“What happened?” Kurt’s voice was sharp.
“Nothing major. Knife to the shoulder.” The asshole guard at the compound had gotten a cut in before Todd knocked the guy out and took his rifle.
“Jesus, Brennan.” An aggrieved sigh. “All right, hang tight.”
“Roger that.” Todd slipped the phone into his jacket pocket.
“He found someone?” Lindsey reached for the stack of napkins perched on his thigh, the faint pressure of her fingers enough to send a zing of excitement up his leg.
He nodded. “One of the guys I work with got into some trouble as a teen here in Montana and she was his lawyer. If Scott recommends her, that’s about as good as it gets.”
“All right. Now what?”
Was Lindsey starting to trust him again? He looked around, but they were still alone. “Kurt will call back with details.”
They ate their snacks in silence. His body and brain felt numb. Pete was dead. Justice had been delivered, but Todd couldn’t process it. He wanted to go back to how things were before. Before Lindsey realized he’d been hiding his motives from her. Before she’d watched him shoot a man in the chest. Before she’d learned that her best friend was a two-faced, murderous bitch.
“I’m sorry about Megan,” he said.
Lindsey nodded, her eyes blinking rapidly before she dropped the chip in her hand and took a shaky breath. “Me too. I feel like a fool.”
“Don’t.”
“How did I not know?”
He managed to keep his hands to himself as he said, “Probably the same way I didn’t know Pete was capable of killing his own wife. My cousin.”
She gasped. “He killed her? Why?”
Todd rubbed his forehead and took a sip of the Coke. He owed her this. “He was an angry drunk. Probably had PTSD or something, but would never get help. They lived about half an hour from me, and she had called for help a few times before. I’d always managed to talk him down, get him out of the house until he sobered up. So when she texted this time, and refused to call the police, as usual, I grabbed my friend Jason and drove over.”
Lindsey’s dark brows twisted.
“Pete was more agitated than I’ve ever seen. I tried to calm and distract him while Jason hustled Bethany and their son Austin out the back door. But Pete noticed and lost his shit. He pulled a gun and started shooting. I jumped him, but…I was too late.” Todd’s heart pounded in his chest like a trapped animal. His throat tightened.
He’d failed them. All of them.
Bethany.
Jason.
Austin.
Even Pete.
Lindsey lay a hand on Todd’s thigh, unable to go another second without offering whatever comfort she had to give. Her touch seemed to startle him out of the dark thoughts that had turned his entire body rigid. He glanced around the room, eyes a bit wild.
They were still alone.
After a few beats, he covered her hand with his own, his fingers uncharacteristically cold. “Bethany died instantly,” he said, his voice scorched.
Lindsey sucked in a breath. Oh, God. What an awful thing to witness, to feel responsible for.
“We grew up together. So close she was more like a sister. And I had to tell my aunt and uncle...” He stared at the seat in front of him.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, feeling wholly inadequate.
“Jason survived, but it was a close thing.” Todd clenched his jaw. “He was still in the hospital when I left town. His leg is now held together with rods and pins, and I have no idea what his future looks like.”
