Chapter 40 Noah
NOAH
I was helping Hank check the perimeter fencing at The Lazy Moose when my phone rang. It was Deputy Granger.
“Noah, we’ve got a problem,” he said, straight to the point. “Harlow picked Maya up this morning. He arrested her at Butterberry.”
For a second, I couldn’t speak. My grip tightened around the fence post. “What?”
“Mrs. Appleby called me. She saw the whole thing. Your girl didn’t put up a fight, but Harlow made a scene.
Told the sheriff after the fact. Technically legal, but sneaky as hell.
Sheriff’s tied up near the canyon hours away.
I’m heading to intercept them now. Don’t know if I can stall them, but I’ll try. ”
“Where are they going?”
“Bozeman.”
I didn’t even hang up properly. I was already running for the truck. Hank called out from behind me and said he’d handle things here. I didn’t stop. All I saw was Maya, alone, afraid, and reliving every nightmare she thought she’d buried.
When I barreled into The Sundown, Dom was fresh out of the shower, wearing nothing but shorts and a towel over his shoulder.
“She’s gone,” I rasped. “Bozeman.”
His eyes narrowed. He flung the towel aside, grabbed a shirt, a tie, and pants, and took off running. “Let’s go.”
“She’s not spending a day in jail, do you understand?” I yelled.
“Got it,” he said.
He pulled on his pants and shirt in the passenger seat while I tore down the highway, hell nipping at our wheels. He was already mid-battle, calling, texting, and typing. Somehow, in the chaos, he even knotted his tie without a mirror. Because that’s what Dom did. He showed up armed.
“Tell the clerk I want it filed now. No delays. She’s being moved across county lines. Yes, I know what it means. Yes, I’ll owe you.”
I didn’t know what exactly he was doing. I just prayed it would work.
We saw them just before the Ravalli border—Deputy Granger and Harlow pulled over on the side of the highway, Harlow red-faced and gesturing wildly, and Granger standing his ground with that tired, stubborn patience only good men seemed to have.
Then I saw her in the back seat. The tint dulled the details, but I caught enough. I saw her leaning forward, her eyes scanning through the glass, trying to find one face. Mine.
I didn’t stop to think. I just sprang out of the truck.
Dom was out of the truck in a flash, circling the hood and slamming a forearm across my chest before I could take another step.
“Don’t make a mess of this, Lucas,” he snapped.
“I have to get to her!” I growled, twisting to break free.
But Dom held firm. “And you will. But not like this. You storm in there now, you’ll tank everything. She needs you calm, not reckless.”
I didn’t care. I was halfway to losing it.
And he read it in my face. He shoved me, hard, back toward the truck. “Get in.”
I cursed but obeyed. I sat in there, fuming, as Dom adjusted his tie and walked straight toward Harlow without an ounce of fear in him.
“Detective Harlow,” he said. “You’re in violation of a pending habeas corpus writ. Filed fifteen minutes ago, timestamped and signed by a sitting judge. If you continue past this point, you’ll be committing federal contempt.”
Harlow scoffed. “You think I give a damn about—”
“You will,” Dom cut in. “Because your badge won’t shield you from this.
She’s not going to Bozeman. She’s going back to Sheriff Colton’s office.
And you’re going to sit down, shut up, and read the court’s response when it comes through.
Or I’ll be calling every journalist I know and turning this into a circus. ”
Deputy Granger didn’t say a word, but he gave me a reassuring nod. He’d always said he worked for the people of Buffaloberry Hill. He meant it.
Harlow swore under his breath and turned back toward the car. He and the Bozeman PD officer trailed Deputy Granger’s cruiser all the way to Hamilton, the county seat of Ravalli and home to the sheriff’s main office.
I didn’t let up, trailing them in my truck.
At the sheriff’s office, Maya was escorted through the narrow hallway toward the holding room.
“You’re gonna be okay,” I said, trying to get the words in before the door shut between us.
Dom blocked my path. “Stay out here. Let me do my job.”
“I need to be with her,” I insisted. “She’s probably trapped in that same nightmare again. Thinking it’s all happening just like before.”
Dom gripped my arm. “Then don’t make it worse by panicking. You want to help her? Let me work.”
I stayed.
I sat on one of the warped benches in the lobby with my head in my hands. The fan above creaked with every spin while I paced, checked my phone, and pictured worst-case scenarios until they stacked on top of each other, brittle and dizzying.
Finally, Dom walked out. His tie was crooked, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
He looked like hell.
“The hearing’s happening. Soon. But listen, she’s in danger of being denied bail. What with no ties to Montana and no family here. Her mother’s in Seattle, and she has no assets. Just a part-time job she could walk away from.”
“Family?” I snapped. “She’s got half the town.”
He didn’t argue. But the truth sat between us.
It wasn’t enough.
Not on paper.
“I know what to do,” I said.
Dom raised a brow. “What’s that, Noah?”
“She’s not running. She’s not alone. And by the time that hearing starts, I’m going to make damn sure the court knows exactly how tied she is to Buffaloberry Hill.”
“Then you’ve got about two hours.”
Well then, I would fucking make those hours count!