Page 63 of Tex's Angel

“Fuck off. If you’re no longer a cop, that means I don’t have to answer all your shitty questions.”

I grab his hair and jerk his head straight back to look him in the eyes. “Y’all think the fact that I’m no longer a cop makes me more or less dangerous?”

“More, probably,” he grumbles.

“I’m gonna ask you one more time, did y’all abduct Clara Collins, or do y’all know who did?”

“Would it surprise you to know that I don’t give a fuck about a fancy ass schoolteacher? As fucking far as I’m concerned, she did us a favor. Now that Anabel’s gone, we can finally start over.”

My hand comes out hard and fast around his throat. I begin squeezing and don’t stop, even when he starts trying to pull my hand away. “Where is she, Miller. Tell me before I snap your neck.”

He croaks out, “Can’t believe I’m gonna die over some bitch who did me a fucking favor.”

Rider’s hand lands on my shoulder. “Hey, dial it back a notch, Tex. I think this dude is telling the truth about Clara.”

“I know,” I tell him through gritted teeth. “I want to choke the life out of him for what he did to Anabel and for being an evil fucker in general.”

“Yeah, me too, but we’re wasting time here. Time when we could be looking for your woman.”

With a deep, guttural, frustrated growl, I release his neck and give him rough shove back. “Fine. Get Rigs and let’s get the hell outta here.”

***

On the way back to the clubhouse, we have to stop for gas. I get a call from Wade while I’m pumping.

“Hey, Tex. It’s Wade.”

“How is interrogating the Collins family going for us?” I ask.

“I finally got to beat the snot out of Chris. Come to find out, he’s not the stalker.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yep, I know we used to be friends, but that man is too dumb to wipe his ass properly. He might be eye candy, but my wife has decided I’m the better deal.”

“Tell me you are not getting back together with her, Wade,” I say. Seeing Wade and Brittany together was kinda sweet. Much as I had always found that club girl to be irritating as hell, she seems to genuinely like Wade.

“Hell the fuck no. I would never, not after the shit she’s pulled. I did shake her down nonviolently for information and scored something interesting.”

“Is it related to Clara? If not, we can talk about it later. We need to stay focused on finding her before it’s too late.”

“It relates, big time.”

“Okay, spit it out,” I say as get back on my bike.

“When Clara was a junior in college, she made friends with a librarian.”

“And y’all think this librarian is the one who stalked and kidnapped her?”

“No, you impulsive fuck. Let me get the story out.”

“Sorry, it’s really hard to stay calm and collected when the woman I love is missing.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s why I took all my frustrations out on Chris. He totally deserved it for fucking my wife and I feel loads better. Someone should start a therapy service where you can beat the shit out of people—”

“Clara,” I interrupt him trying to get him back onto the matter at hand,

“The librarian was caught in an abusive relationship. It seems Clara has always been a bit of do-gooder. She talked the woman into getting counseling and drove her to a women’s shelter in another state, so the abusive boyfriend couldn’t find her. The guy was enraged. He came after Clara and her whole family when she was home on vacation.”

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