12
TEN MINUTES LATER,Zane fought the desire to pull Tessa behind him as Craig Brown greeted them on his front porch, rifle in hand. While Adam Campbell tried to convince him to set the weapon down so they could have a civil conversation, Zane and Tessa remained several feet away.
Tessa stood beside him and muttered, “Don’t even think about it.”
“What?”
“Bubble Wrap.”
“I’m going to buy it by the truckload.”
She scoffed but said no more, and Zane returned his focus to the contrasting images of Craig Brown and Adam Campbell. Adam looked like an actor portraying a local detective. He could have walked right off a photo shoot.
Craig had the look of a man at least two decades older than his forty-two years. His hair was thinning and greasy. His shirt needed to be laundered a month ago. His pants were beyond redemption. His bare feet were several shades darker than his natural skin tone. His hands yellowed from nicotine. Zane didn’t relish getting close enough to take a whiff.
But for all that, it was Craig Brown’s eyes that gave Zane pause. They held a dangerous glint when he spoke to Adam, but whenhis gaze landed on Tessa, they filled with a predatory gleam that put every protective instinct in Zane’s body on red alert.
“I don’t have to talk to you.” Craig pitched his voice loud enough to carry to the neighbor’s, a quarter mile away. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You are part of a group that has publicly and repeatedly threatened the president of the United States.” Adam leaned against the porch post. “Put the gun away, Craig, or I’ll have to add threatening a law enforcement officer to the mix.”
Craig sneered at Adam. “I know who you are, pretty-boy cop. You have no idea what it’s like to have the powerful turn against you. You’ve never needed to rely on others to support you. You don’t know the meaning of loyalty. We’re loyal beyond the grave. We’re going to be sure no one else dies at the hands of a twisted legal system.”
“So, are you saying you plan to attack the president of the United States?” Adam’s question was so conversational, Zane thought he might get Craig to admit it on the spot.
But Craig’s eyes lit with harsh humor, and he laughed until his lungs protested. He wound up coughing for a solid thirty seconds. “You’re funny. I don’t plan anything, Investigator Campbell. I go where the wind takes me.”
Adam took a step closer to Craig. “Make sure the wind doesn’t take you to Raleigh anytime soon.”
“Is that a threat? You trying to limit my freedoms?”
“No.” Adam’s smile was chilling, and Zane saw the steel of the man behind the pretty-boy façade. “I believe we’re all free to make our own decisions. But if you decide to go to Raleigh, you’ll be detained. That isn’t a threat. That’s a fact.”
Adam jerked his thumb toward the bottom of the steps where Zane stood with Tessa. “Those two don’t play. If you want tocontinue to be free to protest anything and everything, I suggest you pay attention. This is the only warning you’ll receive.”
“Get off my property, Officer.” Craig hitched the rifle onto his hip. “Unless you have a warrant for my arrest, we’re done.”
Adam backed down the steps but paused at the bottom. “Oh, Mr. Brown?”
“What?” The question was harsh and guttural.
“See my car over there?”
“What about it?”
“My car belongs to the Carrington County Sheriff’s Office. We have dash cams in every vehicle.”
“So what?” Craig’s tone had lost some of its earlier bravado.
“Nothing much. Just making sure you know what’s at stake.”
Craig’s response was to step back inside and slam the door.
Adam didn’t speak until they were all in his car. Tessa took shotgun. Zane climbed in behind Adam. “That went about as well as expected.”
“He’s a real charmer.” Tessa turned in her seat to see Zane. “Did you catch that, about the wind?”
“I don’t like it.” Zane filled Adam in on Bruce’s warning.
