Chapter Forty-Three
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Nina
“YOU CAN’T TAKE ME off this case!” Sheriff Wilson yells. I’m almost certain he’s been holding that in since the interview began. Through most of the interrogation, Wilson kept his eyes glued to the floor, arms crossed tightly over his chest, listening to Nick. He analyzed every word Nick said, looking for anything he could use against him, instead of anything that might help the case.
I stared past my husband directly at the sheriff, watching for any confirmation of what Nick said earlier. I wondered if he really could be involved. Beau had questioned things about him before, but how do you accuse a fellow officer when you have no concrete evidence? All we had was a gut feeling, which now seemed spot on.
The final time Wilson looked up was when Nick mentioned the name “Red.” He glared at the back of Nick’s head before his eyes met mine. There was so much anger and fear in those cold blue eyes. It was at that moment, I knew he was involved. How involved? I don’t know, but he knows something. I’m sure of it.
“I’m the one who brought you in. I’m—”
“Actually,” Sergeant Warren interrupts him. “Beau brought me in. While you were pussyfootin’ around, he was the one who recognized this was going to take more manpower than you could offer.”
Sheriff Wilson’s next argument falls short. When he looks around the room, he meets the gaze of everyone except my husband. Nick doesn’t look up from his hands. Wilson scoffs. “This is ridiculous.”
“You know this Joseph Blackwood?” Warren asks him. “You don’t live far from Bezer, right? That’s a pretty small community. You’ve probably run into him up there.”
“Just because I live around there doesn’t mean—”
“Yes or no, Rhett?” the sergeant demands, but Wilson doesn’t reply. “You can either answer me right here or from the other side of an interrogation table. Your choice, Wilson.”
“Excuse me?” Sheriff Wilson hisses.
“You heard me.”
I look between the two men, then at Beau, whose eyes are locked on Wilson. I still feel like I’ve missed something. There has been a silent conversation between Beau and Warren this entire interrogation, one that I wish I had been included in.
Wilson chuckles humorlessly. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Sarge. What has your panties in a wad, huh?”
Nick tenses when Wilson steps off the wall, closer to him. I reach over, taking his hand, but he doesn’t notice. His fist is clenched so tight that I’m sure his nails will leave indents in his skin. Slowly, I work his fingers away from the meat of his palm and lace mine through his, breaking whatever spell he’s under. Nick looks at our hands, and I offer him a brief smile when he looks at me.
Warren looks up from his phone with a smile in the corner of his mouth and nods to Max. When Max opens the door, two men stand on the other side with badges draped around their necks. They look a lot like other detectives I’ve seen around the sergeant. The taller of the two says, “Rhett Wilson, you’re under arrest.”
Nick squeezes my hand.
“Under arrest?” Wilson’s voice booms through the office. “I’m the Sheriff of Puck—”
“Save it for the jury,” the shorter one says.
“Get the hell off me,” Wilson says when they reach for him. “What are the charges? You can’t—”
“You wanna go there, Rhett?” The same one says with a cocked brow.
“Yes! You have no right to come in and—”
The taller one begins rattling off a list of offenses and looks bored as he does so. “Conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, possession and trafficking of drugs, conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice, extortion, bribery, and tampering with evidence.”
Wilson struggles against the two men when they turn him around and push him against the wall. One finally pulls the sheriff’s hands behind his back, and the other reads his rights as they drag him out the door.
“That went better than expected,” Beau says, shaking hands with Warren.
“You knew what was happening?” I turn around so fast that I think I give myself whiplash.
Beau lifts his phone. “We’ve been in contact with a few guys on the outside.”
“I already had two guys on their way out to Bezer this morning,” Sergeant Warren says. “I wanted them to sit down with Joseph and Sloan and find out what they knew. They were right outside of town when Nick said he recognized Rhett, so I put a word out to them to get their asses in gear. They said Sloan was tough to crack, but Joseph provided the names of the men who attacked Nick and confirmed Rhett knows ’em. He confirmed a lot of what Nick just said in his statement. Commissioner gave the green light to take Rhett into custody and the signed warrant came right on time.” He lifts his phone. “We’ve put a BOLO out for the other two.”
“Cooper Hayes and Dakota,” Nick says.
“Dakota Thompson, yes.” Sergeant Warren stands from his seat on the cabinet and cracks his neck. “Thank you for your help, Mr. Davis. I don’t know who you’ve got lookin’ out for you, but you got lucky. We’ve been after those boys for a while, but couldn’t get anything to stick. Now, I think we know why.” He reaches over me to shake Nick’s hand before squeezing my shoulder. “Beau, I’ll be in touch,” Warren says, waving over his shoulder. He lifts his phone to his ear as he leaves.
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but that’s enough excitement for the next ten years,” Beau says when Sergeant Warren is gone. He scrubs a hand down his face and lifts his feet onto the corner of his desk.
I squeeze Nick’s thigh. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Please.” Nick sighs, wiping his palms on his thighs before standing.
“I’ll be out in a minute, okay? I need to talk to Beau.”
Nick looks between us before he holds his gaze on Beau. Admittedly, I’m a little scared of whatever he might say. “Thank you…For not giving up and keeping her out of trouble.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Beau says, his feet falling from his desk.
“No, I’d expect not.” After a small laugh, Nick gnaws on his bottom lip and looks back to me. “Had something happened to her—”
“We’re just glad you’re home.”
My husband looks at the sheriff, who offers him a genuine smile. Nick nods once before he kisses me and follows Max out of the office.
When I turn back to Beau, he’s already on the other side of his desk. With his hands on his hips, he stands barely a foot from me but doesn’t come any closer. “Does this mean I get to keep my job?”
“I suppose it does.” I laugh and take a small step forward, happy when he doesn’t move away. “Thank you, Beau. For everything.”
“Happy to be of service.”
A silence falls between us because neither of us knows what to say. There is so much left unsaid, but now that Nick is back…None of it matters, not anymore.
“Nina—”
“I should go,” I say, because I have to. There is no more space for conversation outside of Beau Turner, Sheriff of Spruce County, and Davina Villa, resident of his jurisdiction.
“Right.” Beau nods, taking a step back. “Yeah, you’re right.”
I close the gap between us, pulling him into a tight embrace, and his arms wind around me. He squeezes me and inhales before I feel his lips on my forehead.
“Take care of yourself, Sweetheart.”
When we part, I walk to the door, pausing at the threshold. “Beau?” He looks up. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Green eyes soften when Beau smiles. “I’ll see you around, Nin.”