Ricky raised the gun in his hand. "If there are no witnesses…"
"Oh, but there are," Jayden said as he stood. He was a little uncomfortable standing in front of the man in all his naked glory, but he doubted the man would let him get dressed. "The sheriff has you on videotape breaking into my car and stealing my stuff. You're going to be the first person he starts looking to for answers."
Ricky snorted. "That jackass couldn't find a clue with a roadmap and a hand grenade."
"Oh, I think I'm a little better than that."
"Sheriff Riley," Jayden called out, not sure where the man was standing. Jayden couldn't see him anywhere in the room. "He has a gun."
"So do I," the sheriff replied.
"I have one, as well," someone else answered.
"Me, too."
"I have two guns."
"Mine's a shotgun."
On and on it went until Jayden counted eight different voices, and they were coming from all around him. He just couldn't see anyone. Honestly, that kind of creeped Jayden out a little bit.
A very unmanly squeak came out of him when Ricky grabbed him. He tried to scramble away, but Ricky had at least fifty pounds on him. Before he could get away, Ricky's arm wrapped around his throat, making it hard to breathe.
The gun jabbed into his side didn't help.
"Come out where I can see you!" Ricky shouted. "Or I'll kill him."
The bedroom door opened very slowly, and then Sheriff Riley stepped into the room. The gun in his hand looked a hell of a lot bigger than the one Ricky had.
"Hello, Ricky," the sheriff said. "I've been looking for you."
"I didn't do anything," Ricky said quickly. "Jayden is lying."
The sheriff glanced down at Wilson. "Then what happened to him?"
"He jumped me," Ricky insisted. "I was merely defending myself."
"You lying sack of shit!" Jayden snapped. "We were sleeping, and you broke into our house. You killed Wilson when he tried to defend us after you started shooting at us."
He grunted when Ricky jammed his gun harder into his side.
"So, you're saying this is all the senator's fault?"
"Yes, yes!" Ricky shouted. "It was all his fault."
"You're lying!" Jayden shouted right back.
The sheriff rubbed his chin. "As I understand it, you are both reporters who used to work for the same newspaper. My experience has been that reporters will lie to get their story, so I'm not sure which one of you to believe." Jayden's jaw dropped as he stared at the sheriff. Was this some sort of game the man was playing? If it was, Jayden might have to rethink living in Cade Creek. "I quit. Ricky got fired."
"I'm a respected journalist," Ricky said. "You're nothing but a butt-fucking pillow biter."
"Funny, so am I," said a deep voice from behind them.
Jayden screamed as he was shoved—hard—stumbling forward, falling face first onto the floor. Before he could get back up, he was grabbed and pulled across the floor. A body came down on top of him, covering him as fighting broke out in the room. Jayden struggled to get free. His heart thundered in his chest, painfully, rapidly.
"Jayden, Jayden. It's me, love."
Jayden stilled. "Wilson?"
