Page 73 of Bound in Ashes

“I couldn’t, Sheriff. It was my brother and my grandmother,” she said.

“And that gives you the right to lead them straight to Main Street. We have rules for a reason.”

Ah, that same compassion Sheriff Hayes was always known for.

“I’m sorry, Sheriff,” she said.

“Well I guess that fixes everything.” He glared at the woman. “Don’t pull any more stunts like that. And stop wasting gas.”

The girl nodded again, putting the car in gear and driving away, slow and shamed.

While the sheriff was speaking, a group of five men matching brown shirts jogged toward the bodies, carrying heavy canvas tarps. Without a word, they rolled the corpses onto the tarp and hauled them away, disposing of the corpses almost as quickly as the sheriff killed them.

Hayes turned, his gaze sweeping the tense but silent crowd, before he landed on us.

“What are you doing here?” the sheriff asked, his gaze moving from me to Caitlin.

“I…” I started.

“I’m new to the area,” Caitlin cut in smoothly, leaning toward the sheriff, “and Asia was nice enough to bring me for a look around.”

The sheriff nodded, not even trying to hide the way his gaze lingered on Caitlin. “What do you want to know?”

“How safe is it here?” she asked, her wide, innocent eyes giving no hint of the shark underneath.

“You’re talking about those things?” He jutted his chin toward the now-empty street where the bodies had been. “We’re fine,” he said.

“Do they get into town often?” she asked.

“Often enough that we know how to handle things,” he said. His gaze was cold, hard, and focused squarely on Jack. “The question is, do you?”

Jack

The sheriff looked at me, and I had been around enough to recognize a challenge when I saw one.

Most days, I wouldn’t back down from it, but I felt Asia’s presence next to me.

More importantly, I knew this situation was wrong.

Still, I bristled. Reminded myself that I needed to keep control.

“I’m not sure,” I said to Hayes. “Why don’t you help me out?”

“If it becomes necessary, I will,” he said. His eyes flared with something, and Asia tensed.

There was a story there, and she would tell me. But for now, I kept my gaze squarely focused on Hayes, wondering how he managed not to sweat wearing a brown shirt buttoned all the way to the top and a matching suit jacket.

The kind of I’m-official-respect-me outfit that was a fucking joke before, but was macabre comedy these days.

“You already said you’re not from around here, so I imagine getting here was no walk in the road.”

“But we made it,” I said.

“And I assume that is because of you,” he said.

He looked at Asia, then. “Or maybe she helped you.”

He said the words as if it was the most ridiculous thing in the world, but Asia, to her credit, didn’t respond.