Page 77 of Sheriff's City Girl

Probably because he had.

“They’re on their way,” I answered, my shoulders sagging. “But the trail will end if she was put in a vehicle.”

“Yeah, usually does,” Nick agreed, deep lines forming around his eyes. “And you’ve been having a lot of cattle go missing around town, too?”

I nodded. “I don’t think that has anything to do with this though.”

“And who are these people?” Nick eyed the group as the interviews had started. However, before anyone could say anything, he answered his own question. “Graham Hudson. Guess he’s moved towns.” Something in his tone made my stomach flip.

“You know him?”

“Oh yeah, we know him,” Nick said through gritted teeth, his eyes laser focused. “And I have a damn good idea what’s going on here with this kidnapping.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded, my eyes narrowing.

“We’ve been trying to nail the asshole for years, and a couple years ago, there was a similar incident to this that took place. Never could place the blame on him because the woman showed up just fine a couple of hours into the search. She never saw who picked her up or took her.”

“And… why did it happen?” Jackson looked more confused than ever.

“Well, that’s a great fucking question,” Nick chuckled, shaking his head. “Seems like it was an intimidation factor maybe. He apparently wanted to buy the property that the woman and her husband owned, and that was the sole motive… But we could never prove he had a hand in it. We couldn’t prove shit, to be honest.”

“And what about the property? Did they sell it?” Jackson asked, his face deeply concerned.

Newman nodded. “For half price. His scare tactic worked, and ever since then, we’ve been watching him. His greed outweighs his sense, and eventually he’s going to trip up—and we’ll be there when he does.”

“You think he’s behind the missing cattle?” I asked, the wheels in my head turning a hundred miles an hour.

“Probably,” Nick said with a shrug. “I mean, he’d have someone else getting their hands dirty, but I bet if we nail him, the cattle will stop going missing.”

“Then let’s nail him,” I said, just as my phone began to ring in my pocket. I pulled it out, my eyes focused on Graham, who was staring at the four of us. He looked… pissed. “Hello?” I said into the receiver, not even paying attention to who had called.

“Call them off, and you can have your girl.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Emma

Iwanted to move my toes, but I couldn’t feel them to even try. The blindfold was cutting into my temples as well, giving me a horrible headache. I had been transferred from the shitty van to some other place but had no clue as to where it actually was. The men were laughing and cutting up outside of the room—or maybe outside the shed?

It was hard to tell if it was a house or a shed, given that the smells around me were musty and stale. Another nostalgic fragrance of my grandparents’ house after it had been left abandoned for nearly a decade… So, wherever I was, it wasn’t being used often. I tried to take deep breaths, reminding myself that Mason would find me…

But as the hours—well, I think it had been hours—ticked by, my hope was waning as quickly as the feeling in my fingers and toes.

“They’re going to find her,” I heard one of the men say, his voice strained. “I know they are. And we don’t wanna fuckin’ be here when they do.”

“It’s just like the last time,” another one grunted. “I don’t know why the hell they decided to do this again. Mason Hewitt and Emma Fisher have absolutely nothing to offer when it comes to his business.”

“I think it’s just to send a message,” the first man replied. “And it doesn’t help that his damn wife is still swooning over the idiot.”

“Wait, what? She’s hung up on the sheriff?”

Brittany.

“Yeah, I think he never had any real interest in her and burned her. You know how psycho people over unrequited love or whatever can be—especially hotheaded women. I know that she’s one of those. I think she’s more dangerous than Graham.”

The other man burst into laughter. “Yeah, right. I don’t think that’s true at all. Graham has no qualms with killing someone that gets in the way. Brittany wouldn’t have it in her.”

“Touche.”

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