Claudia feltbeyond sick right now.Her brother was practically shaking.And Quinn was there.Yelling.Quinn was yelling, trying to get through the gathering crowd to Kameron.Claudia stopped her before she could touch him.There would be evidence on Kameron’s clothes.Not just…blood.
Josh Tyler and a paramedic she’d never seen before were strapping Kameron down now.But it didn’t look good.
No one knew how long he’d been like that.When this had happened.
She still didn’t know how Cadell was involved.And the Weatherbys were gathering their WHP boys.Zach was there, actually wearing a nice suit and tie.He’d dressed up, for the engagement party, she thought.
She was wearing her dress for the evening now.
She was in a bloody crime scene with a dress on.In the cold.The wind was chilling her legs and her heels were not good on the slick driveway.But the Weatherbys were with her brother.She wasn’t going to dare let them interrogate him.Not without her right there.
She marched over to them as much as she could in the shoes.“What happened?Cadell, don’t say anything until I can get Cal or Lawe Hodson here.”
“I have nothing to hide, and I know the laws,” her brother said.He was shaking so much.She recognized adrenaline and shock and anger.“I found him like that.”
“Start at the beginning,” Rex ordered.“What were you doing here?”
“I was on my way back from Sturgis, headed to my place.I needed to change clothes.Then I was going to the engagement party at the inn.But I had paperwork for Kameron to sign.We want him to invest in some Grady Group commercial projects here in town that are time-sensitive.The door was hanging open.And I saw…the bloody bootprints on the porch.Kam’s cat was on the front porch.He never lets her outside.She’s sixteen years old; he never puts her outside.So I picked her up, and went…inside.”
Her brothers had been friends with Kameron Neilson for at least twenty-five years.And they knew him well.“Was he awake?”
He just shook his head.“I just found him in his kitchen and dialed 911.Tried to stop the blood.”
“Is there anyone who can confirm you were in Montana?”Ransom demanded.“You’ll need to be tested for GSR.”
Gunshot residue.Of course, they thought her brother had shot one of his closest friends in cold blood.Of course, they did.Considering who their father was.Sins of the father.“Bastard.”
The word just slipped out.But she looked up at Ransom and meant it.“My brother didn’t do this.”
“There’s proof in my damned truck.I got pulled over, by a damned WHP just outside of Casper.Got a warning.Taillight is out.I stopped at the auto parts store by the Masterson interstate exit half an hour before I got here, to buy the parts to fix it.I have the receipt.”He looked at the commander of the WHP IA.“That good enough of an alibi for you?”
“I’ll be checking the time stamps,” Ransom said.He looked at Claudia, fury in his demon eyes.“You shouldn’t be involved in this.Not with him here.”
“Well, here I am.I got the call that there had been a shooting in my town.Of course I would be here.Joel will be here as soon as he can get here.My brother didn’t do it.I’m sure you can confirm it with one of your little lackeys.Paramedic says he’s probably been bleeding for at least a couple of hours.”
“Closer to three,” Rex said.Always there to protect his baby brother, wasn’t he?Claudia was so sick of the bull.Male cops were some of the biggest assholes across the spectrum she’d ever met.She was so sick of dealing with men likethesetwo all the time.“So…who would have a problem with this guy, who could do this?”
It was time to get started.
She sent another look at the paramedics.At the man who looked almost lifeless on the gurney.Kameron didn’t deserve this.Not him.“He is one of the best men I have ever known.I don’t know who would have wanted to hurt him.”
58
Auggie tookone look around the man’s house and smirked.“Love what you’ve done with the place.”
He hadn’t changed a single thing since the last time she’d been there—years ago.All of the photos were in the same places, same furniture.Of course, it was furniture that had been designed to last generations—not like her romp-friendly second-hand pieces.“Settled in?”
“Very funny.Ihavesettled in.I’m in the master suite now.I repainted and have my bed in there.I like a king-sized.Plenty of space to…move around.”
He shot her a wicked look from those dark green eyes of his.She knew what he meant.And her stomach tightened just thinking about it.She strongly suspected a time would come when she’d be…seeing his bedroom.
Just not tonight.She waited in his living room, stuck in the past as she remembered all the nights she’d slept over as a girl.Her best memories before she’d moved in with her aunt and uncle had mostly happened inthishouse.She’d never forget that.He went outside and came back with the diaper bag and the playpen he’d thrown in the back of his truck.“I’m thinking we can put the girls in Clancy’s room.It’s closest to the living room, and we should be able to hear them just fine.I’ll put a note on her door, if she comes in so she doesn’t wake them up.She texted that she was running late from work and Cloe was late from the hospital or one of their dates were—I’m not sure which sister is dating which Masterson at the moment, which…highly concerning here.Cloe is going to bring Clancy back to the house, Clancy will change and they are going to the party after.Will Markie be okay in the big bed?”
“She should be.We can put pillows beside her.”She held her sleeping sister in her arms.Markie was completely limp, but the fever reducer she’d given her before they’d left the inn was already starting to work.“I’ll take her to Shane Lowell in the morning, if needed.He runs a two-hour clinic on Saturdays next to the counseling center.I think I have one sick kid every other week.We’re Shane’s biggest customers now, I’m sure of it.”
“It’s a lot to juggle, but you are amazing at it.”
Within five minutes they had the playpen up in Clancy’s room—with Auggie giving him step-by-step instructions when he’d struggled—and Markie snuggled in Clancy’s full-sized bed.She rolled over on her stomach and stuck her rump right in the air, Baby Miss Missy clutched close.Auggie had removed her glasses and put them on Clancy’s nightstand, after relocating the dress Clancy had laid out for tonight to the nearby chair.Clancy was getting a bit daring with that piece of silk and lace.Wow.What was that girl up to?
