“Not your concern,” the sheriff says. “You heard the man. He’s offering you a get-out-of-jail card, and he’s asking for very little in return.”
Nate takes his time thinking, although it should be a no-brainer. Nothing would surprise Will about this man, including his attempt to think of another way to cause trouble.
Finally, Nate nods. “Fine. I’ll speak with the mayor and tell him what you want. When can I get out of here?”
“I’ll bring the phone over so you can call him,” the sheriff says.
“Wait, not face-to-face?”
“Where I can’t keep my eye on you? No, those days are over.”
The sheriff exits the holding area, leaving Will alone with Nate. As he looks at the skinny little man behind bars, it’s hard to imagine someone like him being capable of causing so much chaos.
“You look like you want to kill me,” Nate says.
“I do, but I think you’ll have too much fun in hell.”
Nate snorts. “Good one.” His face sobers. “I’m sorry about how I treated Owen. He just got caught up in this.”
“In what?”
“In you and me.”
Will is too tired for this shit. “There was never you and me, just me being weak and you taking advantage of that.”
Nate shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. It happened. I won’t apologize.”
And Will doesn’t want him to. He was as much to blame in their sick arrangement, though that doesn’t mean their intentions were the same.
The sheriff returns with a cordless phone. “I wrote the number on this note. Put the call on speaker. Tell him that a neighbor called the police about a noise, and we got there in time to take out those two dealers and save Owen. That’s it.”
Nate takes the phone and the note. He hesitates before dialing, but he finally makes the call.
Will’s heart beats faster at the sound of the dial. Since Nate is inside the locked cell, it gives him enough time to tell the mayor they are on to him before they can take the phone back.
Veronica answers the call, her voice flat and lifeless. “Mayor Walker’s residence.”
“Hey, it’s Nate. Can I speak with the mayor?”
“He has been looking for you. Wait on the line.”
Nate chews on his bottom lip as he waits, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Nate?”
Will tenses at the sound of Ray’s voice. He has the ability to sound judgmental and dissatisfied no matter what he says.
“Hello, sir. Sorry for not calling sooner. Things have been hectic around here.”
“What the hell happened at Eminence?”
“Well, you didn’t tell me what you had planned.” He watches the sheriff as he says that, as if to bring the point home that he wasn’t involved.
“I don’t report my actions to you, Nate. What happened?”
“A neighbor called the police because of the noise. When the cops got there, those two idiots who work for you started shooting. They were killed, and Owen was rescued. He doesn’t know of your involvement. No one knows.”
The mayor goes quiet for a long moment before saying, “Why isn’t this being reported as a kidnapping event? Someone is trying to keep it under the radar. It’s suspicious.”
