Page 42 of Storm Warning

“Ms. Grant.” The sheriff nodded. “Deputy Hunter told me what’s happened. I came to see you myself. Knew you’d be at the Woodhaven emergency department and called to check. Seems you’re in danger and we need to offer you protective custody until this is resolved.”

“Protective...” She glanced at Hawk. “Uh. I don’t know if that’s necessary.”

What would that look like exactly? The only way to end this was to find answers, to remember, and to talk to Dr. Holcomb. Now she had to admit, she needed to keep Hawk close because he was connected. She doubted being hidden away at a safe house was going to get her anywhere. She’d already gone into hiding at Cedar Trails Lodge. She wasn’t going to run anymore.

“Maybe we can talk at the county offices.” The sheriff eyed Hawk. Was that dislike and suspicion in his eyes? Or was Remi imagining it? Was that recognition too? “And you too, Mr. Beckett.”

“Uh, okay,” she said. “We’ll follow you.” The county seat was about a half hour from Woodhaven.

No harm in finding out what Sheriff Thatcher had in mind. She stifled a yawn again. She might not be thinking clearly enough right now to handle this. Her exhaustion could be adding to her paranoia, but this didn’t feel right. It felt like much more than the sheriff and his deputy simply wanting to put her in protective custody at three thirty in the morning. They were working around the clock apparently. But assumptions and conjecture would get her nowhere.

“You look exhausted. Both of you. You can ride with me,” the sheriff said. “Deputy Hunter will drive your Bronco.” He spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

A chill crawled over Remi that had nothing to do with the cold and rain.

She reached for her keys and fingered them in her coat pocket as she took a step forward. “Have you learned something about Cole Mercer?”

Sheriff Thatcher looked like he’d been working straight through since the storms started. “We’re working on it. Assoon as Deputy Hunter shared the information with me, I decided we needed to talk more. I have questions, and I’d like to work out protection for you.”

Remi had caught a glimpse of Hawk, but she wouldn’t look at him more than that. His expression told her nothing, and that was unusual for him, at least what she knew of him.

Sheriff Thatcher opened the door to the back seat. “Please, get in.”

The sheriff wasn’t asking.

18

Sitting in the back of the county SUV, Hawk tried to remain nonchalant, but he knew his expression came across as grim. He had half expected Deputy Hunter to cuff him just for having a connection to an assassin, but she hadn’t, so that could mean they didn’t know yet.

Everything would hit the fan when they found out.

Timberbrook County law wasn’t prepared to face this adversary. Once Hawk was back at their offices, he would try to convey that message as best he could without insulting anyone. As he’d been informed, the sheriff was already overtaxed as it was. But it wasn’t really the sheriff and his intentions that worried Hawk.

Remi hadn’t looked at him. She didn’t trust him. He couldn’t really blame her for wanting to get far away from him, but they needed to stick together.

Cole would come for her again, and God willing, Hawk would be the man standing in his way.

Again.

As he sat in the back of the vehicle, he looked out thewindow at utter darkness and let himself imagine the thick, moss-covered ground and the evergreens of the Olympic National Forest swaying in the wind. The sheriff steered them along the two-lane highway, through the woods, toward the county seat. Though Hawk wasn’t driving, he could still feel the wind buffeting the vehicle, meaning the next storm was moving in already.

If he wasn’t so exhausted, he might press the sheriff for answers, but he didn’t trust himself to speak right now. At least they had a few minutes before they would arrive, and maybe by then Hawk would know what to say.

And whatnotto say.

Sheriff Thatcher cleared his throat.

Hawk lifted his gaze to the rearview mirror, where he locked eyes with the sheriff. Sheriff Thatcher focused back on the road. Hawk waited for what he would say.

“What happened back in King County, Beckett, I read about it. I contacted a buddy of mine. I won’t say his name, but I know that you took the blame for all that went down. You made the hard choice, the hard call. No one can know what they would do if faced with that kind of moral dilemma.”

Moral dilemma. Save thousands or save one. He could have saved Jake, but the terrorist would have gotten away. He hadn’t known that Jake would die, and Jake had been the one to nudge Hawk farther in a direction he’d already been leaning. So he went full throttle. He took the terrorist down, but Jake died.

Hawk’s chest constricted. He hadn’t expected those words or that perspective from the sheriff, given the way the man had looked at him, but clearly he’d been misreading the situation, and now he remained unsure of what to say. Maybe he should have gone to the other side of the country to flee the story following him, but in this digitalage, it was impossible to escape. And besides, John had sent him to Cedar Trails Lodge.

The sheriff kept eyeing him through the rearview mirror. The least Hawk could do was respond. “Glad to have your vote of confidence.” He hadn’t meant that to sound sarcastic, but he wasn’t sure that’s not how it came across. “But now you’re having doubts?” Because he knew Cole was Hawk’s brother? Hawk wouldn’t bring it up. Not yet. Timing was everything.

Sheriff Thatcher worked his jaw. “Let’s put that conversation off for now. I just wanted to lay the cards on the table, as the saying goes, and let you know where I stand. I’m on your side.”

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