Her Colton Lawman. Carla CassidyЧитать онлайн книгу.
surely that isn’t necessary,” she protested.
“Jolene Tate was just murdered, and you’re an eyewitness. I don’t have the manpower right now to keep you covered twenty-four-seven. With two fugitives on the loose, we’re just stretched too thin.”
“I’m not even sure how much of a look he got of me. I was across the street from him, and we didn’t have any real interaction before he looked up. It’s very possible he couldn’t pick me out of a lineup.”
She stood, surprised to find herself still a bit shaky. His offer to stay in his house had stunned her. The idea was both a little bit thrilling and a little bit scary. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I would appreciate it if you’d drive me home. I have to confess, I feel a little too shook up to drive myself.”
He frowned. “Nina, I still think it would be best if you didn’t go home, if you aren’t alone until I get this creep back into custody.”
“Flint, I appreciate your concern, but I’m not going to hole up somewhere on the off chance that he actually got a good look at me. It’s a dark night, and I only saw him because of the streetlight, but I wasn’t in the light.” The last place she wanted to be was confined to Flint’s home and living in his space.
She had a business to run, a life to live, and it didn’t include being in his protective custody. Besides, the more she thought about it, the more she was fairly certain that the man probably hadn’t seen her well enough to identify her. The entire incident had only taken mere seconds, although it had felt like an eternity when it was happening.
“Please, if you’ll just take me home, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I can have one of the waitresses take me to work in the morning and then somebody can bring me by here tomorrow evening to pick up my car.” She raised her chin in a show of strength. “Besides, with everything that’s going on around here you have more than enough on your plate without worrying about me.”
Flint raked a hand through his hair, as if to show a frustration he didn’t want to verbalize. “It’s my job to worry about you, but if you insist, I’ll drive you home,” he finally relented. “However, if you feel threatened in any way by anything, you have to promise me that you’ll call me immediately, day or night.”
“I promise. In any case I have a security system at my house, so I’m sure I’ll be just fine.” She frowned as she remembered the reason she’d turned down that particular road in the first place. “Could you do me one favor on the way? I was taking Grace and her son, Billy, some food. It’s in my car, and if you could stop by her house and run it into them, I’d really appreciate it.”
He stared at her as if she were an alien creature. “You just witnessed a murder and yet you’re worried about Grace and her son having dinner?”
“Grace is sick. I promised to bring by a meal tonight. No matter what just happened, she and Billy are still expecting supper from me.”
He pulled his car keys from his pocket and grabbed his hat off a nearby desk. “Okay, let’s get moving.”
Within minutes they were in his car, the bag of food on Nina’s lap. “If you think of anything else that might be helpful to me finding Bittard, you call me immediately,” he said as they pulled away from the police station.
She nodded, surprised to find a bit of comfort in the fact that the car smelled of his pleasant cologne. She was also grateful that he took another route to Grace’s house, avoiding the place where the murder had occurred.
When they pulled into Grace’s driveway, Flint turned to her. “You sit tight in the car, lock the doors when I get out and I’ll deliver the food to the door.” His voice brooked no argument, not that she was of a mind to. He took the bag from her, opened the car door and got out.
She locked the doors and watched him walk up to the front door, wondering if she’d made a mistake in insisting he take her home. She felt calm enough now that she could have just driven herself.
She frowned and rubbed the center of her forehead as a headache attempted to take hold. Had the man seen her well enough to know who she was? Did he know her name? Where she lived? Would he now come after her in an attempt to kill another witness?
She wished she had family in town. She wished she had somebody who could take her in for a few weeks, but if there was danger she certainly didn’t want to bring it close to any of her friends. At least she had the security system that would alert her to anyone attempting to enter her house.
She knew Flint and his team of deputies would be more determined than ever to catch Bittard with this new murder. Surely she’d be fine until they got the killer back in custody.
She watched as the door opened and light spilled out. Grace waved and then took the bag from Flint. As he started back to the car, Nina unlocked the doors.
“She said to tell you she was feeling a little better,” he said when he was behind the steering wheel once again.
“Thank goodness. She went home yesterday with a headache and a cough. I was afraid she might have caught...” She allowed her voice to trail off. She didn’t even want to speak her fear aloud. “By the way, how is your grandmother doing?” She knew that Dottie Colton had come down with the virus and had been in the hospital for the past couple of weeks.
“According to Dr. Rand, she’s stable, but she’s still unconscious.” He cast her a sideways glance. “Is it easier to talk about the virus than the fact that you just witnessed a murder?”
A chill invaded her despite the warmth inside the car. “I don’t want to think about that poor woman. I just wish I could have done something to stop it from happening. I wish I could have done something to force him to leave and run away before she died.” She clenched her fists in despair.
“Then I might be investigating two murders, Jolene’s and yours. You did the right thing by driving away, by not engaging with the man, especially if it was Bittard. He’s a cold-blooded killer and we now think he might possibly be armed again. There’s been some robberies in the past couple of days and among the things stolen have been a knife and a gun and rope.”
“Rope that he used to strangle Jolene,” she said flatly, fighting against another chill that tried to shiver down her spine.
“Forensics will tell us if the rope used to strangle Jolene is the same kind that was stolen. We’ll know more in the next couple of days after a full investigation is completed.”
In the glow from the dashboard, his handsome features looked slightly haggard, as if he hadn’t slept well for weeks. “You’ll catch him, Flint. You’ll catch him and that little creep, Jimmy, too. The doctors will find a cure for the virus and before you know it, Dead River will be back to normal.”
He slid her a wry look. “From your lips...” The rest of the sentence wasn’t spoken as he turned onto her street.
Nina looked out the front window of the car and gasped in surprise. The street was alive with the swirl of red lights from patrol cars and fire trucks that serviced the small city.
Firefighters in full gear ran with hoses toward the blaze that lit up the entire street and licked upward to the sky. Black smoke rolled up, creating a dark cloud in the otherwise clear night.
What was happening? What on earth was burning so fiercely?
Nina stared at it all in stunned disbelief. It was her house. Her house was on fire. A choking sob welled up inside her and released, followed by another...and another.
Flint pulled to the curb behind one of the fire trucks. “Stay here,” he commanded sternly. “Lock the doors and do not get out of this car under any circumstances for anyone but me.”
She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it as she watched the window of her living room explode outward. She’d bought the house just a little under a year ago and had spent the past months making it into the home she’d always dreamed of, and now