Page 75 of Rio's Release

“So, she’s got a kid. What’s the problem?”

I glare at him from under my brows. “She’s a product of that night.”

Zig’s face goes slack. “You mean that fucking deputy is the father?”

“Yeah. She pleaded with me not to kill him. Said when Bella grows up, she might never forgive me or her. I don’t want to give in to her, but goddamn it, she’s right.”

“Okay, so now what?”

“We come up with a new plan.”

“Got any ideas?”

“There’s only one I can think of and that’s we get him sent to prison. We put him in a six by nine cell for the rest of his fucking life.”

“And how do we do that? Is Shelby going to testify against him?”

“No, I don’t want her involved.”

“Then what?”

I drag a hand down my jaw. “I don’t know. Maybe we set him up.”

“You want him sent up for life, it’s gonna have to be something big. We’re talking murder.”

“Or we get Sheriff Torres to turn on him. Turn him in for all the women he’s raped in the past. Some others must have reported it.” I lean back in my chair, stroking my jaw and turning it over in my head for a few minutes, then sit up, the chair creaking. “I think we need to pay our good sheriff a visit tonight. Set it up with the guys.”

“All right.” He stands. “So, what are you going to do about Shelby and her daughter? Is she going back to Cloudcroft?”

“I’ve got a plan, but I need to make a call first.”

When Zig leaves, I pull out my phone.

“Hola, mi amigo. What can I do for you?”

“You still lookin’ to sell that hacienda on the hill, Eduardo?”

“Can you afford it, my friend? My realtor just went over the listing she’s preparing. She thinks I can get two million.”

I whistle. That’s a lot for me to come up with right now, and until the garage starts showing a real profit history, I won’t beable to get a mortgage loan. “Can you lease it to me for a year? I should be able to come up with the funds to buy it outright by then.”

“I suppose we could work out that deal.”

“I need to get in there tomorrow. Is it empty?”

“We left the furniture in it. I was going to see if we could include it in the sale. It doesn’t fit in our new modern house.” He hesitates. “Are you sure about this, Rio? You’ve never seen the inside.”

“Send me the listing photos.”

“That I can do.”

“I’ll call you later tonight, and we can work out the details.”

“I’ll send the photos now.”

“Thanks, Eduardo. This works out, I’ll owe you one.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

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