Page 52 of Texas Scandal

“Loki,” he whispered.

When no dog came tearing through the woods, Tiernan whistled. Still nothing. He bit back a few curse words that would make Granny blush. Thinking about home earlier made him miss all the important people in his life. Or maybe it was the fact he seemed to be surrounded by death—death had a way of reminding people to live.

MELODYCHECKEDTHEground for footprints leading up to the front door. This time of year, wind whipped the dirt around so she didn’t expect to find any. Her assumption was correct. She wasn’t sure exactly what to look for other than obvious signs, like a light being left on. Her brother hadn’t washed a load of laundry in his life. There would most likely be dirty clothes in the master bathroom in a hamper. What else?

The front door was locked, which wasn’t unusual. The planter still held the key. Sun reflected off the windows, making it impossible to see inside. Being back at this house after decades away, she had no idea what the place looked like any longer.

Walking inside was like stepping into a time capsule. Between the pair of long, white couches facing each other in the living room and the antler chandelier over a massive dining table next to the kitchen, not much had changed. The lamps even looked the same as she remembered. A white marble coffee table sat in the middle of the room. Two benches opposite each other along with the couches formed a loose box around the coffee table in the living room. The place was set up for entertaining. The dining table seated twelve. Happy memories from her childhood and teenage years came flooding back. Granted, they were pleasant because she had no idea what her family truly was at the time...a house of cards ready to be blown away by the first strong wind.

Brently’s family had come here, too. This room at sunset had housed their engagement party. Even then, during the height of her obliviousness to how bad her father truly was, there’d been a little voice in the back of her mind asking if Brently wasthe one. Was he comfort? Familiarity? The known?

Looking back, her heart never raced in the way it did when Tiernan was nearby. No one made her feel so out of control in a way that was exciting and comforting instead of scary. He’d been right by her side during this whole ordeal—an ordeal that needed to end with justice carried out.

Starting in the living room, there weren’t any lights left on. The room was bright from the sun, so she methodically checked each bulb and light switch to be sure. Blankets had been tossed onto the sofas and not straightened, but that didn’t exactly mean anything. There was a small, local cleaning service that used to come before and after family trips here. Did the pair of sisters still clean the house?

Moving into the dining room, nothing seemed out of place. There wasn’t much inside this area except for a curio cabinet that housed dishes and a couple of decorative vases along with the large table and chairs. There were no signs of the room being disrupted in any way.

In the kitchen, there were no dishes in the sink. She checked the dishwasher. None inside there, either. Of course, it stood to reason the cleaning ladies might have come and gone. Coop would never make the call himself, but Janice might. She’d probably stepped into the role of Melody’s mother after the divorce. There was so much she didn’t know about her own family now that she’d severed ties for the most part. It was an odd feeling. Mother, Coop, her sister-in-law, even her father were essentially strangers to her now.

The bathroom hamper was empty. Then, it dawned on her to check the fridge. The cleaners never threw out food if it hadn’t expired. Melody made the trek back into the kitchen to check.

Halfway through the living room, a noise outside startled her.

“Tiernan?” she asked as she moved toward the sound. The front door was cracked open, and an uneasy feeling someone was watching her pricked the tiny hairs on the back of her neck.

Chapter Twenty-One

Tiernan trudged through the scrub toward the sound of Loki panting and twigs breaking. The dog was trouble times ten. It was a good thing Tiernan had an almost endless well of patience with animals. People, not so much. Except when it came to Melody. She was the exception to pretty much every rule he’d ever made and tried to enforce.

“Loki, come,” Tiernan said with authority as Loki blew by.

The dog did an about-face and bolted back to Tiernan’s side. He darn near fist-pumped the victory. Since he was turned around, he headed back toward where he believed the road to be, found it and then walked to the A-frame. By now Melody might have some sense of whether or not her brother had, in fact, visited like he’d said or if that was another in a growing list of deceptions.

The front door was cracked open, so he walked inside and glanced around.

“Melody,” he called out.

There was no response. Tiernan’s pulse jacked through the slanted roof. He probably should have brought his shotgun from home for protection but hadn’t thought of it. Tiernan bit back a curse. Since he could see straight into the kitchen, he headed there for a weapon as Loki tore through the downstairs at almost full speed. All the rest he’d gotten at the vet’s last night was causing him to bounce off the walls at this point. Tiernan wished he’d had time to throw the tennis ball to work off some of that puppy energy.

After locating a cleaver, Tiernan took the steps two at a time, doing his level best to be quiet. There was a small landing with several oversize beanbag chairs, and a pair of bedrooms with what looked like a Jack-and-Jill bathroom in between.

An animal-like grunt came from the room on the left. Tiernan bolted toward it with Loki jumping in front. Loki stopped. His ears came up, his hackles raised, and a low, throaty growl tore from his throat.

Tiernan moved to the side of the door frame before having a look inside. Melody sat on the bed. She had tape over her mouth, her hands and ankles were bound, and she was rope-tied to the bedpost. Every muscle in Tiernan’s body corded. He had to suppress the instinct to run to her because whoever did this to her was nowhere in sight.

The second her eyes met his, she tried to warn him. She motioned toward the closet and then shook her head. Her wide fearful eyes were knife stabs. The coil in his chest tightened to the point of pain.

But it was the snick of a bullet being lodged in a chamber that came from behind him that demanded his immediate attention. He turned sideways so he could keep an eye on Melody.

“Hands up,” came the sheriff’s voice. Cleve Tanner stood on the landing.

Startled by the voice and the noise, Loki turned and barked. He didn’t seem to know which way to fix his attention, committing to neither side.

Tanner had on jeans and a sweatshirt along with his boots. There wasn’t a hint of law enforcement employment on anything he wore, which said a whole lot about his intentions.

Considering there was a gun pointed at him, Tiernan complied with the request. The second the sheriff saw the knife, he zeroed in on the center of Tiernan’s chest with the barrel of his gun.

“Set the knife down on the carpet, along with your cell phone,” Tanner instructed. “Make a move that I don’t like and all three of you are dead. Guess who’ll go first?” He shifted the barrel to point at Loki.

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