Steel gray eyes and a sneering face sent a chill through her.
“Is this the man who shot your brother, Emily?”
* * *
Emily bracedherself as she studied the man. His was a face she’d never wanted to see again. The face that haunted her dreams.
“Yes.” The word came out as little more than a whisper.
Jake’s arm tightened around her, and she turned into his embrace.Jake.He understood her so well and was quick to offer comfort.
And every time, she accepted that comfort. Except for yesterday afternoon when she’d pushed him away and been miserable afterward. Not only because she’d hurt Jake but because she’d felt so alone.
She let Jake lift her into the truck, where she sat silent during the short ride to the Kennewick police department. Dealing with the legality of jurisdictions before transporting Robert’s prisoner to Spokane took forever. At least it gave Jake time to ice his head—where it had hit the concrete—and his jaw that received multiple punches, before making the long ride to Spokane.
She’d tried to insist he not drive, but he’d pointed out if he didn’t drive, they would have to ride with Robert and his prisoner. Emily did not want to go anywhere near the man who killed her brother and probably her father, so she’d dropped the argument. She kept a close eye on him as he drove though. The man was tough as nails, but he probably had a concussion.
When they arrived at the Spokane police station, Detective McIntyre met them out front. Robert turned his prisoner over to officers for booking on charges of murder and assault. A short time later, they crowded around the detective’s desk as he inserted the thumb drive into his computer.
Emily didn’t want to know what was on it, but she couldn’t look away. She had to know what had gotten her father and brother killed.
Four sets of eyes stared at the computer as Detective McIntyre opened the single file on the thumb drive. Emily’s brow wrinkled in confusion as a series of documents opened.
Robert was the first to speak. “What are we looking at?”
It was a few moments before anyone answered. Finally, Detective McIntyre spoke up. “They look like financial records for...”
“For Andertech Solutions,” Emily gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. From the few things she’d seen on the computer, it was clear who was responsible for her dad’s and Cameron’s deaths, and it made her stomach turn.
How could he?He’d been her father’s best friend for over thirty years. She’d eaten dinner at this man’s house and spent holidays with him and his family. He’d expressed such heartfelt condolences at her father’s funeral and at the news of her brother’s death.
Emily’s chest tightened, and she struggled to breathe. Her stomach churned again. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Jake knelt beside her chair and pulled her against him. “Take a deep breath.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “It’s Maxwell Garrison, isn’t it?”
She nodded, with her cheek pressed to his shirt. After a few moments, she pulled away but covered her face with her hand. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the screen again. She didn’t need to. Robert’s and the detective’s quiet murmurs of personal financial records, embezzlement, and gambling penetrated the buzzing in her ears.
Unable to take anymore, she grabbed Jake’s arm. “Take me home, please?”
Jake helped her to her feet as Detective McIntyre and Robert gave Emily a compassionate look. The walk to Jake’s truck took an eternity. He paused before starting the engine.
“We’re still not sure you’re out of danger, Emily. By home, I assume you want me to take you back to the ranch?”
“Yes, I want to go the ranch.”
The ranch had become her refuge. She felt safe there. Even though no one had said the words, Emily felt loved at the ranch. Faith had been so kind and taken such good care of her. And Jake. Jake had become her rock.
She knew she couldn’t stay at the ranch forever, but while her life continued to crumble down around her, she wanted to be in the one place where no one would hurt her.
But that wasn’t true.
She cared for Jake so strongly, that if he ever rejected her, it would devastate her. Could she bear that kind of pain on top of everything else she’d lost?
Yet, she would end up hurting him when she left the ranch.
And she needed to leave. Soon.
* * *
