Unafraid (Amber Ridge #1)

Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

J esse leaned back in his seat, his fingertips tapping on the wooden desk.

Where was she? She was supposed to be here already. Was she stuck in traffic? Picking up something on the way to the station?

He lifted his phone.

Jesse: Hey. Are you almost at my office?

Aspen: Fifteen minutes.

Jesse: You left home ten minutes ago. You should be here now.

Aspen: Are you spying on me?

Jesse: Yes.

Aspen: You’re lucky I like you.

Jesse: Like?

Aspen: Okay, maybe a bit more than like. I’m still fifteen minutes away because I convinced Holden to stop to pick up coffee at The Tea House. If he hadn’t said yes, I wasn’t above army rolling out of a moving car. My need for coffee is equal to my need for oxygen after you kept me up so late last night.

Jesse: Fine. But no more stops. I want eyes on you. And I have a very clear memory of who kept who up last night, and it wasn’t me keeping you up.

Aspen: Totally worth it. See you soon, Mr. Grouch.

Jesse dropped the phone onto his desk. A week had passed since Aspen had been kidnapped. An entire week, and they weren’t any closer to figuring out who had drugged her at The Tea House and taken her to Dylan. Aspen had no recollection of who’d led her out the back door and the description from Karen, who’d only seen the back of the woman, had been too common—mid-twenties, brown hair tied into a ponytail, slim and average height.

He’d wanted it to be Aspen’s mother, because that would have been easy. They’d have had their person and the threat would have been taken care of. He wasn’t taking Karen off the table as a suspect though until they found the person responsible.

He blew out an exasperated breath. It had been a long week.

His desk phone rang, and he lifted it. “Yeah?”

“It’s Claudia. I found something you’re gonna find interesting, but not in a good way.”

Just what he needed. “Tell me.”

“I was going through the cameras from the Airbnb that Karen Davies booked, like you asked, and I found footage of Dylan entering the cabin through a back window. I’m guessing he didn’t realize there was surveillance footage there.”

“Not surprising. We know he was staying there. He was paying for the entire stay.”

“Yes…but this footage of him is on the night Margot was killed.”

He straightened, a bad feeling churning in his gut. “What time?”

“The same time Margot was shot…almost to the minute.”

A chill slipped over Jesse’s skin. “No. That can’t be possible. He killed Margot. He had to have killed Margot.” Because if he didn’t, it wasn’t just an accomplice of Dylan’s on the loose—it was a killer.

And it left a lot more questions than answers.

Claudia’s voice softened. “I’m sorry.”

“Send it to me.”

He hung up, but he didn’t actually need to see the footage. If Claudia said it was him, it was him. The air in his lungs moved too quickly, and his chest felt too fucking tight.

Someone else had killed Margot. Who? And why? He’d just assumed it had been Dylan making a play for Aspen, and Margot had gotten in his way. But if that wasn’t true…had Margot been the target all along? And all this time, her killer had been out there…

And he hadn’t even been looking.

Was this person the same one connected to Dylan? They couldn’t be, because Margot and Aspen weren’t connected. Were they?

There were too many unanswered questions.

The night Margot had been shot, the killer had known exactly which switch turned off the cameras and the lights. They’d also known how to enter the building and find Margot.

Shit. He’d been so focused on it being Dylan, he hadn’t put it all together…

It was someone on the inside.

The same person who’d made the formal complaint about him? That had to have been an inside job too. Who else would have known about what Jesse was prioritizing in his work life?

Was this about him rather than Aspen?

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. “Come in.”

Bea stepped inside. “Hi. I have the files you requested.” She crossed the room and set them on his desk.

“Thanks.” He barely looked up. His head was a damn mess. He was the sheriff, a former fucking Ghost Ops soldier. He should be among the best of the best. But he’d missed something, and that something was huge.

“You’re welcome. How’s Aspen doing after everything?”

He looked at the receptionist, trying to give her his attention when his mind was firmly everywhere else. “Better now that Dylan’s gone.”

“Good. He deserved to die after he killed Margot. Now we don’t have to worry about some psychopath shooting unarmed deputies.”

Jesse nodded…only to stop and frown. “How do you know she wasn’t armed?”

“Oh, um. Luke told me.” She cringed. “Sorry. He probably shouldn’t have.”

No, he shouldn’t have. Bea wasn’t a deputy, so she wasn’t privy to all the details of crime reports.

Something started to tick in his brain. Bea was close to Luke. He’d seen them together more than once. But Margot had been close to Luke too. They were connected.

Bea cocked her head. “Aspen still can’t recall who led her to Dylan?”

“No, unfortunately not.”

“Hopefully soon.” She turned.

The door opened wider and Aspen entered the office, but Jesse was focused on something else. He stared at Bea’s shoes as she stepped past Aspen. Shoes she didn’t usually wear.

Red sneakers.

Aspen sipped her coffee, only to cringe.

Hot. Really hot.

But at least it was good coffee.

She stared out the window, the frown she’d been wearing all day deepening. Something had been niggling at her mind. A dream she’d had last night. Or maybe it wasn’t a dream. Maybe it was a memory. She couldn’t get it out of her head, it was on permanent repeat.

“That’s a deep frown. I thought you liked Mrs. Gerald’s coffee.”

She turned to look at Holden behind the wheel. She still didn’t have a car, and Jesse didn’t want her walking around town by herself until Dylan’s accomplice was found.

“Oh, this coffee is the best thing to touch my tongue today. Hot, but good.” And sure, it was also the only thing to touch her tongue, due to her lack of appetite these last few days, but she was pretty sure any competing foods or drinks would lose.

Holden shot her another glance. “What’s on your mind then?”

“I had a dream last night, about the day I was kidnapped.”

Holden’s brows flickered. “Tell me about it.”

“There’s not much to tell. Everything was a blur. I could feel this person’s hands on me as they led me through the crowd. And even though I can’t understand what they said to Dylan, I remember the voice. It was female, and I woke up with this feeling like I’d heard it before, but I don’t know where.”

Holden’s fingers visibly tightened on the wheel. “It wasn’t your mother?”

She almost flinched at the mention of her mom. She hadn’t spoken to her since that phone call the day after her kidnapping. “No. It wasn’t familiar enough to be her.”

“It’s a small town. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve run into the person once or twice.”

And somehow, the person hated her enough to drug and help kidnap her? “I just don’t understand why anyone would help Dylan. I thought he was the only person who hated me enough to hurt me like that. Then I thought maybe he was paying someone, but the deputies looked into his accounts and there were no big withdrawals or transfers.”

It didn’t make sense. Any of it.

“Unfortunately,” Holden said quietly, voice hard, “I’ve learned that some people need little to no incentive to do really shitty things. But when Jesse finds them, you’ll get your motive.”

She nodded almost absently as Holden pulled up in front of the sheriff’s station. He started unbuckling his seat belt, but she shook her head. “You don’t need to come in.”

“Aspen—”

“You’ve been driving me around all week. You’ve done enough, and I know you’re on a deadline with a cabinet you’re making.”

He’d already gotten so much work here in Amber Ridge. Not that she was surprised—she’d seen his woodwork. He was good at what he did.

She slipped off her seat belt and opened her door. “You can watch me go all the way inside though.”

His gaze moved around the station before returning to her. “I will.”

“Thanks again for picking me up.” She lifted both her and Jesse’s coffees. “Hopefully I won’t need you to take me places much longer.”

He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t mind.”

Yeah, but he shouldn’t have to.

She smiled before climbing out of the car and heading into the station. The front desk was empty as she passed, and Jesse’s door was half closed. She knocked before stepping inside.

Aspen smiled at Bea as the other woman walked toward the door. “Bea! Hi.”

“Hi, Aspen. Jesse was just saying you’re doing a bit better.”

She stopped, her belly doing a strange roll. Bea’s voice…why did it make every hair on her body stand on end?

She glanced at Jesse, but he wasn’t looking at her. She followed his gaze to Bea’s shoes.

Red sneakers. Familiar sneakers.

Aspen gasped, stumbling back a step.

Bea frowned. “Are you—”

“ You .” Aspen’s gaze flashed back up to Bea. “ You hit me the night Margot was killed, and you took me to Dylan the day he kidnapped me!”

Anger, shock, and maybe a bit of fear flashed over Bea’s features—then everyone moved so quickly that Aspen didn’t have time to comprehend what was happening.

One second she was standing there, facing Bea; the next, Jesse was reaching into his holster while Bea kicked the door closed, grabbed Aspen around the neck and swung behind her, causing one of the coffees to drop to the floor. A gun was pressed to her temple the same time as Jesse aimed his Glock.

Air stalled in Aspen’s chest.

“I knew it was a good idea to start carrying,” Bea said.

Jesse’s eyes were black with rage. “What’s the plan, Bea? You’re in the sheriff’s office. You kill either of us, a shitload of armed deputies come in here and arrest you.”

Bea’s arm tightened around her neck. “I’ve got a go-bag in my car. I just need to get to my vehicle before they stop me.”

“Not gonna happen.” Jesse rounded his desk, gun still trained on Bea.

“Why?” Aspen whispered, so confused she wanted to scream. “I barely know you. Why would you help Dylan? Why would you kill another deputy?”

“Because I love him.”

Aspen frowned. “Who?”

It was Jesse who answered. “Luke.”

Bea inched back a step. “Yes. And he said he loved me . But then he went back to that whore, Margot! I was so angry and hurt, I could barely function.”

“So you killed her?” Aspen gasped.

“With everyone so fixated on Dylan, and with you working here in the station, it was easy. I knew everyone would suspect it was him.” She paused before sneering, “And our new sheriff would look incompetent by allowing one of his deputies to be murdered in his own station, right under his nose. I lodged a complaint against you the next day, thinking Luke would get the job that should have been his all along, and with Margot out of the picture, he’d come back to me. It was so fucking perfect!”

Jesus. Her plan was so detailed.

“So you wanted me out so Luke would be in,” Jesse said.

“Yes! How dare you walk back into this town after being away for years and just take a job that was rightfully his! He’s been here , serving the community all along.”

“He didn’t want—”

“It wasn’t fair!” Bea cried, cutting off Jesse’s words. “ He should have been sheriff. His office would have been right next to my desk instead of next to Margot’s.”

The cold metal pressed harder against Aspen’s temple. She swallowed before asking, “Why drug me though? Why help Dylan?”

“I asked Luke to meet me at a motel. He didn’t show, and when I was leaving, I saw your mom and Dylan fighting. I saw how angry he was. Well, I was angry too. Angry that my complaint had accomplished nothing. Angry that Jesse was still sheriff and Luke still didn’t want me. I knew losing you would tip Jesse over the edge. And with Luke as sheriff, he’d work more closely with me. He’d come back to me eventually.”

She did all of this for unrequited love.

“It’s over, Bea,” Jesse said quietly. “Put down the gun.”

Bea laughed, but the sound was almost hysterical. “You really think I’d just put down my gun and give up? It would mean everything I’ve done was for nothing !”

Jesse inched another step forward. “You know there’s no way out of this.”

“There is…but not for either of you.”

Jesse’s eyes narrowed. “Bea—”

The door behind them opened, and Luke’s voice sounded. “Jesse, I— What the fuck?”

Aspen yanked the lid off the coffee in her hand and threw it over her shoulder into Bea’s face.

Drops of scalding liquid splattered onto Aspen’s neck and cheek, but she ignored the burn as Bea screamed. The second she moved the gun to grab at her face, Luke tackled her to the floor.

Jesse was across the room in a second, cupping her face and looking intensely into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

She wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in, air whooshing from her chest. “I’m okay.” Her gaze moved to Bea, struggling beneath Luke on the floor.

This entire time, it had been her…and no one knew.

“It’s over.” There was a thread of disbelief in her words.

“It’s over,” Jesse breathed.