Chapter 27
JR
There wasn’t a sign of anyone following us or even looking at us suspiciously, other than the obvious curious stares I got from nearly everyone in town.
And there wouldn’t be. I knew that. I had taken care of Brian and disposed of his body so cleanly that no one would even know he was missing, if they cared at all that he was gone.
But Josie kept entering my thoughts, poking and prodding at the part of my brain that worried that just maybe I had gotten something wrong. And then they’d come after her.
“This is so weird,” Josie hissed. “Everyone’s staring at us!”
“That’s because they’re all nosey.”
The dog yipped and trotted ahead of me like he was leading us down the street. It made it a little hard to keep our presence low, but then again, if he was any good as an attack dog, I could train him to keep an eye on Josie.
“You’re walking like a creeper.”
I glanced over at her, curious as to what she meant. “And what exactly does a creeper walk like?”
“Exactly like you are. Skulking around town, walking in front of me, behind me, and basically on edge.”
I wasn’t surprised by the reaction. Alyssa got the same way with me, but I wouldn’t drop the protectiveness just to appear normal.
“So…Alyssa seems nice.”
“She is.”
“You’ve known her a long time.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a leading statement that she used, intending to draw out more information.
“So, you were in foster care.”
“Alyssa has a big mouth.”
“It wasn’t really a secret, was it?”
I slowed my pace, only because it was difficult to carry on a conversation with her when I was in front of her. That, and I wanted to make it perfectly clear that my life was off-limits to her.
“Look, I have no intention of discussing my childhood with you or sharing my feelings. What happened is in the past, and that’s where it’s going to stay.”
If she was surprised by my declaration, she did a great job of hiding it. “Okay.”
Stepping around me, she kept walking. And Milo followed, nipping at her heels to be her best friend. But that wasn’t why I was staring at her sexy ass in confusion.
Sure I had heard her wrong, I caught up and eyed her warily. “That’s it?”
“I am dying to know what JR stands for. You know, I’m running low on names that suit you.”
“I would say you haven’t come close on any of them.”
“Ah,” she grinned. “So, I need to really think outside the box. Or maybe I’m thinking too much outside the box.
Johnny Rogers or Joe Robert. Although I think that one would be just a horrible name,” she laughed, then spun and clasped a hand over her mouth.
“Unless that really is your name, in which I feel like an absolute heel for saying such a thing!”
“It’s not.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought I was on the verge of causing World War III.”
“Over a name?”
“Well, stranger things have happened. It could be like the Pig War of 1859!”
“Not sure I heard of that one,” I mused, entertained by her reference.
“Seriously?” she gaped. “Well, let me tell you, it all started over an American farmer who shot a pig, which was owned by a British guy, who was rooting around his potatoes!”
“The British farmer was rooting around his potatoes?” I asked, egging her on.
“No, the pig. Either way, a war started, which thankfully, no one was injured. But the same can’t be said for the pig.”
“Well, no one will be harmed over a name you suggest.”
“Thank goodness for that. I mean, I try to keep things pretty peaceful, but sometimes things happen.”
“Like giving me an awful name that could start a war.”
“Hey, mock me all you want, but there was a war that was started over an ear.”
This woman was just a little insane. “And how is it that you know so much about these trivial wars?”
“Trivial?” she gasped. “A man’s ear was cut off! I hardly think that’s trivial.”
“Surely, there had to be a way to resolve the conflict other than starting a war.”
“Well, I’m sure the ear was just the catalyst, but I want to be clear that I in no way want my guesses at your name to start an international incident.”
We stopped outside The Daily Grind, which didn’t make sense at all. It was a coffee house, and she sold herbs.
“I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“Hold on,” I said, grabbing her arm. “Are you tasting the enemy’s drinks?”
She snorted in amusement. “Of course not. I’m just making a delivery. See, they do sell herbal teas here, though loaded with a bunch of crap no one should put in their bodies, but I still make money off them, and that’s all that matters.”
As she turned to walk up inside, I jerked my head at the dog, and surprisingly, he followed her inside.
When the door shut, I turned and scowled at the man tailing me. “Is there a reason you’re following me?”
Maverick Wynn quirked an eyebrow at me. “Is there a reason you left town and had Archer watching over this mysterious woman at your house?”
“She’s not mysterious.”
“Well, you haven’t let her out of your house. That seems pretty mysterious.”
“I’m not holding her.”
“Then you’ll have no problem if I go check on her,” he countered.
“And you’ll have no problem if I do a little digging of my own.”
“Into what exactly?” he huffed. “Check me out all you want.”
That was interesting. While he seemed pretty damn confident, there was the most minuscule change in his breathing and a slight dilation of his pupils.
“Then I guess you don’t mind me knowing about how you turn your back occasionally when someone breaks the law.”
“Officer’s discretion,” he shrugged.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Because you’ll need my help one day? I’m not at all surprised.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“Just like I’m not surprised that you disappeared for a few days.”
“And?”
“And a man by the name of Brian Mathers went missing. Of course, that was only reported this morning,” he mused.
I shook my head, pretending not to understand. “Don’t know who that is.”
“Right,” he grinned. “Because when your foster sister came home with bruises, you just brushed it aside as another bad relationship. She’s had a lot of those, hasn’t she?”
I glanced at the shop, wondering when Josie was going to be done. If she came out right now, she’d get an earful she didn’t need to hear.
“Is there a point to this, sheriff?”
Tipping back on his heels, he grinned up at the sky. “You know, it’s funny. Every man she’s ever dated has beaten her at some point.”
“She has terrible decision-making skills.”
“And every one of those bastards has disappeared. That can’t be a coincidence.”
The man stood there with a cocky grin, knowing he had me just where he wanted me. The question was, why wasn’t he hauling me in? If he knew it was me, then why the hell was he just chatting with me?
“Well, as far as I know, every one of her boyfriends turned out to be a lowlife. Is it really that strange that they would disappear?”
He pretended to think about it, then shook his head. “No, I suppose not. After all, as you said, no one would really miss them anyway.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “But you would most definitely miss her if anything happened to her.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Nope. Just a simple analysis of the situation. It seems to me that Alyssa should stick around here. She might have better luck with a real man, and we have plenty of those around these parts.”
“Are you fishing for an introduction?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “Simply suggesting that you might want to have her closer, where you can keep an eye on her. For all our sakes.” Tipping his hat, he started to turn.
“Paperwork is a funny thing, JR. It sometimes just goes missing, and computers can be just as fickle. Funny how the system might accidentally delete reports randomly. Can’t trust technology these days,” he sighed.
He was actually fucking helping me. But why? I didn’t know him from a hole in the ground. He was just another random face in a town I’d only been in for a matter of months. I meant literally nothing to anyone here.
Except, maybe Josie and the damn dog.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked as he started to walk away.
Glancing over his shoulder, he tipped his hat up, shrugging slightly.
“Well…maybe it’s because you’ve been keeping an eye on Lizzy,” he answered, cocking his head in thought.
“Or maybe it’s because that neighbor of yours seems to have taken a shine to you.
Then again, I do love a story of good triumphing over evil. ”
“And what exactly would that be?” I asked, gritting my teeth at where this was going.
“I looked into you when you came into town and hung around. JR Hunt, loner, only relation is a mother who died when you were just a kid. You were placed in the system and ended up with a nice elderly couple who would have kept you forever. If they hadn’t died.
“From there, you got shuffled into the system where you ended up with some really shitty families. One in particular where you were left alone for two weeks. When the police found you, you’d pretty much eaten anything you could get your hands on, but you were still emaciated and dehydrated.
You didn’t speak for an entire year after they transferred you to a new home, and after that, you got into fights everywhere you went.
“Until you were placed with one particularly nasty asshole who liked to beat on kids. It was there that you met Alyssa Camryn. Pretty girl, about two years younger than you.”
I gritted my teeth at every word he spoke. Those records were supposed to be sealed. Yet, somehow, he knew about all of it. And I was pretty sure he was just glossing over the really bad shit for time’s sake.
“Alyssa was in the same foster home with you for about two years. She was sent to live with someone else on the other side of town, but that didn’t stop you from sneaking out to check on her.”
Clucking his tongue, he sighed heavily. “That police report painted a very nasty picture of you, a knife, one very frightened little girl, and a man who just barely lived—if you could call it that when he was essentially in a coma the rest of his life.”