“You know the Ponytail Snatcher?”
“The guy who has been traveling around Texas targeting female deputies, and then torturing them before cutting off their ponytails, killing them and burying them in a shallow grave?” he asked. “What about him? He’s been quiet for more than a month.”
“An FBI agent tracked the perp down to a motel an hour from Mesa Point,” she continued. “It’s probably nothing more than a weird feeling on my part but I was studying the case, and the deputies have a lot of the same physical features as Audrey. I would feel better if someone checked on her. Since you’re the one in town and our grandparents can’t, I thought—”
“Do you have her address?” he asked, doing his level best not to give away his reaction—an emotional reaction that had no business rearing its head in connection with a work tip, no matter what their history had been. He’d heard Audrey had become a deputy and wondered why she’d chosen Mesa Point to live and work.
Crystal rattled off the location of a small cabin by the lake. He ignored the fact he’d kissed Audrey for the first time near that location before there’d been a development there. It couldn’t have meant much to her, so it shouldn’t make a difference to him, either.
“I got it,” he ground out.
“Are you sure?” Crystal asked with more of that concern in her voice. Before he could answer, she said, “Never mind. That was a long time ago.”
“Ancient history,” he concurred.
“Check back in when you’ve had a chance to stop by?” Crystal asked, but she had to already know he would for work purposes. His sister wanted to check on him to make sure he was fine after seeing Audrey again all these years later.
He would be. No doubt in his mind. Even though a hand reached inside his chest and squeezed his heart at the thought. “Will do.”
“Be careful,” Crystal warned. Was she still talking about the perp?
“You know it,” he confirmed. “And don’t worry about our grandparents. I can cover.”
“I should be able to drop in soon, but I’ll have to leave just as fast,” Crystal said. He could hear the guilt in her voice.
“We’re a team,” he pointed out. “All of us. And we got this. They won’t be alone again.”
Why did the word alone suddenly take on a new meaning to him?
LOUNGE CHAIR UNFOLDED to the perfect position. Check. Umbrella positioned to block the sun’s unforgiving rays. Check. Good book to read on a much-needed day off. Check.
A sound in the tree line caught her attention, sent an icy shiver racing up her spine. Even after all these years, noise did that to her. Becoming a deputy was meant to face the monsters in the closet, as a manner of speaking. She’d taken self-defense classes to chase the nightmares away. So it frustrated Audrey to no end that her body still reacted to noises as if she was still that little girl hiding in her sister’s closet being hunted by their mother.
The noise was just the wind, she determined.
Audrey Newcastle, formerly Audrey Smith, couldn’t imagine relaxing after finding Lorenzo and Lacy Remington inside their banged-up truck in a ditch off Farm Road 12 yesterday afternoon, saddles splayed across the dirt. She couldn’t conceive of what her life would have turned out to be without those lovely people intervening when she was sixteen years old and in more trouble than she knew what to do with. They’d shown her what real love looked like. All the credit for her turning her life around went to those two and not her pure evil mother and stepfather.
Leaving the hospital without knowing if the Remingtons would survive broke her heart, but she’d known better than to stick around and risk running into Duke. His grandparents gave her a heads-up every time before he visited, so she wouldn’t accidentally run into him. They’d told her it was for the best if she stayed away while he was in town. She’d taken the not-so-subtle hint and made certain to keep out of sight every time. Even now. Walking away from Mesa Point and him all those years ago wasn’t a choice she’d made lightly despite the message she’d asked his grandparents to give him. He would be too proud and too stubborn to forgive her for breaking up with him in that manner, but it had been the only way she could follow through with it.
Rather than go down the path of regret, she sat down facing the lake and opened her book. The glare from the water made her squint. The coffee she’d had a little while ago kicked in, causing her leg to twitch. Sitting still might not be her best move.
Getting up, she repositioned the umbrella but couldn’t quite stop the glare from the water. This was her favorite lake, though, so she sat back down and looked across the surface that seemed to wink at her like brilliant stars on a clear night against a velvet canopy.
Audrey sighed as she picked up her book and opened to page one. Texas was known for its wide-open skies and sunsets that were postcard perfect. Today was no exception. Reading relaxed her.
The minute she got comfortable, her cell buzzed. Of course, it did. If not for the open kitchen window, she might not have heard it at all. Why did she always leave it inside?
Standing up, she debated answering for a half second. She’d lost countless days off covering for one of her coworkers while they attended back-to-school nights or last-minute trips to Galveston to get in more family time before school started. At thirty years old, she had no plans to become a mother, or wife for that matter. She involuntarily shivered at the thought. Parenthood wasn’t for everyone. Her stepfather was a prime example of that. Covering for coworkers was as close as she wanted to get.
By the time she got to her cell, the call had rolled to voicemail. The screen read Boss.
Her hunch that this was going to be a work-related call appeared to be dead-on. Rather than immediately call back, she waited to see if Sheriff J.D. Ackerman left a message.
Her work demanded her full attention. Being the only non-married deputy made her an easy target for helping out. But covering another shift for a coworker wasn’t high on her list today. Not while she was still shaken from the devastating crash on Farm Road 12. After seeing the senior Remingtons in the hospital fighting for their lives, she was heartbroken.
Another noise outside caught her attention.
She surveyed the area, scanning the trees, searching for movement.
A deer? Some other wildlife? Wild animals were common in these parts.
Getting used to life in Mesa Point after growing up in Dallas was a big change, but she’d managed all right. And it mostly felt like home living here.
Audrey stared at the screen, tapping her fingers on the kitchen counter. Waiting. The voicemail icon lit up, showing the number 1. Audrey took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. She tapped the icon, then hit the speaker.
“I need to know a head count for the law enforcement versus fire department chili cook-off,” her boss said. “Are you in?”
Audrey released the breath she’d been holding. That was easy enough to answer. As she started to send her response via text, a male figure showed up at her sliding glass door. Knocked.
Panic gripped her as she turned her full attention to the entrance. Had the noise in the trees been someone watching her?
She tamped down her nerves.
Someone out to get her wouldn’t knock on the glass door.
She turned her full attention to the entrance. Her heart free fell the second she recognized the face. Duke Remington stepped inside the cabin.
Of course, he would show up in town for his grandparents.
