Chapter 14 #2
I couldn’t remember either of their names, though I was certain Finn or one of the other brothers had told me.
Still, the family resemblance between them all was unmistakable.
The little sister had hair the same shade as her mother’s, more honeyed than the brothers’ sandy blond.
Their eyes varied in hues of blue, but the shape of each was the same.
Baby sister couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen, but even then, she was gorgeous.
Likely giving the boys at her high school the run around.
Or maybe they’d steered clear of her, given the formidable front her big brothers presented.
There was no father in the photo, though, and I was even more curious about the man who had sired these strong, striking men and that beautiful girl.
I dimly registered the buzz of a door behind me, but I’d finally allowed my attention to linger on Finn in the photo, and I couldn’t look away.
Seeing him like that—buzzed hair, only a single sleeve of tattoos instead of both arms now engulfed in ink, narrower and less hardened than he appeared today—only reminded me of how much time had passed.
Being back here, back in his orbit, was, for lack of a better word, insane.
I wasn’t a believer in a conventional religious deity, but I did believe in a higher power, more like fate, and I was convinced that power wanted me back here.
But why now? And why at the cost of my sister’s safety?
“Miss Lindsey?” a deep voice asked softly from behind me, as though not wanting to startle me.
Still, my hand flew to my chest as a little squeak escaped me, heart pumping a little harder, as I spun to face the sheriff.
So we were back to “Miss Lindsey?” Interesting.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he smiled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Inclining his head toward the photo, he said, “That was the day I was sworn in as sheriff.”
“I figured as much,” I said. “This wasn’t long before we met, right?”
“Right,” he nodded. “Only a few days, actually.” With a pointed glance at the box under my arm, he asked, “What’s that?”
“Oh! Lainey’s journals and some of her other stuff. I thought they might be helpful.”
Well, minus the most recent one I’d found in the motel room three weeks ago, but he didn’t need to know that. Her stalker had backed off in recent months, so I doubted there’d be anything helpful in there anyway.
I wanted to hang onto one piece of my sister in case I never saw her again.
Lane took it from me, then tipped his head backward, toward the door to the inner sanctum, and I dutifully followed.
“It’s impressive,” I mused. “To have been appointed Sheriff so young.”
“I’ve been working for this department since high school,” he admitted as we moved through the bullpen, not toward an interview room like the last time I’d been here, but his office at the back of the space.
“Running documents, answering the phone out front. Bertie, the desk sergeant, has been here for years, and I was her little sidekick for a while.” I snorted at his use of little.
Hard to imagine him as anything other than this big, physically imposing man.
“I went to college at Boise State, so I was close enough that I could come home on nights and weekends. I went on ride-alongs, sat in on interviews, did pretty much every job possible without being a sworn deputy. I completed the training program my final semester of university, moved home, and immediately jumped in.”
“How old are you now?” I asked.
“Thirty-six.”
I whistled low. “Sheriff at twenty-nine? Damn.”
He winked as he opened his office door and gestured me inside. “What can I say? I’m an overachiever.”
Without waiting for an invitation, I made myself comfortable in one of the guest chairs. Once he’d closed the door behind him, he slid the box onto his desk and took a seat behind it.
“So…what’s new?” I asked conversationally, like we were old pals catching up. Like I wasn’t the sister of a missing woman his department was in charge of locating.
The sheriff chuckled. “Well, in regard to your sister’s case, we’re at a bit of a standstill at the moment.”
“It’s been over a month,” I blurted. “Surely you have some sort of lead.”
He regarded me curiously. “You’re aware the first forty-eight hours in a missing persons case are the most crucial, correct?” I nodded. “We weren’t afforded the luxury of having those hours to work with. We weren’t made aware that Miss Lindsey was missing until over seventy-two hours later.”
I didn’t like his tone—the insinuation in it. “And you’re saying that’s my fault?”
“I’m just saying, had she been reported missing sooner—”
Before he could utter another word to drive my irritation higher, I rose from my seat and cut him off with two words. “Fuck you.”
There was absolutely no way I was going to sit there and listen to that bullshit.
How dare he accuse me of being the reason my sister was still missing?
I hadn’t called right away because I’d been hoping my intuition had been wrong. That she’d simply taken off on her own for a few days and would be in touch when she returned to civilization.
What the fuck kind of place was this, blaming the family of a victim for her disappearance?
As I stormed away, I was even more glad I’d made copies of the journals. With the accusation he’d thrown at me, I didn’t have high hopes his department was taking this case seriously—or that they’d ever locate my sister.
The thought was a punch to the gut, and by the time I stumbled out of the station and into the broad June daylight, I was gasping for air—bent over, hands on my knees, chest heaving as I attempted to suck in a full breath.
My vision darkened at the edges, a wave of dizziness crashing over me and sending me staggering sideways.
“Hey, hey,” someone said softly, the voice belonging to a woman, accompanied by warm, gentle hands grasping my shoulders, steadying me and directing me to sit down.
“It’s okay. Head between your knees and breathe with me.
In, two, three, four. Hold.” The woman rubbed soothing circles on my back, and I struggled to follow her directions.
“Out, two, three, four. Good, good. And again.”
We ran through the exercise three more times before my heart rate finally began to come down. Once I’d collected myself, my limbs now shaky as the adrenaline drained from my bloodstream, I looked up at my savior.
And I blinked in surprise, jaw dropping, when I recognized her.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You’re Aspen McKay.”
The woman’s peculiar cinnamon-colored eyes flashed with warmth, not a hint of annoyance to be found in her expression. “That’s me.”
Up to that point, I’d only ever seen photos of the private investigator-turned-best-selling true crime novelist. The first thing I noticed was how gorgeous she was, even more beautiful than photos suggested.
Her hair was a bit longer than in the headshot at the back of her book, and she was shorter than I expected. I had seven or eight inches on her.
Lainey and I were into true crime, and we’d devoured her book, The Shadows of Dusk Valley. For both of us, it had been crazy to think Kelly Saunders, the Prom Night Arsonist serial killer, had been active when we’d visited and we’d never known it.
Made a chill run down my spine.
Murder, arson, missing women.
This town may have been charming on the surface, but clearly, the welcoming facade masked evil.
Remembering my manners, I quickly apologized and added, “Thank you for that. I—”
She smiled knowingly. “Trust me, I’ve been through a panic attack or two myself. And the sheriff’s department is a stressful place.”
“And the sheriff is an asshole,” I muttered.
Aspen laughed. “You can say that again.” She leaned closer, voice dropping conspiratorially. “Want to hear a secret?”
“Sure.”
“He’s also my future brother-in-law.”
I blinked in surprise. “You’re marrying one of the Lawless brothers?”
I didn’t make it a habit of looking into public figures’ personal lives, so I wasn’t surprised I didn’t already know this about her. Still…small fucking world.
“Crew, the—”
“Youngest,” I finished for her. “Yeah, I’m familiar.” Aspen’s brow curved, and I realized too late how that sounded. “Sorry, not like that. At least not him.” Goddesses, I was babbling. My cheeks heated. “I’ve been here before. A long time ago. Met them all at the bar.”
Aspen nodded in understanding, then stood, extending a hand to me. “Let’s go get lunch. You can tell me all about yourself and the night you met my future in-laws.”
“Are you…busy or something?”
“Nah. I was running a few errands, but they’re done, and I’ve got a few hours before I’ve got anything else to worry about. C’mon. It’ll be fun. We can commiserate about those Lawless boys.”
Eager for a friend, I followed along.