Page 25 of River Justice

He groaned and looked around, still wondering why the only person here was Birdie Malone.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go get your pickup from in front of the café and then find someplace where we can talk.”

“I can’t imagine what we have to talk about.”

“Really?” She cocked her head at him. “The charges have been dropped because I gave you an alibi.” She tapped a spot just above her heart. “You’re welcome.”

Still feeling queasy from the hangover and the day he’d had, he knew he wasn’t tracking well. “You’remy alibi?”

“I know you didn’t kidnap that girl,” Birdie said.

“Of course I didn’t, but how could you—”

“I heard one of your friends call you by name at the bar last night. I was curious about you and your family. I told you that I followed you home after you and your friends closed the bar last night. I know you didn’t leave again until past noon, when you came after me. But if that girl isn’t found...no one will ever believe you didn’t have something to do with it.” At his perplexed expression, she added, “Seriously? You really don’t know what people say about your family?”

“I’m not my family,” he snapped.

“So I hear. It’s the talk of the sheriff’s office,” she said, grinning. “The question is, which side of you, the Stafford or the McKenna, are you really?”

He groaned. “It’s all over the county by now?”

“I overheard one of the deputies talking about it. But Charlotte is still your mother, and even with Holden being your father...that doesn’t exactly help your pedigree, does it?”

Brand hated her logic, but he couldn’t argue with it. “Okay, I’m the worst kind of mutt. What is it you want from me?”

“For starters? We need to find Holly Jo.”

He stared at her, frowning. “There is no way I can find Holly Jo. I’m a rancher. I’m better with horses and cows than people. I’m not a detective. I have no idea how to find a missing girl. I’m going back to what I know and letting the sheriff find her.”

She laughed. “Well, lucky for you, I have all kinds of ideas.”

He gave her a side-eye. “You really aren’t good at listening to people, are you?”

“Just like you aren’t good at accepting help, let alone saying thank you.” She pointed to her SUV.

“Thank you. I appreciate that you gave me an alibi and got me out of jail, but you do realize that my truck is parked only a block away. I can walk, thank you very much.” He hoped the walk would do him good.

She laughed as she opened the driver’s-side door. “Get in and accept the ride. It will give us some personal time before you buy me dinner after you ruined my lunch. Anyway, you need my help, and I need yours. I know your older brother is already in jail for murder, but maybe I could talk to him. If he’s the oldest, he might remember my dad.”

He looked at her and shook his head. “CJ? You thinkI’mnot very cooperative? Wait until you meet my brother.”

“Half brother,” she said as she slid behind the wheel, started the engine and reached across to open the passenger-side door. “Tell me about this missing girl, Holly Jo.”

He realized that no matter how much he wanted all of this to go away, it wasn’t going to happen until the girl was found. As he walked around to the open door and climbed in, he hated to think what ideas Birdie Malone might have for finding Holly Jo.

But if there was even a chance the girl could be found, Brand was willing to at least hear Birdie out. After all, she was his alibi. If he didn’t realize he was in trouble earlier, he did now that he was indebted to Birdie Malone.

HOLLYJODIDN’Tknow what had pulled her from the pitch blackness of her groggy sleep—just that it had her heart pounding. She pushed herself up, surprised when she looked toward the window that it was still light outside. Was this a new day? She had no idea. She leaned against the wall, feeling even weaker than before, her brain foggy.

A sound outside the room made her freeze. Someone was coming. She started to get to her feet, opened her mouth to call for help, but then she heard it. The footfalls. It wasn’t someone coming to help her. It was him. She recognized the odd sound of the way he moved because of his limp. Apparently one of her kicks when he had abducted her had done some damage. Just not enough to save her. Only enough to make him swear profusely at her before everything went black.

She fell back, curling into herself tighter as she heard the key turn in the lock. She buried her face in her knees as she drew them against her.

The door slowly opened. She heard him step in, then stop. She held her breath. Why didn’t he move? It was him, wasn’t it? She had to look.

Peeking out, she saw him for the first time since he grabbed her and brought her here. He was large. She remembered how strong he was when she’d tried to get away from him. She hadn’t seen his face then—nor would she now. He wore a mask. Black. All she could see, when she dared look into his face, was his eyes. Light-colored.

She’d heard about girls being taken to be sold to have sex with a lot of men. She’d also heard that some were taken to use as unpaid labor. She stared at the hulking masked figure, terrified that was why she’d been brought here. She didn’t want to have sex at all, especially with a lot of men. Not even one man. Not even a boy. Not even Gus, her only friend at school.

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