Page 174 of Stay With Me
“Alright, I’m not gonna handcuff ya.” The sheriff holsters his gun. “But I do need to take you down to my office. You too, Magnolia. We need to get statements.”
The sheriff orders one of his deputies to collect the gun for evidence, and then another starts taping off the area around my trailer. Considering we’re downtown, there should be plenty of surveillance cameras to prove Landen acted in self-defense.
My heart hasn’t calmed down since this all started, and I feel the rapid beating throughout my body as the reality of what just happened catches up to me.
“I-I need to call my dad. And Tripp. Noah, too,” I tell the sheriff.
“You can, sweetheart. But protocol dictates we take your statement first and then y’all will be released.”
“C’mon, Mags.” Landen wraps his arm around my shoulders. “It’s kinda fun at the sheriff’s office. They have a popcorn machine.”
“You’ve been inside a few dozen times, haven’t you?”
“Nah, only one or two.” He winks.
“How’re you so calm right now?”
He pulls me into his arms and presses his face into my hair as I work on catching my breath. “It’s the adrenaline. Well, that or the fear of Tripp giving me a vasectomy if I let anything happen to you. And I’m rather fond of my balls.”
“Is that why you took Emilio’s?” I choke out a laugh.
“That was just a quick draw roulette. And a lucky shot.”
Landen and I sit in the back of Sheriff Wagner’s car, and I text Tripp first, then Noah. They must both be working because by the time we arrive at the sheriff’s office, neither has responded. No doubt my dad’s already heard about it on hisscanner, but I send him a quick message anyway to reassure him I’m okay.
“Alright, kids. Start at the beginning.” He sits behind his large wooden desk, and Landen goes first.
It helps that Sheriff Wagner already knows the history with Travis and his bookie, so we don’t have to repeat everything.
I’m in the middle of explaining what I saw and heard when a loud thud echoes in the reception. Then a door slams.
“Ah, shit.” Landen smirks as if he knows what’s coming.
“Mr. Hollis,” Wendy says.
“Where is she?”
“She’s being interviewed. Please take a seat and I’ll?—”
“Where. Is. She.” His booming voice sends a shiver down my spine.
“You can’t go back there. This is an open investigation and?—”
“I’m not askin’.”
“Fuckin’ Christ,” Sheriff Wagner cusses, then presses the intercom on his phone. “Wendy, let him in. It’s alright.”
I push off my chair and wait for his impending arrival.
My whole body is still shaking. Hell, it hasn’t stopped since I heard Emilio’s chilling voice.
When the door flies open, Tripp’s gaze immediately finds mine, and he charges for me. He pulls me into his arms so quickly that I nearly lose my balance.
“Sunny.” A sigh of relief leaves his lips as one large hand presses against my back and the other cups the back of my head, fusing us together. My arms circle his waist, holding him as tightly as I can.
After a moment, he cups my cheeks and his eyes scan over my face. “You’re okay?”
I nod with tears in my eyes. “Perfectly fine. Well, physically.”
