AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We give it to the sheriff.”
“What?” She snatched it from his hand. “Why would you do that?”
“Because it’s evidence and could be what we need to get the local authorities of Colorado Springs involved. It might be enough to get the Feds to take this seriously.” He reached for it, but she jumped back.
“Don’t you think we should, I don’t know, make a copy first?”
His face scrunched up. “Why would you want to do something like that? We don’t know what’s on there.”
“Exactly. We don’t even know if it would be enough to get them arrested. But we do know that they want it. If we have a copy and give the original to the sheriff, maybe we could leverage it for our safety.”
Ian shook his head again. “Do you actually think they would negotiate with us? TheyshotTucker in front of you. They don’t carehowthey get it as long as they do.”
She stared at the USB drive in her palm and collapsed on the edge of the bed. “If Tucker had never put it in my apron, this wouldn’t have happened.”
He moved closer and crouched down in front of Jessica. He peered up at her, his brows creased with sympathy. “We don’t know that either. Tucker could have hidden it at your place, too.”
Jessica wrapped her fingers around the device and held onto it tightly. “I don’t want to give it to the sheriff yet. There has to be a reason Tucker had it—why he decided to put it in my apron.”
“Jessica,” Ian hedged. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
Irritation flickered to life inside her. There he went again. It was like he didn’t trust her to make a solid decision on her own. He needed to back off and stop trying to protect her. Her teeth clenched so tightly that her jaw ached. Now was not the time to argue or point out how he was treating her. They’d found it in her apron; it would be her choice what to do with it and when. Maybe there was something on the drive that would clue her in on what was the best route to take.
She didn’t dare hope, but maybe Tucker had a plan. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Righteous, but she still had a hard time believing he was as bad as all of this had made him out to be. She’d like to think he cared enough about her and their future not to throw it away on some adrenaline kick.
Jessica got to her feet once more and headed over to the tall dresser. She opened the top drawer and deposited the USB drive inside. Slowly she turned around, backing into the drawer to push it shut. “We found it in my apron. I decide what we’re going to do with it. For now, we wait.”
Ian’s eyes pleaded with her as he let out a breath. He hadn’t moved from his crouched position. With one hand, he raked his fingers through his hair. Then, without saying a word, he got to his feet and exited the room, letting the door close behind him.
She frowned after him. That wasn’t the reaction she’d been hoping for. Of course they couldn’t agree on everything. He wasn’t about to give in. She could see it in his eyes. But she was just as determined. If he thought she’d just roll over at any given second, he would be sorely mistaken.
