Page 38 of Rangers Last Promise

“Completely.”

“I didn’t ask you.”

“You looked at me.”

“I was checking to see whether you planned to say something irritating.”

“I do.”

Trigger turns away, but not before I see his mouth twitch.

I point at him. “You aren’t helping.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it loudly.”

Sheriff Tate finishes his call and places the phone on the bar.

“The fire department has the SUV fire contained. State police found no body inside and no sign of the driver. My deputies will process the scene as soon as it’s safe.”

“Which is why I should be there.”

“They know how to collect evidence.”

“I know what they should look for.”

“So does the man I put in charge.”

I know every expression Sheriff Tate owns.

The one he’s wearing now means the argument ended before it began.

I try anyway.

“The numbers painted on the vehicle match the note hidden in Grant’s journal. That makes me the person most familiar with⁠—”

“It makes you the person someone is trying to lure out of a building filled with armed men.”

The words silence me.

He softens his tone, but not the order.

“The SUV was left on an isolated road with those numbers painted on the back. Whoever abandoned it wanted us to find it. Maybe he wants you running toward the next clue.”

“I’m not staying here while everyone else does my job.”

“Tonight you are.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“We’ll decide that tomorrow.”

I hate that answer.

Doc pushes away from the wall.

“Where’s my truck?”