AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wilson doesn’t move, nor does he break eye contact. His cold gaze stabs me with the force of a pickax. Chips away at the stone. Searches for an unspoken truth.
His eyes flick from me, and it takes a moment to understand why.
Troy advances on him with the speed of someone on a mission, movements pantherlike, dangerous.
And the fangs of dread sink into me.
25
Troy
July, Present Day
Maple Ridge
* * *
Chief Wilson’s standing to the side of the road, his attention locked on Jess—as if he’s trying to peel away her layers, to uncover her secrets.
Secrets she doesn’t want anyone to know. Would he even believe she was innocent when it came to her husband’s death? If he’s anything like the guy I once knew in school, the answer is no.
Before I realize what I’m doing, I stalk toward him, half-aware of the noises surrounding us. Laughter and chatter from the little kids waiting for the hayride. The country band playing onstage. Announcements piping through the loudspeakers. None of those things are of interest to me.
Wilson’s gaze shifts to me, and he nods. The nod lacks any hint of friendliness. It’s barely more than an acknowledgment, even though I’ve known him most of my life. We’ve never been friends. Not even close.
I want nothing more than to tell him to stop looking at my woman that way. To stop putting her on edge when she’s starting to make real progress with her therapy. But I can’t do that without betraying her trust, so I opt for the next best thing.
I glare at him, a raging fire roaring inside me. “Why are you staring at my girlfriend like that?” Do you know who she really is?
“I don’t keep a running tab of the women you fuck, Troy. Could you be more specific? Which girlfriend?” His icy tone contrasts with the heat in his words.
I step closer to him. A stupid move, but I don’t give a damn about that either. “Jessica Smithson.” I watch for signs he knows her true identity.
Wilson doesn’t put distance between us. If anything, he does the opposite. He doesn’t move, but he does seem to make himself look bigger. More intimidating.
Except I have faced worse men than him while in the Marines, so his bullshit strategy fails to work on me.
“Stand down, Carson, or I’ll have you arrested.” He barks his command like a pissed-off Rottweiler.
“Arrested for what?” My volume matches his beat for beat. A group of six people walking past us stop, their puzzled glances cast our way. Others watch us like we’re a spectator sport. The murmur of voices isn’t enough to drown out the country music playing in the background.
“I’m sure I can find something.” The sound of Wilson’s voice drops to a casual level, but the implication behind the words is clear. He nods at something over my shoulder, but his eyes never leave mine. “Trouble does run in the family, after all. I wonder how Lucas and Kellan are doing these days…” He says it in a tone that implies he has anything but their welfare in mind.
The corner of his mouth tilts, not enough for everyone else to see it, but it’s enough to get what he wants.
A reaction.
From me.
I shove him in the chest.
The movement might not have been enough for him to land on his ass, but the force causes him to take a step back.
He grabs his handcuffs and yanks my injured arm behind me, not giving me a chance to react. “Troy Carson, you’re under arrest for assaulting an officer.”
Pain shoots through my shoulder and radiates down my arm. A curse releases from my mouth before I can stop it, giving him exactly what he wants. But I refuse to fight back or tell him he’s hurting me. I won’t give him that satisfaction.
“You’re hurting his injured shoulder.” Jess’s shrieked words break through the pain-induced fog in my brain.
