He leaned back, releasing her wrist, but his thoughts wouldn’t let her go. Unfinished business. She’d nailed it. Andhe couldn’t help but wonder—if they finally got answers about Harris, if the truth was dragged out into the light, what would that mean for the two of them?
They couldn’t just rewind the years and pick up where they’d left off. Too much had happened. Too much had scarred them.
But maybe, just maybe, he could finally look at Isla without guilt tearing him apart for wanting her.
And God help him, he wanted her still.
The murmur of voices carried from the bullpen, breaking the charged silence. Isla eased back, her mouth pressed into a thin line, and Garrett rose to his feet, squaring his shoulders as the door opened.
Sheriff Raines stepped in first, his expression grim, and right behind him came Paula.
She looked wrecked. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, her hands twisting together so tightly the knuckles blanched. “I can’t stop shaking,” she said, her voice ragged. “There was a gunman on my property. He tried to kill three people.”
Garrett’s jaw ticked. Three people. Him. Isla. The old man who had nearly died because of it.
He cut a glance to Raines. The sheriff’s mouth was set in a hard line. “She’s insisted she didn’t see the shooter and doesn’t know who it is.”
Paula nodded quickly, almost too quickly. “That’s the truth. I didn’t see them. I don’t know who would do something like this.” Her voice cracked, and her eyes darted between Garrett and Isla, as if searching for someone to believe her.
Garrett didn’t give her anything. Not yet.
Because truth or lie, he intended to find out what the hell Paula was hiding.
Paula’s gaze skittered over him, then to Isla. “Are you both all right?” she asked, her voice thin and trembling.
“We’re fine,” Garrett said, his tone flat.
Isla gave a small nod beside him.
Paula let out a ragged sob, pressing her fingers to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. First Trudy, and now this.” Her breath hitched. “Do you think it’s connected?”
Garrett’s certainty burned like steel in his gut. Of course it was connected. Harris, Trudy, the files, the attack on the ranch. Pieces of the same puzzle.
But he held his tongue and looked at the sheriff instead.
Raines shifted his weight, his tone measured. “We’re looking into it.”
Paula’s hands twisted tighter. Her shoulders hunched as if she were bracing herself for what would come next.
Garrett’s eyes stayed on her, cold and unblinking. Because whether she knew it or not, she was right in the center of it.
Paula sniffed hard and wiped at her eyes. Then she turned to the sheriff, her voice sharpening with a desperate edge. “You should be looking at Leah and Randall’s daughter. Anais. I think she’s the one trying to kill them. Trying to kill me.”
Garrett’s jaw tightened, but he stayed silent, waiting to hear where she was going with this.
“She has ties to a militia group,” Paula went on, wringing her hands. “Some fringe outfit outside San Antonio. I don’t know how deep she’s in, but I’ve seen her posts online. Paramilitary talk, anti-government rants, the whole thing. She’s dangerous.”
Raines studied her with that steady sheriff’s stare that gave away nothing. “When I took your statement at your place, I asked you about that drone photo.”
Paula’s mouth pinched. “I told you then, and I’ll tell you now, I have no idea who that is. Probably just a trespasser.People canoe or boat the creek sometimes, and they’ll stop on my property. I cannot control that.”
Her eyes flicked toward Garrett and Isla, wide with something that looked like fear. “If it is Harris… I have no idea why he would be there. None.”
Garrett held her gaze, cold and steady. Inside, his gut told him one thing. Paula was either a hell of a liar, or she was hiding behind half-truths that still circled back to Harris.
Paula shifted her weight, clutching her arms tight to her chest. “The sheriff told me that Anais claimed I aimed a gun at her.” Her voice broke into a sharper pitch. “That’s a lie. I never aimed a gun at anyone, and I’ve never even met that young woman.”
Beside Garrett, Isla tilted her head, her tone sharp enough to slice. “If you’ve never met her, then why were you digging into her background?”
