Jeb lifted his chin.“Jarod was shot.Close range.Not self-inflicted.Do you know anyone else who might’ve wanted him dead?”
“Neither of us wanted him dead,” Amka said.
“Right,” Paige said softly.“Obviously not.What about you and Jarod?There have supposedly been attempts on your life this last week.What were you and Jarod into that has you both in so much danger?”
Nothing.They weren’t even together.But if Amka admitted that, she’d have to admit to the blackmail.To what she and Flossy had done.“I’m finished talking.Arrest me or let me go.”She stood, and Daisy did the same.
Paige smiled.“I don’t think we need to do that.Not today, anyway.”
Chapter26
Christian leaned against the hood of Brock’s truck, arms crossed, gaze on the rooftops across the street.Morning light reflected off the windows and metal, throwing slivers of glare into his eyes, but he didn’t blink.He wasn’t looking for anything in particular.No scopes were aimed at them.Watching helped him think and anchored him in his body, which still felt like it hadn’t caught up from the chaos of the last twelve hours.
He didn’t like standing still.He didn’t appreciate being exposed like this, with his back uncovered and the wrong kind of quiet pressing in.But he also wasn’t ready to go inside.Not yet.
Brock stood a few feet away, boots planted, face tight.“You gonna tell me what’s going on with Amka?”
Christian didn’t move.“Somebody cut her brakes and she crashed into the river last night.Got her home, got her warmed up, and then you called me this morning to come down here.”
Brock’s chin lifted and his eyes narrowed.“Her brakes were cut?”
“I think so.She lost control on the river road because the brakes failed completely.”Christian lifted one shoulder, the smallest shrug, though anger spiraled tight in his chest.Not panic.He didn’t do panic.But whatever lived beneath his skin had teeth, and it was gnawing at him now.“We’ll have the Miller boys pull it out once they have the right equipment.”
The SUV.It was still in the river.Who had gotten to her brakes that night?He didn’t like the idea of security cameras in his town, but maybe it was time to change that thinking.
Brock’s eyes flashed.“Why didn’t you call me?”
Christian paused.A slight shift in weight, a slow exhale through his nose.The night before, he had forgotten all about the SUV the second he stepped into the shower with Amka.Then he’d stopped thinking entirely.“There was nothing you could do last night.The more immediate concern was getting her warm.”
“You’ve had a thing for her, C.I know it, just because I know you.Now her fiancé is dead after she spent the night with you?”
Christian didn’t flinch.Didn’t offer a single word.Because there was nothing to refute.Brock knew him too well.
“Still,” Brock continued, voice edged and sharp now, “you wouldn’t cross that line.Not with an engaged woman.Not even for her.”
Christian wasn’t sure that was true anymore.Even if he hadn’t known about the blackmail, that the engagement wasn’t real, he would’ve taken her home.He would’ve undressed her out of wet clothes and held her until her body stopped shaking.He wouldn’t have sent her away.Not even to keep his conscience clean.
Especially when she made the first move.Even he wasn’t that strong.“Maybe we just slept.”
“Bullshit.”Brock scrubbed a rough hand through his thick, dark hair.His jaw flexed.“What aren’t you telling me?”
Christian could feel the air change.Like a shift in barometric pressure before a storm.The blackmail sat like a lead weight in his chest as it was the perfect evidence against Amka.Brock was the sheriff, and that meant lines had to stay in place.Christian would protect his brother.“Nothing.”
Brock’s tone dropped, low and sharp as a blade.“I swear to God.You’re going back to this again?We’ve done the secrets-before-trust routine, remember that?You want another year of radio silence between us?You want to lose this again?”
Christian’s jaw flexed, a muscle twitching near his temple.That hit where it was supposed to.Direct and deep.Last year, when everything between them had fractured—when pride, grief, and too much silence had built a wall none of them could break down—that had nearly ended everything.Four brothers who loved each other but couldn’t look each other in the eye.
They’d all thought one of them had helped Hank die.And no one had talked about it.They’d let silence rot what should’ve been unbreakable.They’d been wrong, and it had taken too long to fix it.
Brock didn’t let up.“Tell me the truth.All of it.You owe me that.”
Christian exhaled through his nose and looked up, a headache forming at the base of his skull.He wouldn’t go distant with any of his brothers ever again.“Jarod was blackmailing Amka.”
Brock gave one sharp shake of his head.“Blackmailing Amka?Come on.She’s never done a thing wrong in her entire life.What in the world could Jarod have on her?”
Christian glanced toward the sheriff’s station, then back at his brother.“For what happened to Hank.”
The tension snapped between them like a cable pulled too tight.Brock straightened.“Flossy shot Hank.”
