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“I wouldn’t regret it,” he said in a steady tone. “Thought I might at one point. But at this moment…”
“Sam.”
He stared at her, slowly getting his breathing under control. Tension radiated through her, making her shake. Endless moments slipped by. Then he engaged the safety and stuffed the 9mm at the small of his back.
“Hands on top of your head, Willet.” The sheriff moved in and cuffed the sidewinder.
Sam skirted them and reached for Sky, helping her to her feet. He pulled her into his arms and her body quaked as the reality of the dire situation hit her hard. Sam held her tight while Sheriff Johnson read Mac his rights.
Then Ryan said, “Sky, we’d like to ask you a few questions about tonight, if you’re up to it.”
She worked her way out of Sam’s arms, albeit reluctantly. “Of course. Whatever you need.” She swiped at tears. “I want him to go to prison,” she said with conviction in her tone. “For a very, very long time.”
Mac’s gaze narrowed on her. Rage suddenly welled within her and Sky lurched forward. But Sam caught her around the waist and pulled her back to him, lifting her off her feet.
“Now, darlin’, much as I’d like to see you launch his balls into his throat, this isn’t in your hands, anymore. Let the law take over. Who knows, maybe there’ll be a Sky Travis fan in prison who’ll do the job for you, in your honor.”
Panic flickered in Mac’s eyes again.
“Right,” she conceded. “More than that, he’s a pretty boy. I’m sure he won’t lack for attention from cellmates.”
A ripple of satisfaction helped to chase away some of the pain in her lip and the evening’s tension.
“You can put me down now,” she said to Sam. “I promise to behave.”
Her feet touched ground again. Sam stripped off his T-shirt and dabbed gently at her lip, then wiped away the blood on her chin and jaw. He told her, “I’ll drive you to the sheriff’s office.”
Tension and consternation returned full force. “No, please don’t. I want to go with Ryan.” Her gaze shifted to the deputy. “You brought your cruiser, right? I thought I heard sirens from more than one vehicle.”
He nodded. “I can bring you back too, if you want.”
“That’d be fine. I have a remote to the gate and a key to the cottage in my pocket.” She turned to Sam. Staring up at him, she took in all the hard angles of his ruggedly handsome face and said, “You’ve been through enough, cowboy. I have to do this on my own.”
“You don’t have to do anything on your own.” He eyed her intently. “I want to be there for you.”
Her fingers grazed his temple. “I know. And I appreciate that. But this is all very painful for me, Sam, and I don’t want to talk about this anymore in front of you.”
His head dipped and he whispered, “Sky. We are going to have to talk about this. It’s inevitable.”
She shook her head. Then she stepped around him and walked toward Ryan. Over her shoulder, she said, “Tell Reese and Caleb and the others that I’m sorry for all the problems I’ve caused.” She stared into his eyes and said, “I am sorry, Sam.”
And then Ryan escorted her up to the drive, with the sheriff and Mac preceding them.
Chapter Twelve
Sam went back to his cottage, slipped into a fresh shirt and returned his gun to the nightstand. He’d retrieved it when John had notified him that he’d picked up Willet and Sky heading out of the corral and down toward the lake.
He checked on things in the stable and explained that Willet was now in the sheriff’s custody, much to everyone’s extreme relief.
“Where’s Sky?” Reese asked.
“She went with Ryan.” That was all he had to say on the matter. After taking one more sweep of the stalls and pens to ensure the horses had settled, he returned to his cottage, not in the moo
d for the sympathetic looks Reese continually gave him, or the way Caleb lingered close by, silently lending an ear if need be.
But he didn’t want to talk about what had happened that evening to anyone other than Sky. They needed to sort this all out, the two of them, together. He tried to process it all in his mind, though it was nothing more than a jagged pill to swallow.
Anxiety over Midnight missing from his stall was one thing. Fearing Willet was on the property and coming after Sky was another. Actually seeing that he’d gotten to her and had almost gotten her into his boat and away from the ranch—away from Sam—was enough to send him into angst of the nth degree.
