Instead, she’d watched Gerald be shot.She’d had to leave Cal to suffer.She’d tried to protect him in the aftermath—convince Daryl he’d seen nothing, because he’d been secreted away in that cave.Done what she could in the background to try to help Marie.
But someone always suffered in pursuit of the truth.Someone always suffered at the hands of more powerful men.
In her silence, she’d done her level best to protect what she could.Jill was tied up to a chair in the cabin—not ideal, but safe.
If they just let her handle this, all would be fine.Maybe, she’d be gone at the end of it.But if she believed in some kind of afterlife—a big if—at the end of all this she’d be back with her Gerald.
That seemed too fanciful a thought for someone who had disappointed anyone and everyone.
Particularly this good man holding her up.
She wanted to tell him to run, but her mouth wouldn’t cooperate.Nothing would cooperate.
“So, let’s see which one of you ends up dead,” Everly said, curling his finger around the trigger of his gun.
Glenda tried to speak, move, but all that happened was that she felt the boy move to block her body with his.
Glenda didn’t have a chance to so much as resist before a shot exploded around them.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Bennet Ranch
“How much longerare we just going to sit here?”Jake demanded.
He didn’t know why he was listening to either Bennet brother considering he hated both their guts.More so in this moment than ever before.
Hewas the person in this situation who should be in charge.He was a damn cop.Why had he let Cal Bennet walk out of here like he had any bearing on what the hell was going on?
Whatever it was.
Maybe part of his pissed-off was that he couldn’t get a read onanyof this, except a little wriggling sensation in his gut that couldn’t let go of the possibility this all connected to his father’s death.
Which hehatedthinking, because it felt foolish and based in feeling rather than facts or reality.
He got to his feet, ready to charge out of here and get out of his own head—damn what anyone else said, when Nate spoke softly.
“He’s right.”
Everyone looked over at Nate, who’d also stood from his seat on the couch.Perhaps no one was more surprised than Jake that Nate had deigned to verbally agree with him, but everyonewassurprised.
“We gave them their time to handle this in some… sympathetic way, but it’s going on too long.If they haven’t gotten answers, it’s time for Glenda to face more than one or two people.Hayes and I will head up there.”
Jake didn’t miss the way the redhead eyed him up and down.He’d dealt with Aly Cartwright—Bennet now, he supposed—a little bit last summer when her mother had been causing problems, but they certainly didn’t know each other in any kind of personal way.
Still, he felt very muchseenwhen she eyed him like that.
“Is that a good idea?”she asked.Gently.
Like she knew exactly how and why he and Nate might have some issues.
“We’re all on the same side here,” Nate said.
In such a way it would make Jake look like a total prick to argue.
God, he really hated that guy.
“Why don’t you try to reach Jill on her landline again?”Nate told Aly.“Warn them that we’re coming.They can prepare Glenda, but we can’t just sit around waiting for answers.Maybe it’s all coincidence that Sam found the retired police officer who handled Gerald’s death dead, but add that to Everly sending Cal and Hayes on a wild goose chase… none of this adds up in any way that’s good.Let’s stop wasting time.”
