Page 93 of Knox

The engine turned over smooth and steady.

I hit the garage door opener and smiled, thankful to have my life back. Grateful that Walter Lehman was in custody.

The door rolled up, revealing morning sunlight and a patrol car pulling into the driveway behind me.

My foot hit the brake. Hard.

A deputy emerged from the cruiser, adjusting his hat as he walked toward my garage. Stocky build. Confident stride. One palm raised in friendly greeting.

Something twisted in my gut. Was there bad news from the field?

Was Knox hurt? Had they found the woman? Had they discovered the worst?

I stayed in the vehicle, engine running, watching him approach through the windshield.

He stopped just outside the garage entrance, smiling politely as I backed out to meet him.

I powered down my window as I approached, panic welling in my chest for whatever had brought him here.

“Ms. Mercer?”

“Yes. Can I help you?”

He scanned the area, careful eyes searching. For what? I probably didn’t want to know. His shadow fell over me, adding an eerie chill, and I worried again for Knox and the missing woman. “There’s been a development in the case you’re involved in. I was asked to escort you to the sheriff’s department immediately.”

“What kind of development?”

His pale eyes narrowed in a grimace, as if he’d rather not say. “I’m just here to escort you.”

I looked at my rearview mirror again, gauging my ability to maneuver around his cruiser. Unlikely. My unease sharpened.

I studied his face through the open window. Something about the shape of his jaw. The set of his shoulders. He felt familiar, though I was certain I’d never seen him.

He wore a jacket similar to Nash’s with no visible badge. “Do you need a minute to collect your things?”

“What did you say your name was?”

Something flickered in his expression. “Deputy Lennox.”

The name registered and I felt my shoulders ease.

This was the deputy who was supposed to work with Knox today. Clearly, he’d been reassigned. But why?

“Ma’am?” He raised his brows. “We should get going.”

My phone rang, and Knox’s name appeared on screen. “Of course. I just need to take this.” I accepted the call. “Hang on one sec,” I told Knox, then smiled at Deputy Lennox. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather drive myself.”

He nodded, gaze jerking to the call on my dashboard screen and back. “Yes, ma’am. I’m happy to follow. Do you know the way?”

“I do, thank you.”

The deputy tipped his hat and moved toward his car.

“Who was that?” Knox asked, his voice tight and strangely loud. The steady growl of an engine raged in the background.

“Deputy Lennox came to —”

“Shit,” Knox barked, interrupting. “Sloane, that is not Lennox. Someone found him unconscious outside his home thirty minutes ago. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance.”