Chapter 2
WALKER
Taking one last drag from the cigarette between my fingers, I drop it on the asphalt of the Main Street Diner parking lot and step on it with my boot. I release the heavy smoke from my lungs along with the sweet burn.
The burn makes me feel. It cuts through the numbness in my chest where nothing else can.
Not freezing air.
Not a quick romp in a bar bathroom.
Not the crack of a bullet leaving the barrel of my gun.
I feel nothing.
Hopping inside my Dodge Ram, I look down at the sheriff’s badge I left in the cup holder. It’s more than just a piece of metal.
It’s both my chain and my freedom.
When I was first elected for this job, I didn’t realize what would be asked of me—what I would have to compromise to keep the people of Evergreen Falls safe.
A static voice comes through my department radio on the dashboard. “Walk, you there?”
The sigh that leaves me carries the weight of things I don’t want to think about.
“Walk, pick up the damn receiver,” Jolene commands.
Jolene Thatcher has been with the police department longer than I have. That woman would just as soon smack me upside the head as she would bake me a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
I do as she says and answer. “I’m here.”
“A 911 call just came in. A man said he saw a fire in a field off County Road 15.”
My mind goes over the map of the town. “Isn’t that Taylor Morrison’s land?”
“Sure is,” Jolene confirms.
Not wanting to move my body just yet, I respond, “Have Tessa and Ridge check it out.”
“They’re over at the Dixon Ranch, remember? Investigating his missing cattle,” she reminds me.
“Alright. I’ll head out there and see what’s what.” I return my radio to the stand and head toward the west end of town.
I haven’t even reached Morrison’s property line when I spot a pillar of black smoke in the sky, growing too quickly.
I step on the gas and flip on my emergency lights and siren. Snagging my receiver, I radio to Jolene, “Send the fire department out this way.” My eyes glance to the right, finding what I’m looking for. “Mile marker one twenty-five.”
“On it,” she replies.
Dropping the radio, I make a sharp left turn onto a gravel road, snow mixed with dirt kicking up in my wake. The fire seems to be somewhat contained by the surrounding snow. A good thing considering all the trees less than a hundred yards away.
I watch as someone stands in front of the building fire, and my mouth tightens into a line.
It looks like this may turn out to be an open-and-shut case. Criminals truly are among the dumbest people. Only a dimwitted jackass would stick around at the scene of their own crime.
I come to a stop next to a deep green Jeep Wrangler. Jumping down from the cab, I head straight for the culprit.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I bark.
The person—No, woman—spins to face me, and I’d swear on every single bullet in my gun that all the air in my lungs evaporates, stopping me just a foot away from her. I feel like I’ve been kicked in the ribs with steel-toed boots.
There’s no mistaking who this woman is.
Blake Jennings.
The last time I saw her, she told me to go to hell, then drove off in her beat-up Chevy. She left town right then and there. That was the day after she graduated from high school.
She looks nothing like she did that day.
Her onyx hair is shorter, her hips are fuller, and her eyes are sharper. Her hair catches the sunlight like dark silk, and her eyes are an inferno of spirit.
I want to run my hands over every curve of her body.
My dick twitches in my Wrangler jeans, and a small spark of something light—lighter than I’ve felt in decades—ignites in my chest.
Nope. Not her and not here.
“I was trying to put it out!” Blake lashes back, throwing her hands up in the air, then the fury in her deep cedar eyes dims. “I was trying to save him.”
Him?
I finally look past the curvy distraction in front of me and peer into the fire. A man with his arms draped over the T of a cross is burned to a crisp.
Did she do this?
My eyes narrow on Blake. “You just so happen to show up in Evergreen Falls at the exact moment that this happens?” I gesture toward the flames.
“You’re blaming me? I was trying to help.” She takes a step forward, closing the distance between us, and pokes me in the chest. “You should be thanking me.”
The top of her head is perfectly level with my chin. She’s at just the right height that if I wanted to, I could…
Not. Her.
What is this woman doing to me? First, I completely ignore the crime scene, and now I can’t stop thinking with my dick.
I don’t need this right now.
She has to go.
Retrieving my handcuffs from my belt, I grab her arm and turn her around. “Blake Jennings, you’re being detained for suspicious activity.”
“You’re arresting me?” She shouts.
I secure the cuffs around her wrists and guide her to my truck. “Detaining. There’s a difference.”
Blake’s sass doesn’t stop, not that I expected it to. She’s never known how to bite her tongue. “Is this your way of welcoming me back? Twelve years, and you slap on the cuffs? If I had waited fifteen, what does that get me? A night in lockup?”
I hesitate briefly when we reach the cab doors. Do I place her in the back like I would any other suspect, or do I let her ride shotgun?
The real question is, do I actually think she could’ve done this?
That answer is easy.
No.
Changing direction, we round the hood, and I open the passenger-side door. “Watch your head.”
She slides into the seat smoothly. “I haven’t been in the city that long. I know how to get into a goddamn truck, Walk.”
Her use of my nickname is doing things to me that I can’t admit to right now.
I reach over her, turning up the heat to warm her and catch a whiff of her amber and vanilla scent.
Another spark of light. Another feeling I don’t need or want.
I back out of the truck, putting some much-needed distance between us.
“Don’t move.”
Blake’s expression of outrage is almost comical. “Where the hell am I going to go?”
I don’t answer her and slam the door shut, kidding myself into thinking I’ve severed this new connection.
Fuck. This woman is not what I need right now.
It didn’t take much for the firefighters to extinguish the flames. They arrived quickly and had everything under control in minutes.
My boots crunch on the icy snow as I walk the scene. There isn’t a point in tracking my footsteps. The fire department was all over the place, contaminating the evidence.
The camera's shutter clicks as one of my deputies, Tessa, a hardworking woman with fiery red hair, documents what evidence we can make sense of.
Tessa McCreedy has been one of my deputies for almost as long as I’ve held this position. She’s a capable woman and a skilled interrogator.
I stare up at the charred remains in front of me. I’ve seen many dead bodies in my time, but it never gets easier. Innocent people don’t deserve to die.
A sweet yet chemical aroma invades my senses. “You smell that?”
Tessa angles her head and sniffs. “Gasoline?”
“Yeah,” I confirm. “Killer must’ve used it as an accelerant.”
“Could the killer be our arsonist who's been terrorizing the town for the last few months?” Tessa speculates.
Shaking my head, I respond, “I don’t think so. Arsonists rarely cross over into murder. They want fire, not blood.”
“When’s Levi supposed to arrive?” Tessa asks from her crouched position at the base of the cross.
“He’s on a farm call. He’ll get here when he gets here,” I answer.
Ridge Talbot, my other deputy, green as a young sprout, approaches. “The fire department is about done loading up their equipment, then they’ll be out of here. It’s taking them a little longer than usual because they’re down a man.”
That gets my attention. “Who? Everyone okay?”
Ridge nods. “They said Derek Holt didn’t show up for his shift today, but not to worry. Apparently, it’s happened a few times.”
“Let’s still do a wellness check,” I instruct.
“I’ll do that after we’re done here,” Ridge says.
Placing my hands on my hips just above my belt, I respond, “Thanks. Start a canvas. There’s got to be a witness out there.”
“Well…” Ridge trails off as his head turns in the direction of my truck, his eyes a little too eager.
I grit my teeth. “Not her.”
I know we need to question Blake, but I can’t bring myself to do it, and I sure as hell don’t want Ridge questioning her.
“Sheriff?” Tessa gives me a questioning look.
“I’ll do it.” My jaw works back and forth. “Ridge, work on ID’ing the body.”
Trudging over to my truck, I move as if I’m walking to my death, which I might as well be. Blake has always been a terror if she wanted to be, and I know she isn’t going to be happy about me cuffing and locking her in my truck.
However, I have a job to do. That needs to come first.
As I approach the passenger window, Blake looks at me with narrowed eyes. Opening the door, I’m hit with a burst of hot air. I rest my hand on the top of the cab and lean my arm on the door frame.
“Miss Jennings—”
Blake scoffs. “Miss? Walk, you’ve known me my whole life. Just call me Blake.”
“Miss Jennings,” I repeat, “what were you doing out here?”
“I was on my way to Moose Gap Lodge,” she answers with a tight, fake smile.
I nod my head. “Why not stay at Silver Pine Resort? They finished the hotel and have been taking bookings for a few weeks before their grand opening.”
Blake rolls her eyes like the answer is obvious. “Because Moose Gap is cheaper.”
She’s got me there. It costs more than I make in a week to stay just a couple of nights.
Silver Pine is a ski resort in the making.
Neil Redford purchased the land six months ago and has been working nonstop to get the resort up and running.
Once the zoning for the land changed, Neil jumped on the deal, and it’s been full steam ahead since.
Tourism has been good for the town, but not for crime.
Continuing with the interview, I question, “What brings you to Evergreen Falls?”
Her face turns more controlled. “Personal business.”
“And that would be,” I prompt her.
“None of your business,” she snaps back.