Chapter 19
RAFE
Iglanced at her in the passenger seat. The pallor of her skin worried me.
So did the way she wrung her hands in her lap.
She’d barely said two words since we’d left the island, except to insist on going to the sheriff’s department here in Dante’s Pass instead of filing the report in Portland.
The boat ride had thoroughly rattled her, and I dreaded the trip back to the cabin.
By the end of the day, I feared she’d hate my guts for making her go.
“The sheriff isn’t my biggest fan, Alex. He’s got everyone around here believing I’m a threat. I doubt he’ll hear you out.”
“Then I want to talk to him. This isn’t just about turning Zach in. I want to clear your name too.”
Overturning a prison sentence wasn’t going to happen by filing a police report, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. “I’m not even sure which law enforcement agency holds jurisdiction. Zach kidnapped you from the island, crossed county lines, and you ended up in a hospital near Mt. Hood.”
“The police don’t know he took me from your island, Rafe. I told them I pushed my car into the river before going to that cabin on my own.”
“He held you in a cabin?”
“An isolated place in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn’t even know how to get there. He said it belonged to a friend.”
I cursed under my breath. “So what are we going to say then?”
Her brows furrowed in thought. “The truth with a few alterations. I’ll tell them Zach kidnapped me. You drugged me, so I have no memory of you and Jax pushing my car into the river. I’ll blame that on him too.”
“I drugged you?”
“When you took me,” she said quietly.
“And here you are sitting next to me in a fucking car.” I shook my head, unable to grasp how she could use the word “safe” and my name in the same sentence. “What will you tell them when they ask why you’re spending time with your convicted rapist?”
“The truth. You’re innocent. I lied eight years ago, under the threat of Zach, and I came to you because I’m scared and want to make this right.
” She bit her lip and gazed out the window at the small-town businesses lining the main drag.
I didn’t agree with her about the innocence part, not in relation to the past few weeks, but I let it go for now.
No good would come from arguing the point to death.
Neither of us said a word until I pulled into the parking lot of the sheriff’s department.
“You ready?” I asked.
With a nod, she pulled on the passenger door handle.
I got out, rounded the car, and without thinking I placed my hand on the small of her back.
We entered the brick building and found it deserted, save for the deputy manning the front window.
I didn’t recognize him, so I assumed he’d come to Dante’s Pass after I left.
I’d blown out of town before my graduation cap had time to hit the ground.
“I need to report a crime,” she told the guy on the other side of the glass. I hung back, marveling at her strength as she told the deputy about the nature of the crime she wanted to report. He took her information before rising to get the sheriff.
Minutes later, a side door opened and Lyle appeared, the deputy on his heels. His gaze blasted me, and the scowl twisting his features made me want to yank Alex out of there immediately. But his expression softened when he asked if she was comfortable giving her statement to him.
She told him she was okay with that, then turned to give me a tiny reassuring smile. “I’ll be back.”
I wanted to go with her. I wanted to grab her and never let go, but I understood her need to do this on her own. They disappeared behind the door, and the deputy resumed his spot behind the window, his attention captured by a crossword puzzle.
I knocked on the glass. “I need to make a call. If she comes back before I do, let her know I’m right outside, okay?”
He waved me off without raising his head.
What a prick. I withdrew my cell as I exited, and a strong breeze carrying the familiar scent of fresh water and a hint of fish rustled my hair.
Scrolling to Jax’s name in my contact list, I pushed the call button and waited for him to answer, all the while searching the area.
This wasn’t a conversation I wanted overheard, but I needed something fast and my instincts told me he could get it for me.
“What’s up?” he answered.
I darted my gaze around the parking lot once more, satisfied that I was completely alone. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Depends.”
“I need a gun.”
“Come again?”
“You heard me. Can you get one?”
“Well, yeah, but why? What’s going on?”
“It’s Alex. She showed up on the island today. I don’t wanna go into details, but she’s scared. I need a weapon.”
“Whoa…you need to back up there. What the fuck is going on?”
I sighed in exasperation. “Her brother is psychotic. He’s the one who shot me, Jax. Can you get me a gun or not?”
“Are you gonna use it to protect yourself or her?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What does it matter?”
“You’re doing it for her then.”
Not a question. “So what if I am?” I shot back, tiring of his inquisition.
“If you don’t wanna do it, just say so. I’ll find someone else.
” Though Jax was the only one I trusted even marginally with this.
I was a felon. If I went down for getting my hands on a gun, well that would be tragically ironic.
And dangerous because Alex would be left on her own.
“You sure she’s worth it?”
“Why do you hate her?” I asked, the disdain in his voice bothering me.
“I don’t hate her.” He lowered his confrontational tone by a few degrees. “You did, for the three years we shared a cell.”
“There’s a reason she did what she did.” I kicked a rock and watched it ricochet off a bright blue curb. “She’s trying to make it right, and she’s fucking terrified, Jax. I won’t stand by and do nothing.”
He sighed. “You wouldn’t be you if you did. Saving people is your MO.”
I glance around again, tapping my foot. “So you’ll get it for me?”
He didn’t say anything at first, and I thought I heard him let loose a curse. “Yeah, I’ll get you what you need. Tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll get it to you tonight.”