Page 73 of Dark Side of the River

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“WHO’STHAT? COOPER?”CJ snapped as Tilly quickly put her phone away.

Don’t say anything to CJ?Stuart knew who had shot Oakley. Her heart was pounding. All her instincts were on alert—just as they’d been when CJ had insisted he drive her into town to the hospital in one of the ranch trucks.

She’d argued that it wasn’t necessary, that she was more than able to drive herself into town. She didn’t mention that she was taking Oakley her list of passwords. She hadn’t looked at them as she’d kind of promised. Frankly, she didn’t care. But she knew her sister was waiting for them.

That was why she couldn’t understand why CJ had insisted on taking a back road. She’d been thinking,Does he have to drive so fast?when she’d gotten the message from the sheriff.

“CJ, where are you taking me?” she asked as she looked up and realized he’d turned off on yet another road. They were now headed not for Powder Crossing but for Miles City. “I told you, I need to get to the hospital.” He was starting to scare her—especially after Stuart’s cryptic message.

“We’re going to Billings.”

“What?”Tilly had her sister’s password cheat sheet in her pocket. She took it out. “CJ, Oakley’s waiting for this. I promised her—”

“Forget about Oakley!” he yelled. “This is all her fault!”

She stared at him, seeing how tightly he was holding the wheel. The set of his jaw was worse. “What is all her fault?” she asked quietly, her heart in her throat.

All his anger seemed to burn out as quickly as it had flared up. He scrubbed his arm over his face and looked away from her. “She just wouldn’t listen.”

Her pulse drummed in her ears, and she felt dizzy as she watched her brother driving too fast on the narrow dirt road. “CJ, pull over.” He shook his head. She glanced down at the paper in her hand and realized that Oakley had written her password list on CH4 notepaper. How many of these notepads were floating around?

One of the passwords jumped out at her.Buttercup?It was one of Oakley’s passwords? For what?

CJ sped up, taking a curve in the narrow dirt road too fast and throwing her against her door.

“I can’t go to Billings. I have to see Oakley.”

“I told you to forget about her. She’s fine.” He glanced over at her, tears swimming in his green eyes. “I have to get out of town, out of the state, maybe out of the country.”

Tilly swallowed, suddenly even more afraid at the emotion she heard in her brother’s voice. Her pulse thundered in her ears at the expression on his face. When she spoke, her voice came out in a whisper. “What did you do?”

He wagged his head, looking miserable. “I warned her and warned her. She just wouldn’t listen. Someone had to stop her.”

Realization struck like a slap, stinging and sharp, bringing tears to her own eyes. “Oh, tell me you didn’t.”

He looked at her, swallowed, and the words poured out of him. “I saw her go into that ravine. I waited for her. When she came out...I thought she was headed for their house. I meant to fire just a warning shot...” He broke down, no longer capable of talking through his sobs.

“It was an accident,” she said quickly, noticing that he seemed to be driving even faster and more recklessly. “Oakley’s fine. She’s going to be fine. Once you tell the sheriff what happened—”

“No.” It came out a growl. He wiped his sleeve over his face again and regained control of his emotions, but he was driving more dangerously. The pickup lifted off the road as he hit a bump and came down hard, making him fight to keep the vehicle on the road. “I can’t go to the sheriff.” He shot her a look. “Mother can never know.”

“She will know, CJ. It’s going to come out. You can’t run from this.”

He didn’t answer, his knuckles white on the wheel as he gave the pickup even more gas.

Tilly looked at the road ahead. He was driving recklessly, not in his right mind. She had to stop him before he killed them both.

STUARTJUMPEDBACKinto his patrol SUV. If CJ and Tilly left only five or ten minutes ago, he should have passed them on the main county road—unless CJ turned off on one of the cut-across roads that would take him to Miles City and the interstate and several major airports.

In which case, he wasn’t headed into town to the hospital. He was making a run for it.

He alerted his deputies as he roared out of the ranch road onto the county one. He hadn’t gone far when he saw Cooper’s pickup coming down the road toward him. He made the decision in an instant. Whirring down his window, he waved him down.

“CJ was the shooter. It was his rifle. He has Tilly in one of the ranch pickups. I think he’s headed for the interstate—I just don’t know which crossroad he took. He’s only about ten minutes ahead of us.”

Cooper didn’t hesitate. “I’ll take Little Bear Skull Creek Road.”

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