Chapter Twelve
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The Crossfire Creek Police Department sat tucked behind a row of cypress trees, a squat limestone building with narrow windows and a parking lot barely big enough for six cruisers.
It was clean, quiet, and deceptively low-key.
Inside, it smelled faintly of coffee and old paper, and the cool air hit Eli as he stepped through the door with Delaney.
Sheriff Arden Chase met them just inside the small lobby. She wore tactical pants, boots, and a gray polo with the department’s star embroidered on the chest. Her close-cropped blond hair made her striking, and the lines around her eyes said she’d seen more than her share of hard things.
Eli had already read her file and knew she was more than suited for the job. She’d served in the Marines and spent six years at Maverick Ops before being elected sheriff nearly a decade ago.
She stepped forward and extended her hand. “Sheriff Arden Chase. You must be Eli Tarrant.”
He shook her hand. “That’s right. And this is Delaney Hart.”
“Appreciate you both coming in,” Arden said, shaking Delaney’s hand next. “Wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Same,” Delaney replied.
“We’ve got your guy in holding,” the sheriff let them know. “He hasn’t said much since asking for you. Room’s prepped, and he’s been Mirandized.”
“Has he called for a lawyer?” Delaney asked.
“Nope.” Arden sounded just as surprised as Eli was about that. “Not sure if that means he’s just not very bright or if he’s got something up his sleeve.” She scowled. “My guess is door number two.”
Yeah, Eli felt the same. Men like Wade didn’t talk unless they thought it could do them some good.
“Just say the word,” the sheriff added, “and I’ll take you back to interview.”
Eli gave her a quick nod. “Let’s do it.”
Arden tipped her head toward the hallway. “This way.”
As they followed her down the corridor, Eli felt the pressure tighten around his ribs. Answers might be coming. He just hoped they were the right ones.
Just as they reached the door to the interview room, footsteps echoed down the hallway. Eli turned as Noah appeared, his phone in one hand, his expression sharp and unreadable.
“I’ll observe with the sheriff,” Noah said.
Sheriff Chase opened the door to the observation room and nodded to Eli and Delaney before stepping in behind Noah. Eli gave a quick nod in return, then went into the interview room with Delaney.
As expected, Wade Kessler was already there, kicked back in the chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. His posture was loose, confident, like he thought this was some kind of game. His gaze flicked from Eli to Delaney, then locked on the fresh bandage on her arm.
A smirk curled his lips.
Eli didn’t react. Not on the outside. But inside, fire lit through him. His pulse thudded hard, and his fists clenched before he could stop them. The urge to cross the room and plant the asshole onto the floor was almost overwhelming.
Instead, Eli forced himself to move slowly, stepping behind the chair across from Wade and resting his hands on the metal back. He didn’t sit. Didn’t speak.
Delaney did. She slid into her seat, calm and composed, even though Eli knew her arm had to be aching.
“You said you wanted to talk,” she said. “So talk.”
Wade leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. His voice came slick and full of mock sincerity. “Oh, I’ll talk. But first, I want something in return. I want a deal.”
Eli arched a brow. “Then you should be talking to the sheriff and the DA, not us.”
Wade waved a hand like he was swatting away a fly. “Nah. You’re part of the deal. I want you both to tell them I wasn’t trying to kill you. Just scare you. Put a little heat on, that’s all.”
Eli’s stomach tightened into a rock-hard knot, and his anger boiled up even more. He exchanged a glance with Delaney, saw the fire behind her eyes, and knew his own expression matched it.
Delaney leaned forward, voice low and tight. “You shot me.”
Wade didn’t even blink. “If I’d wanted you dead, you would be.”
Eli’s hand tightened on the chair back. It took everything he had not to lunge across the table. His voice was cold, each word clipped. “That’s your defense? That you were playing a game with live ammo?”
“Call it what you want,” Wade said with a shrug. “But if I’m going to tell you anything, I want a guarantee I’m not going to rot in a cell for the rest of my life.”
Eli’s jaw clenched so hard it ached. He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table as he stared Wade down.
“You deserve to rot behind bars,” Eli snarled. “So start talking. Who hired you?”
Wade’s lips curled into a smug smile. “Now see, that’s my bargaining chip. I’ll give you a name, but only if you back off the attempted murder charges.”
Eli looked at Delaney. She didn’t need words. He could see it in her eyes. She was ready. He gave a single nod, stepping back so she could take the lead. As a former FBI agent, she had training and instincts that could get more out of this dirtbag than he could by sheer force of will.
Delaney met his gaze without a hint of emotion. Her voice was calm but sharp.
“How do we know you won’t just feed us a load of bullshit?” she asked, and she had managed some of Wade’s own smugness.
Wade leaned back, fingers tapping on the table like he was drumming to a song only he could hear. “You don’t. That’s the game. But if I were lying, I wouldn’t be sitting here trying to deal. I’d be lawyering up.”
Eli didn’t believe that for a second, but he stayed quiet, watching Wade, watching Delaney. She was in control now.
Delaney didn’t break eye contact with Wade. She folded her arms on the table and leaned in just slightly, her voice low and steady.
“You think you’re clever,” she said. “But if you really were, you wouldn’t have missed. You’d be in Mexico or dead instead of sitting here, boxed in and bluffing like a second-rate con.”
Wade’s tapping fingers paused.
Eli noticed the shift immediately. Delaney had found the bruise to press on.
“You want to cut a deal?” she went on. “You better give us something real. Otherwise, you’re just another armed asshole who couldn’t finish the job and got caught crying for a break.”
Wade’s jaw flexed. “I didn’t cry for anything.”
“No?” Delaney lifted a brow. “Then maybe you’ll be fine sitting in a cage for the rest of your life while whoever hired you walks away clean. Someone like Hale. Or Lawrence Melborne. Or maybe even Maddox. You’re just muscle. A tool. And disposable. They won’t come for you.”
Wade’s smile faltered, and Eli saw the first crack. The man was rattled. If they pushed just right, he might give them something useful.
“The person who hired you already knows you’re in custody,” Delaney went on. “And if they haven’t made a move to protect you, that tells me exactly how much you’re worth to them.”
Delaney didn’t even flinch when Wade slammed his fist down on the table. The sound echoed through the interview room, but she just blinked at him, calm and composed.
Eli tensed, every instinct ready to intervene, but he forced himself to stay still. Wade was unraveling, and Delaney had him right where she wanted.
Wade leaned forward, teeth bared in a snarl. “It was the bitch, all right? Vivian Camden. She’s the one who hired me.”
Eli’s heart slammed once against his ribs. He fought to keep his expression neutral, but the shock rippled through him. Vivian? Of all the suspects, she hadn’t been high on his list.
Delaney held up a hand, her voice suddenly quiet. “Say that again.”
Wade was breathing hard now, angry and clearly not thinking straight. “Vivian. She wanted a scare put into that place where rich bitches go to deal with their boo-hooing problems. You two just got in the way,” he added with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Eli exchanged a glance with Delaney. This could be a lie. It could be a setup. But if Wade was telling the truth, everything they thought they knew about this case had just shifted hard.
Delaney’s voice stayed even. “Why would Vivian want you to scare someone at the institute?”
Wade’s eyes narrowed. “She didn’t tell me that part. Just handed me the cash, gave me a burner phone with a number to call for updates. I never used it. Didn’t want to get traced.”
Eli spoke for the first time since Wade’s outburst, his voice low. “So you took a job with no context and tried to kill two security operatives?”
Wade shrugged, his expression defiant. “Wasn’t supposed to kill anybody.
Just keep the heat on you two. Stir things up, make the people inside that place nervous enough to give up the kid.
” He leaned back in the chair, like he’d just explained away a parking ticket.
“I kept my end of the deal. No shots fired at the institute. Just rattled the cage like she asked.”
Eli narrowed his eyes. “You expect us to take your word for it?”
Wade lifted his chin. “Phone’s in my car. Not that it’ll help much. She wore gloves when she handed it to me, along with the envelope of cash.”
“Convenient,” Eli muttered, arms crossed.
Wade’s expression twisted with frustration. “It’s the truth. I’m telling you how it went down. You’ve got motive, a name, and now the method. That’s more than enough. And now that you know what really happened, there’s no way you can stick me with attempted murder.”
Eli stepped forward, planting both hands on the table. “You fired at us. You hit Delaney.”
“I hit her in the arm,” Wade snapped, then smirked. “Not exactly a kill shot.”
Eli had to do some serious tamping down of his own temper. He forced himself to breathe through the heat rising in his chest. Wade might think he had the upper hand, but this wasn’t over. Not even close.
Delaney didn’t flinch. She stared straight at Wade and said, “It might not have been a kill shot, but you fired openly at two people. That’s enough for two counts of attempted murder. And that’s just the start of the charges coming your way.”
Wade shot out of his chair and charged right at Delaney. “You smug bitch—”
Eli was on him before the word finished, slamming him against the wall so hard the table rattled. Eli leaned in, low and tight. “Make a move. I dare you.”
Wade’s nostrils flared. His fists clenched, but he didn’t swing.
The door burst open, and with Noah right behind her, Sheriff Chase strode in. “I’ll take it from here,” the sheriff said, her voice oozing with disgust for this piece of shit.
“I want a lawyer,” Wade snarled. His gaze flicked to Delaney, filled with rage. “I should’ve put a bullet in your head. Both of you.”
Eli tightened his grip for half a second before stepping back.
The sheriff cuffed Wade and shoved him toward the door. “You’ll get your lawyer. Right after I lock you in a cell where you can cool off.”
Wade kept cursing as she dragged him out. Eli stood there for a beat, pulse still hammering. Then he looked at Delaney. She hadn’t moved. Her eyes were hard.
“I’m fine,” she said, reading his expression.
But he wasn’t sure he was.
Eli stared at the empty doorway for a moment before turning back to Delaney. She stepped beside him, her expression unreadable.
“Do you believe him?” she asked quietly. “That Vivian hired Wade?”
Eli dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t want to. But it’s possible. If Vivian thought threatening the institute would get Ava out, maybe she thought it was worth it.”
Delaney crossed her arms. “That’s a hell of a risk.”
He nodded. “It is. And there’s another option. Someone else hired Wade and told him to pin it on Vivian. It’d be a clean way to frame her.”
Noah looked between them. “We need to check every angle. I’ll get Isla to pull the phone records and see if we can track the burner that Wade was supposedly given.”
Eli looked at Delaney. Her jaw was tight, her gaze locked on the table like she was trying to burn through it.
He felt it too. The weight of a truth they couldn’t yet name.
Sheriff Chase stepped back into the room, her boots echoing on the concrete floor. Wade was nowhere in sight. Her expression was tight, and the tension in her posture hadn’t eased since they first arrived.
Eli straightened. “Everything all right?”
Chase shook her head. “Wade’s secure in a holding cell. That’s not the problem.”
Delaney moved closer. “What is?”
The sheriff looked between them, hesitation flickering in her eyes. Then she exhaled and said, “I just got a call. There’s been a murder.”
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