Page 57 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Please!” Austin called out.

“Okay,” I said, still keeping my voice low. “But I want to question him first. Then you can have a shot at him.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

He took a step, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt. “Is there something going on in the underworld, Dermot?”

He stared into my face. “The truth?”

“Don’t insult me by insinuating I’d want anything but.”

Sympathy filled his eyes. “You’ve been gone a long time. You’ve kept your nose clean.” He paused and leveled his gaze with mine. “You’re married to the damn sheriff. Once you know this stuff, you can’t unknow it, and you sure as hell can’t tell Joe.”

I rubbed my face with my hand as my heart sank. What was I doing? But Joe was certain there was nothing big going on in the county, and if I could find information that proved otherwise, it would help him too. Right?

It didn’t ease my guilt, but it still felt important to learn everything I could.

“You can walk away from this and pretend like it never happened,” Dermot said kindly.

“And you’ll take care of it?” I asked with more attitude than I’d intended as I dropped my hand.

“There’s nothing wrong with handing this off to me,” he said. “You left this world, and with good cause. And if I’m honest, I don’t want you back in it, not because I don’t trust you but because you’ve got four kids. You and I both know that this world and families don’t mix.” A familiar pain filled his eyes when he talked about the family he’d lost because of his involvement in the underworld.

“Dermot.” My heart broke for him, just like it did every time he mentioned his family, which I could count on one hand. He kept his cards close to the vest, always. He only let this side of him slip out for a few people, and I counted myself lucky that I was one of the ones he trusted.

He pulled back his shoulders. “That being said, you’re a grown-ass woman who pretty much saved this county and a whole lot of lives. You’re more than capable of dealing with this. The question is, why would you?”

He was right. I should just let him handle the situation with the boy and have him let me know if I should be worried. Before my mother died nearly six years ago, I would have handed it to him and thanked him profusely, but I wasn’t that woman anymore.

I took care of my own messes.

“No,” I said, hoping I didn’t regret it but already knowing I probably would. “You don’t need to tell me about what’s going on in the criminal world, but I have to hear this boy out and find out who told him to come to Bruce Wayne to find me. And if he really did witness a murder, I need to figure out how to deal with that too.”

He nodded. “Okay. Let’s bring him to the truck.”

We headed back to Austin, who was flanked by Neely Kate and Bruce Wayne. He looked like he was about to be sick. He might have an ulterior motive for being here, but he was obviously scared shitless.

“Austin,” I said, stopping a few feet from him. “We need to ask you some questions before we can help you, but your belligerence isn’t doing you any favors. So do you want my help or not?”

“I think so.”

“Either you do or you don’t, boy,” Dermot barked. “Which one is it?”

Austin flinched. “I do.”

“And you realize that you’re not gonna give Lady any lip, or you’re out on your ass—no second chances?” Dermot asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to hide my fluttering nerves. “We’ll go sit in Dermot’s truck and find out exactly what happened.”

“I already told you what happened,” he countered, sounding panicked. “And if I get in that truck, I’m as good as dead.”

“Dead?” Dermot asked with a short laugh. “Who do you think’s gonna kill you?”

Austin gave him an anxious look.

“Me?” Dermot asked, then narrowed his eyes. “Do I have reason to kill you?”

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