Page 77 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

“If I tell you, are you going to arrest me?”

“I can’t guarantee anything, but maybe I can ask our DA, Karly Fitzpatrick, to see if we can work out a deal with you. We might be able to get you probation instead of prison time, especially since this is your first offense.”

Chewing on her lip, Patsy flattened her hands on the table as she mulled over her options and the consequences of whatever decision she made.

“All right. It was Carolyn Johnson. She said she saw me make other deliveries to Hazel and offered to pay me to deliver the olive oil. She didn’t say she was going to poison it, but I’d suspected she did something to it. I didn’t think she’d actually try and murder anyone.”

Hazel glanced at Callum. Surely Patsy would have known Carolyn had intended something terrible.

“How did she come in contact with you?”

“She saw me going in and out of the inn and approached me one day. She asked if I was close to Hazel and I said I didn’t know her, I was an assistant, who brought them things they needed. She then asked if I could use a little extra cash to deliver something to her.”

“How much did she pay you?” Kerry asked.

“Five hundred.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I needed money. The agency doesn’t pay me very much. They could afford to pay me more but they don’t. I’m behind on my bills.”

“I can’t believe that,” Callum said. “We pay all our employees top wages. What did you expect? Personal assistants don’t make what executive bodyguards do.”

“Desperate people do desperate things.” Hazel was still reeling over her ex-boss trying to kill her clients. She must have intended for her to be accused of the murders. Revenge for causing her restaurant to fail? Since Carolyn had failed, Hazel should fail and her clients die?

“Is Kerry going to arrest Carolyn?” Hazel asked.

“If she can find her, I’m sure she will.”

* * *

“You okay?” Callum held the station door for her as they walked to the rental.

She nodded. “Just shocked and disappointed.”

She did seem pretty upset. Someone she had respected and might have even considered a friend or mentor had betrayed her in the worst possible way.

Today, they weren’t in disguise, so extra precautions were in order. The emergency had prevented them from taking those precautions. He took care in looking around for potential threats.

No parked vehicles with anyone sitting inside.

No strangers walking dogs or sitting on benches—there were no benches.

Walkers didn’t look their way. Drivers didn’t either.

He escorted Hazel to the passenger side and then stepped up behind the wheel. He drove back toward the Dales Inn and thought again—as he had often since they talked—about whether or not he was ready for a serious relationship and even a family. With Hazel he would have one ready-made.

The more he considered that, the more the idea appealed to him, but he could not get past the fear of losing them in some horrible way. If he steered clear of ever having a family outside the one he already belonged to, he would spare himself nearly insurmountable anguish.

Just before they reached the inn, Callum saw a black SUV parked on a side road. The driver was bigger than the person in the gray SUV had been. This was not Carolyn. This was Nate’s killer. He had waited there for them, most likely having seen them leave the inn and wisely not followed them as he had before.

Callum sped up, but the killer shot out one of Callum’s tires. As he lost control of his vehicle, the right front tire caught on a pothole in the road. Callum could not correct the truck’s path and they careened head-on into a tree. Momentarily dazed from the force of the airbag, he shoved the now deflating bag out of the way and saw Hazel doing the same.

“Are you all right?” He searched around for the killer and found him aiming a gun at him through the driver’s side window.

He made a roll-the-window-down gesture.

Callum obliged.

---