The only thing I put in my blender is margarita mix.”

  “We did that, too.”

  “Did you ever get homesick?”

  She leveled him with a pointed look. “The only thing I’ve ever missed about this place was you.”

  West pressed his lips tight. The only thing she’d missed was him? What the hell was that supposed to mean? She hadn’t missed him enough to come home. Not even for one night. Not in a decade. Sh
e hadn’t missed him enough to make a phone call and say so or return an email. He’d kept the same account open since high school, hoping that one day she’d reach out to him. He’d checked for that message every day while he was overseas, hoping she’d realize what they had was special. Worth fighting for. “Why’d you come back?” he finally asked. It certainly hadn’t been for him. She’d been home two years without ever saying hello.

  “My mom,” she answered softly, then turned her face toward the windshield, shutting him out all over again.

  West gripped the wheel tighter. It was his fault her mom had run. He needed to tell her the truth about that, but now wasn’t the time. She needed some good news today, not more things to break her heart. And he’d prefer to remind her why they’d been great together, not give her more reasons to run.

  “What’d I say?” she asked. “You’re grinding your teeth hard enough to break them.”

  He jerked his head back. “Nothing.”

  She huffed and crossed her arms. “You always sucked at lying. You want to keep it to yourself? Go ahead.”

  He would.

  He swung the cruiser into the lot outside the vet clinic and climbed out. He needed to get his head in the game and off his battered heart.

  He shut his door a little more roughly than necessary and opened the back for Ducky.

  The whole thing was ridiculous, to be thinking about her like that at a time like this. He hefted the dog into his arms and jammed the back door closed with one hip. Maybe he should get some therapy when this was over.

  A narrow hand poked into view and pulled the clinic door open for him. Tina stood back so he and Ducky could enter the building. “You didn’t think I was going to wait in the car, did you? With a lunatic stalking me?” She marched to the desk and smacked one palm against the little silver bell on the counter.

  West lowered Ducky onto the floor and found a seat. He positioned himself for the best view of the clinic’s window, door and empty lot.