Page 97 of Catch Me When I Fall

The sheriff’s eyes snapped back to me, his chest heaving as I rose from my seat and braced my hands on his desk, letting him see the gun strapped to my hip. “Carrie is mine.”

“What…” He trailed off, his eyes searching my face as he slowly connected the dots. I gave him time, waiting patiently. When it finally clicked, he jerked back. “You killed him because of her—because of his interest in her,” he seethed, leaning forward.

My head ticked to the side as I cracked a smile. “No, Sheriff, though that is enough motive for me to kill a man. His interest in my woman isn’t the reason he’s dead.”

His nostrils flared. “Be very careful what you say next.”

I leaned down further, my blood humming. “He was going to hurt her—he was hurting her.”

Suddenly, the dynamic between he and I shifted. He blinked, realization hitting him for a second time. “He was what?” he whispered, devastation twisting his features.

“Found her bound to her headboard, delirious,” I growled, baring my teeth, the images of that night coming back. The terror in her eyes when she looked at me, tears running down her cheeks. “She invited him over for dinner, and he fucking drugged her with this.” I slapped her blood test results down in front of him.

Michael’s eyes dropped to the paper. I waited, watching as he discovered just how much of a monster his old friend was. He shook his head, leaning back and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Christ,” he muttered, sadness in his voice.

I rose back to my full height, going to one of the bookcases on the wall that was curiously absent of books. Instead, it was filled with his achievements and photos of his wife and children. I remembered looking at it almost eight months ago.

“Is she alright?” he asked my back.

“She is now,” I said, not looking at him, focusing on the picture of him and Leo on the top shelf. They were young, probably early twenties, standing side by side on a dock, Leo’s fishing boat behind them. I'd missed seeing this photo last time I was here.

Humbly mumbled something under his breath. “Why didn’t you call this in?”

I looked over my shoulder to find him glaring at me. “I doubt you needed the paperwork, Sheriff,” I noted, looking down at his messy desk.

“So you just, what? Committed a murder and—”

I whirled on him, not liking his tone. “I did what any other red-blooded male would do if he saw his woman being attacked, Sheriff,” I quipped sharply. His mouth snapped shut, his eyes hard. “I came here today to inform you that Leo Samuels is no longer breathing and to advise you to declare the case cold. You will never find him, and this will never be pinned on Carrie.”

His jaw worked, mulling over my words. “And you’ll never face jail time for it, right?” he shot back, shooting up from his seat.

I folded my arms over my chest. “I’m the last kind of man you want behind bars,” I assured darkly.

“And what about the townspeople?” He ran a hand through his hair. “They are going to ask questions.”

“And Carrie has her answers memorized if that happens,” I returned.

We glared at each other, more anger coming from him than me. “I don’t trust you,” he whispered.

I took a step forward. “I never asked you to trust me. You remember your place, and there won’t be any problems between us. You forget? I’ll have your badge and this town before you can even bat a fucking eye.”

I’d intended on leaving him with that, but when I got to the door, his words pinned me in place. “If she’s yours, then you better take care of those death threats too.”

I stiffened and slowly, I twisted my neck, meeting his eyes over my shoulder. “There’s more?” I asked, my voice like iron.

He shook his head, looking to the ceiling. “Judging by your reaction, you knew about them.” I turned to face him head on as he added, “She told me you didn’t know about them.”

“I knew about the first,” I clarified. “Carrie didn’t know I knew. I found it in her journal the night I was supposed to bring her in.”

“And why didn’t you?” he questioned, shooting up from his seat. “Why didn’t you take her back to St. Louis, Grayson?”

I gave it to him, no hesitation. “She begged me not to.”

He quirked a brow. “Pretty certain all your targets beg for the same thing.”

I took a step forward, my voice like granite as I said, “All my other targets aren’t her, Sheriff.”

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