Colton
Well, now, that was freaking excruciating.
Sitting with his uncle and the kid who’d duped him into helping, when he would have done just that if Zach had come to him as a sheriff’s deputy. And listening to the whole story over again?
Hoo yeah. Fun.
And now the sheriff and Greg knew that he was a dipshit, trying to pick up a desperate nineteen-year-old kid like a perv. Christ on a wild horse, Colton’s cheeks were never going to cool off, and the teasing hadn’t even begun yet.
He sighed. His uncle was standing by the door, talking on the phone. He smiled at Zach, or tried to. They had orders to stay where they were for the moment. “It’s going to be okay. You’re safe with us.”
“This isn’t what I intended.” Zach met his gaze. “Not at all.”
Maybe not, but this is what’d happened, and they had to play the hand in front of them. “Well, if you had just ducked and run, you wouldn’t have the chance to deal with this legally. And you have backup if they come looking for you.”
“You think your uncle believes me?” Zach’s blue eyes burned into his. “Am I getting arrested for stealing the violin?”
Zach trembled so hard, it made the booth shake. Despite everything, it tore him up seeing Zach so afraid. “Relax, honey. I’ve got your back. There are plenty of witnesses. That’s yours.”
Shit. Maybe he shouldn’t call Zach honey.
“Your uncle thinks I’m just another carnie,” Zach said. “How can I relax?”
Sometimes his uncle scared the hell out of Colton. He could only imagine how Zach felt. “Maybe he thinks that about the guy trying to steal from you, but he knows you’re not. Besides, you’re right and Ulmstead is wrong. The sheriff is a stickler for the law.”
“So what now?” Zach bit his lip.
Colton knew his uncle as well as anyone, but he couldn’t say for sure what the sheriff would do. “We wait to see what my uncle says. First thing is we need to get you to a safe place to stay.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
In his heart, Colton believed they did, but he didn’t like most of the options. The campground was exposed, and Zach didn’t have camping gear. Whitebark only had a couple of motels, but they were for truckers. Maybe a cabin somewhere? The best place was his uncle’s house, but if he suggested that, it would look like exactly what it was—Colton wanting to keep Zach close to him. “Yes, I think I do. It’s not safe.”
“Listen, I can take care of myself,” Zach said. “Really. Now that I’m outta there, I’ll be fine.”
He sounded a lot less like a scared kid, but confidence didn’t mean he was right. “There are way more of them than there is of you. You’ll have a place to spend a night or two at the very least. Ted’s going to want to make sure you’re safe, and see if Maddie is there of her own free will, you get me?”
This whole thing reeked of something deeper than creepy. Colton might not be the busiest or best cop on earth, but he kinda had a nose for it. Follow the money; that was one of thefirst things they’d learned in training. And the money was all tied up with Zach in this mess.
“There’s room at the ranch, kid,” Greg said. “You can hang there until we figure shit out. It’s not like you’re going to murder all of us in our sleep—we’re a big family. If you do, start with Colton. He got me fired.”
Zach gasped, more than a bit horrified, but Colton cracked up, tickled as a pig in shit. “Right on. If axe-murdering starts, I’ll be first in line.”
Greg chortled, and Zach glanced back and forth between them. When he realized it was a joke, he smiled. “Well, I don’t have an axe, and I won’t smite anyone with the fiddle. Maybe the case.”
Colton tilted his head and widened his eyes, going for comic relief. “Fiddle-smiting? Is there a code for that, Greg?”
“I’ll have to look it up in our cheat sheet.” Greg snorted. “Come on. Let’s go back to the compound. It’s safe there, and God knows we all need a beer.” Greg glanced over at Zach and winked. “Not you, kid. You get milk.”
“Hey!” Zach sputtered. “I’m not a kid.”
“Sure you’re not,” Greg said sweetly. “But you’re also not twenty-one.”
Colton hid his grin. A beer sounded good after tonight. He might need two after everything that’d happened.
Ted approached, and the smiles disappeared. “Okay, I talked to the Division of Criminal Investigation, and they’ll want to come and see you in a couple of days, but I’m not sure we have anything to charge your people with right now. There’s room at the ranch if you’re comfortable staying with us. Lord knows you’ve got half the goddamn sheriff’s department living there, so it’s as safe as anywhere.”
“Your house?” Zach blinked at Colton, then his cheeks heated. “Sir, I can’t impose like that.”
