Page 48 of Deadly Revenge

He nodded.

“He wouldn’t answer my questions. I definitely get the sense he knows something, though.”

“Maybe you need to pass this along to Alex.”

“That’s what I just did, and she gave it back to me. Alex thinks I can get more out of him than anyone else.”

He laughed. “She’s probably right—if anyone can get someone to talk, it’d be you.”

“She wants me to go today.”

He checked his watch. “It’s four thirty.”

“I know. Want to tag along? Darby’s place is about ten miles from here, and it shouldn’t take long, but I’m good to go by myself if you have something else you need to do.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How about your house? Don’t you want to process it first?”

“It’s not going anywhere. Besides I don’t think we’ll find anyprints.” She gave him a wicked grin. “And I’ll let you drive again so your male ego isn’t bruised.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll have you to know my ego doesn’t bruise that easily—I’m not one of those control freaks who won’t let anyone else behind the wheel.”

Jenna held up her finger. “Wait a minute and let me run that through my baloney meter.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Seriously, I’ll take you if you’ll let me camp out at your house tonight so I can help dust for prints.”

“We’ll see.”

He knew what that meant, but evidently she’d forgotten how stubborn he could be too. The problem was, Max wasn’t 100 percent certain there’d been an intruder, but if there had been, he wanted to be there for her. “Jenna, the intruder could return.”

“So you’re going to stay here forever?”

“Of course not, but ...” He lifted his hands in surrender. Not that he wouldn’t give it another shot later. “You win.”

“Glad that’s settled,” Jenna said. “Oh, Alex is requesting photos of Sebastian from the prison and Chatt PD. She’s going to distribute them in the morning.”

“Good deal.”

She called the 911 office and got Darby’s address, and he put it in his GPS. “You’ll tell me if it tries to take me the long way, right?”

“Absolutely.”

The ten miles took them half an hour on the narrow, crooked roads. “What do you do if you meet someone?” he asked as they rounded yet another narrow curve.

Jenna chuckled. “Pray. Especially that they aren’t drinking ... or texting.”

Max had never spent any time in Russell County and had no idea it was so picturesque. Once or twice he slowed just to admire the mountains when they came to the occasional break in the trees. Layers and layers of mountains stretched as far asthe eye could see. He risked a glance at Jenna. “Why did you ever leave here?”

“I went to Chattanooga for college,” she said. “And that’s where I was born.”

“So how did you end up here?”

“My dad was raised here, but he moved to Chattanooga after he married my mom. When she died, he came back home. He thought about returning to Chattanooga when I was twelve, but then his dad died in an accident and Granna needed help—she was in the accident with my grandfather. He also stayed to fight the dam and reservoir that took the family farm. At least that’s what Granna told me. Dad never tells me anything.”

“He raised you?”

“With Granna’s and Sam’s help. And don’t forget to go by and see her.”

“I won’t. So, when you finished college, you became a cop. Was it something you always wanted to be?”