Page 47 of Engaging the Deputy

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Cody had left the back door of the shop open. She could feel the chill of the wind along the hallway as if it were a funnel. “Why were you going to call me?”

He reached her, stopping just inches away, his eyes dark in the dim light, his expression reminding her of Halloween night when they’d argued. From the alley, an engine started up, then another one, both pulling slowly away. She could see that the back of each pickup was filled with boxes and shiny new equipment.

“We should take a ride,” Cody said.

Olivia shook her head. “I can’t. I was just—”

He grabbed her arm hard, cutting off the rest of her words. “I insist.”

She tried to pull free. “Cody, you’re hurting me.”

He jerked her to him, his body crashing into hers. She dropped the jar of jelly. It hit and broke, the smell of crab apple jelly filling the hallway. “Don’t fight me, Olivia. I don’t want to hurt you, but you are coming with me—one way or the other.”

“Tell me why you’re acting like this,” she demanded and tried to pull away from him. She stepped into the jelly and felt herself slip, her feet sliding out from under her. Cody still had a firm grip on her arm, so he was going down with her unless he released her. He swung her around and slammed her against the wall as he struggled to stay on his feet. His grip released enough that she broke free. But as she tried to scramble away from him, he punched her, his fist connecting to the side of her head. She saw the floor come up fast to meet her as darkness closed in around her eyes.

The last thing she heard was “Damn it, Olivia. I didn’t want it to end like this.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Do yourself a favor,” the deputy told Emery as he rose to leave. “Don’t call Cody. Don’t try to warn anyone involved. Unless you want to join them in prison.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not getting off this couch but to get another beer,” the bike shop owner said. “I worried something like this would happen.” He shook his head and took a gulp of his beer. “They were my friends. My brothers, man.”

“I know. Any idea where I can find Cody?”

Emery hesitated, but only a moment. Maybe he was starting to realize that his friends, his brothers, had pulled him into their illegal activity knowing he didn’t want to be involved. “Probably down at the hardware store. Whatever he had to move earlier is probably getting moved out the back door of the store as we speak.”

Jaden left Emery on his couch and raced to the hardware store. He took the alley, hoping Emery had been right and he could catch them in the act. But the alley was empty.

The back door of the hardware store, though, was wide open.

He jumped out, weapon in hand, and moved quickly to the open doorway. His heart dropped to his boots as he caught the familiar scent of crab apple jelly.

* * *

Olivia began tosurface from what felt like a bottomless pitch-black pit. She became aware of movement, a blinding headache and the hum of a car engine. But what brought her out of the darkness was the memory of Cody in the alley and the realization that her wrists were bound.

She blinked, even though it hurt. Her eyes were the only thing she moved, knowing instinctively she had an advantage as long as her captor thought she was still out. She didn’t have to look to her left to know who was behind the wheel. The smell of spilled crab apple jelly on her shoes brought back the memory of the hardware store hallway—and Cody.

Where was he taking her? She could hear him nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. She didn’t remember ever seeing him this jumpy, this…strung out? It heightened her fear—just like what she saw in the headlights. She caught glimpses of a landscape that sent her pulse pounding in her ears. This was the road to Starling. But why would he take her there?

She thought of the root cellar. The bones the tornado had uncovered. The crime scene team had finished. No one would look for her there—just as no one had thought to look for Evangeline buried down in the root cellar of an abandoned house.

“I know you’re awake,” Cody said with a chuckle. “You never could fool me, Olivia.”

* * *

Jaden felt timeracing away from him as he stepped into the dimly lit hallway. He listened as he moved as soundlessly as possible. The closer he got to the front of the building, the scent of the jelly grew stronger—just like his dread and the faint sound of canned music.

Livie had been here. The realization was a scream in his head. She’d been here and something had happened. Had she stumbled onto Cody moving product? Or robbing the place?

Pulling his flashlight out with his free hand, he flicked it on. The glow fell on something on the floor partway down the hall. Broken glass and a smear of red. Not blood, he told himself as he moved toward it.

It appeared that someone had dropped the jelly jar and then fallen? Or been dragged? His pulse thundered in his ears. Chest tight, he called out Olivia’s name, even though he knew if she was there, she wasn’t going to be able to answer.

He checked the building. No bodies. No Olivia. It gave him little relief, though. Where was Cody? He tried his number. It went straight to voicemail. Then he put in a call for backup.

He knew only two things. Cody was neck-deep in the drug operation and he had Olivia. Cody had driven by the barn earlier. He’d seen Jaden’s patrol SUV. He would know that it was only a matter of time before he would be going down. He’d run. Was that what he’d been doing at the hardware store when Olivia showed up?

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