Chapter 17 Roan
ROAN
Gravel crunched under my tires as I pulled to a stop in front of the hillside house. It looked complete from the outside, but I knew from talking to Holt and Wren that they still had a ways to go on the inside. That finishing work could take forever.
It was early, but a couple of the construction crew’s vehicles, and Holt’s fancy-ass SUV were around. I turned off my truck and hopped out.
Holt was talking to his friend, Chris, who was also the contractor on the project. He glanced at me with a grin. “What do you think?”
“Looks good.”
Holt shook his head, a smile still in place. “He’s so verbose.”
Chris chuckled as he extended a hand to me. “How ya doin’, Roan?”
“Good.”
Chris just grinned wider. “I’ll see you inside, Holt.”
Holt sighed as he turned to me. “You know, most people ask how the other person is.”
My brow knitted. “I hate small talk.”
“I’m well aware.” He shook his head again. “So, what’s up that required a seven a.m. meeting?”
I toed a piece of gravel with my boot. “You still got the hookup with Halo security systems?”
Holt’s eyes flared. “Sure. Anchor uses them for all our jobs. I can call Cain if I need to place an order for components. What do you need?”
I hesitated for a moment. “I want to put in a system at Aspen’s.”
That grin was back on Holt’s face, but it was more mischievous this time. “You two seem to be spending a lot of time together.”
“It’s not like that. I’m just helping her out with a few things. She’s a good woman.” Too good for the darkness that swirled around me.
Holt’s smile slipped. “Everything okay?”
I jerked my head in a nod. I wouldn’t tell Holt without Aspen’s go-ahead. I couldn’t do that to her. “She just lives a ways out of town. Has a kid. She should have a system.”
“You’re right. I can call and get the order in today.”
“Send me the bill,” I told him.
Holt arched a brow.
I sighed. “She can’t afford it. You know it’s no big thing for me to cover it.” It wasn’t for any of us. The fact that our dad had sold his outdoor gear company had left my siblings and me with healthy trust funds. And I never knew what to do with mine.
He clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll get the parts at cost and help you install.”
“Thanks.” I shifted on my feet. “Keep this between us until I can tell Aspen.”
Holt barked out a laugh. “You didn’t ask her if it was okay?”
I worked my jaw back and forth. “She didn’t seem all that open to the idea.”
“I’d better get started planning your funeral.”
I scowled at him. “It’ll be fine.”
He just grinned. “Whatever you say.”
“I gotta go meet Law,” I grumbled.
“Hope to see you alive later,” Holt called as I headed for my truck.
I ignored him.
Then he shouted again. “I love the pink glitter nails, by the way.”
My family were a bunch of assholes. Lovable assholes, but assholes all the same.
I climbed behind the wheel and headed down the gravel road. It only took me a few minutes to make it into town. Since it was early, I snagged a spot in front of the police station.
The young officer behind the desk looked up and swallowed hard as I walked in. “Morning, Mr. Hartley.”
I jerked my head in a nod and headed for the bullpen. Wren stood in the dispatch area, stretching her back and rubbing her pregnant belly. Concern washed over me.
“You okay?” I asked, voice low.
She turned with a smile on her face. “I’m good. Apart from the fact that this little girl feels the need to kick me in the kidneys every five minutes. I’m predicting a soccer player.”
A small smile curved my mouth. “An all-star, for sure.”
Wren laughed. “What are you doing here?”
“Got a meeting with Law. He in yet?”
She nodded. “In his office.” A concerned look passed over her face. “I’m worried about him. I don’t think he’s sleeping much. He needs help.”
I didn’t think so either. Between a rash of tough cases and raising three kids alone, he was up against more than his fair share of a load. “I’ll try to talk to him.”
Wren let out a huff. “Good luck with that. Every time I try, he brushes me off.”
I squeezed her shoulder. “You’re a good sister-in-law.”
Her eyes gentled. “Not yet, but soon.”
I chuckled. “Fair enough.”
Turning from dispatch, I maneuvered through the sea of desks and headed toward Lawson’s office. Nash looked up from his box of donuts. “What are you doing here?” he asked through a mouthful of pastry.
I grimaced. “Don’t speak with your damned mouth full.”
Nash rolled his eyes and swallowed. “Priorities.”
And that would always be food. I moved to take one, and he smacked my hand.
“I’ve only got half a dozen,” he clipped.
“You’re gonna get heart failure at forty.”
Nash leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach. “Never. I’m fit as a fiddle.”
I just shook my head. “I gotta go talk to Law about a case.”
“Let me know if you need the real MVP in there with you. I’ll have it solved in no time.”
I snorted and headed for the chief’s office, knocking on the closed door.
“Come in,” Lawson called.
I opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind me.
“Hey. I’ve been combing through the evidence team’s report on the slain deer. There’s not much, other than a knife definitely made the cuts.”
I lowered myself into a chair opposite him at his desk. “I’ve got the word out with Fish and Wildlife and the Forest Service to be on the lookout for anyone acting out of the ordinary.”
Lawson nodded, and the light caught the circles under his eyes that seemed darker than just a couple of days ago.
“You okay?” I asked.
Surprise lit his features. “Sure. Why?”
“No offense, but you look like shit.”
Lawson grimaced. “Just a lot going on right now.”
“There’s been a lot going on for the past year.”
He sighed. “I know. I’m gonna get some help.”
“Help?”
Lawson wasn’t one to lean on anyone. It was as if he saw asking for help as being a burden, even though he was always ready to give it to others.
“I started looking for a nanny.”
My brows flew up. “Seriously?”
He shrugged. “The kids have a million activities now, and it’s not like I can trust Luke to keep an eye on the other two.”
There was a pain in Lawson’s voice at that admission. Whatever hormones Luke had stumbled into as a teenager had been giving his old man a hell of a time.
“It’s not a bad idea. I guess I’m just surprised you’re willing to do it,” I said.
Lawson shrugged. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Let me know if I can do anything.”
“I will.”
But I knew he wouldn’t. I guessed all of us Hartley siblings carried baggage and secrets.
I shifted in my seat. “Wanted to run something else by you.”
Lawson leaned back in his chair. “Shoot.”
“Need it to stay between us.”
Lawson instantly went on alert. “Is this about—?”
“No,” I cut him off, knowing what he was going to ask. “It’s about Aspen.”
His eyes flared in surprise. “What about her?”
“For starters, her name wasn’t always Aspen Barlow. It was Tara Monroe.”
It took Lawson a few beats before shock spread across his face. “Holy hell.”
“I know,” I said, voice low. “You remember the case?”
He nodded. “There were some crazy conspiracy theories around it. People who thought she lied about the husband attacking her.”
My jaw went rock-hard. “Idiots.”
Lawson grunted in agreement. “The blood spatter on his clothes clearly showed he was the assailant.”
“But people hated thinking the charming doctor could do something like that.”
Lawson shook his head. “I can’t imagine what she’s been through.” He studied me thoughtfully. “I’ve known her for years, and she’s never said a word. You’ve only known her a matter of days, and she opened up.”
I shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t a question, but it called for an answer, nonetheless. “It was happenstance, really.”
The words felt like a lie, but I let them stand. I took Lawson through everything Aspen had endured, and by the time I stopped talking, he looked about ready to tear his office apart.
“What the hell is wrong with people?” he snarled.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Lawson scrubbed a hand over his face. “What do you know about the podcast?”
“From what I can tell, they’ve got a big audience. Almost half a million followers on their social accounts.”
“Shit,” he grumbled. “You think they heeded your warning?”
“Nope. Drove by their rental cabin on my way into town. They’re still there.”
Lawson stared at me for a beat. “And how’d you find out where they were staying?”
I shrugged. “Not really important.”
He sighed. “Roan.”
“I’m not asking you to use the information in a court of law.”
“I know, but—”
“All you need to worry about is giving them an official warning that sends them packing. If they don’t listen, I’ll play bad cop.”
Lawson frowned. “But you’re not a cop.”
“Okay, I’ll play if you don’t get your sorry asses out of here and never bother Aspen again, you’ll live to regret it.”
Lawson was silent for a long time as if choosing his words extremely carefully. “This has to bring up things for you.”
I stiffened. “It’s not about that.”
“It might not be, but that doesn’t mean it won’t stir up some demons. A chunk of this town believed you did something horrible.”
“I’m aware,” I gritted out.
Memories battered at the walls I’d constructed in my mind. A fist connecting with my jaw. A boot slamming into my ribs. Fighting to stay conscious.
“Roan, I know it messed with you.”
My throat burned. But he didn’t know. None of my family did. Lie after lie. They’d simply built on each other.
Instead of coming to and telling someone what had happened, I’d half-crawled to the doctor and said I’d taken a fall while mountain biking. The doctor had been skeptical, but since I was over eighteen, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do. My medical records were confidential.
My parents were such a wreck about the shootings and Wren, they hadn’t even questioned my story. My siblings were much the same. There was a brief moment when I thought Lawson might’ve known there were things I wasn’t saying, but he never pushed.
I stared my brother dead in the eyes. “Trust me. I know it twisted me.”
More than he would ever understand. I never saw their faces. Had to walk around town wondering who it had been. Still wondered. Every single person I came across was a suspect. It wasn’t just the physical injuries. It was the psychological stuff.
I swallowed down the burn coursing up my throat. I wouldn’t let what happened to me happen to Aspen.