LITMIR.BIZ

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on Tommy?” Dallas asked as he walked inside the break room.

      “All I know is that he’s in surgery.” Colin gave his brother a bear hug before shaking his head. He poured a fresh cup and then handed it to Dallas. “It could be a while before we hear anything.”

      “Well then, no news is probably good news.” Dallas took a sip, worry lines etched in his forehead as he gave Colin a once-over, his gaze fixed on the large red stain centered on Colin’s shirt.

      “It’s all his blood. I’m fine,” Colin reassured.

      “I might have an extra shirt in my truck if you want to put on something clean,” Dallas offered.

      Colin had washed his hands not long after arriving at the hospital when a nurse had tried to put him in a wheelchair and take him into the back for a check. He’d had to lift his shirt to show her there were no marks on his body to convince her.

      “I may take you up on that,” he said to Dallas.

      “You said Tommy was in the parking lot of Zahn Lawn Mower Supply. Any idea what he was doing out there so late?” Dallas asked. Colin had only given his brother essential information. Tommy had been shot and he was at Bluff General. Richard Rancic was armed and dangerous.

      “Good question.” There was another one that would follow.

      “What were you doing there?” Dallas didn’t wait long to hit him with that one. That was an even better question. Colin was still trying to figure that out. Dallas didn’t ask about Melissa, but the questions about her were written in his tense expression.

      “She ran away so fast at the Fling,” he finally said.

      Dallas compressed his lips and gave a nod, saying he understood. It was good that someone did because Colin was still scratching his head over the night’s events. Talk about an evening going haywire. His friend was fighting for his life in a hospital bed and the woman he’d wanted to marry had a child.

      “What did she say when you showed up?” Dallas asked.

      “I parked to the side, trying to decide if I was going to talk to her or not.” It wasn’t entirely untrue. “Then, I saw her husband pull into the lot and she seemed real uncomfortable. I thought she was supposed to be meeting him.” Colin’s voice hitched on that last word.

      “Why would a husband be meeting his wife in a parking lot at midnight?” Dallas asked, and then sipped his coffee.

      “I’d like to hear the answer to that question for myself, but she’s not talking.” Based on her terrorized expression when she saw Richard, he was the last person she’d expected to show. It was clear to Colin that she was scared to death of the guy, which made even less sense. Rancic was a jerk and his business reputation said he was cutthroat. Didn’t make him a criminal. So, why did the guy show up and then shoot a sheriff? Obviously, there was a lot going on. Had Melissa left her husband? Was Richard so determined to get her back that he’d shot a sheriff, realized what he’d done and then fled the scene?

      “So, she’s here?” Dallas asked.

      Colin nodded.

      “Have you spoken to her?” Dallas’s eyebrow shot up.

      “There hasn’t been much time. She stayed back with officers at the scene. I’ve been busy giving all the information I could to the hospital workers since I was the one who’d been stemming the blood flow and administering CPR. And then I gave a statement to the deputy,” Colin said.

      “Garcia?” Dallas asked.

      Colin nodded again.

      “Melissa just showed up here a few minutes ago and it didn’t exactly go well between us,” he said with a shrug. “Guess I needed a minute to clear my head before taking another go at it with her.”

      “It’s hard when you have so much history,” Dallas agreed.

      When Colin had been standing close to her at the house, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual on her body. There was no bruising, no other marks of any kind indicating abuse. She still had that same rosy skin, a combination of cream and silk. And yet she was terrified of her husband and that made Colin believe their relationship had been abusive.

      “She has a kid now,” was all Colin said. He took a sip of coffee.

      “You okay?” Dallas asked. “I can take things from here if you want to go cool off somewhere. Go get cleaned up and come back.”

      “I’ll be fine. Me and Melissa were a long time ago,” he said, mostly for his own benefit. “A lot’s changed since we went out, and let’s not forget that she’s married to someone else.”

      Dallas did the “tight lip/nod” thing again. “That’s probably a healthy way to look at it.”

      “Not much choice, is there.” It wasn’t a question. He didn’t repeat the fact that she and Richard had a child together. Colin could’ve lived the rest of his life without knowing that detail.

      Dallas shrugged with an apologetic look.

      “Here’s what else I know. Tommy comes roaring through the parking lot soon after Rancic, no lights or sirens. And then I’m really confused about what’s going on,” Colin continued. “The next thing I see is Tommy being shot. Rancic squeals out of the parking lot and I’m trying to save my friend’s life.”

      “That’s a lot to have coming at you at once.” Dallas shot a look that said he was talking about more than the incident in the parking lot with Tommy.

      Colin studied his coffee cup before taking a sip.

      “For the record, I still think it’s a good idea to get some fresh air,” Dallas added.

      “I’m not leaving until I know Tommy’s going to be okay and I get a few answers out of Melissa. Who knows when she’ll take off and I might never see her again.” Colin ground his back teeth. He gripped the coffee cup a little too tight.

      “You sure about that last part?” Dallas’s brow lifted.

      “As sure as the sun rises in the east,” Colin said.

      Another one of Dallas’s concerned looks creased his brother’s forehead.

      “It might help that you’re here. She always liked you and she never did anything to put a wedge between the two of you,” Colin said.

      “Hell yes she did,” Dallas said without hesitation. “She hurt my brother.”

      Colin topped off both of their cups before urging his brother out of the lounge. “Let’s go get some answers.”

      * * *

      MELISSA TEXTED HER handler for the sixth time since the incident in the parking lot and an ominous feeling settled over her. Where was Marshal Davis? And how on earth had Richard found her? He was supposed to be in Canada by now. If Tommy and Colin hadn’t shown when they did she’d be dead.

      Her body trembled no matter how hard she tried to settle down. A thought struck. Was there any possibility that Richard was the reason Marshal Davis hadn’t shown?

      The US marshal was most likely a victim of Bluff’s spotty cell coverage, but being without contact after everything that had happened caused a cold chill to trickle down her spine. That uneasy feeling gripped her again as she rocked Angelina.

      Tommy Johnson was shot and she couldn’t help but blame herself. If she had stayed away from Bluff none of this would be happening. Her stress levels were climbing through the roof and another big part of that had to do with the man down the hall. Colin would be back any second with questions she couldn’t answer. And especially not without speaking to Marshal Davis first.

      Angelina whimpered in her sleep.

      “It’s okay, sweet girl,” Melissa soothed, wishing it were that simple in all areas of her life.

      Thinking

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