Page 113 of Wildest Forever

“I have no fucking idea,” he admits, and I lick my upper lip.

“What's Marty's stance on this? Who got the tip off about Conrad's body?” I ask, my fingers tapping on the paperwork beneath me.

“Marty got the call.”

“It wasn't on his call log?” my brows scrunch and my eyes narrow.“The time of the unknown number and Wyoming didn’t match up with what he has said.”

“Then he deleted it,” Austin says bluntly.

“That snake,” I slam my hand down on the desk and Austin jumps.

“Calm it,” Austin lowers his voice, his eyes drifting over his shoulder.“You could be jumping...” he trails off as he faces me.

“Really?” my brows raise and he nibbles on the inside of his lip.

“Or you're right on the money and you have every right to be suspicious.”

I sigh, scrubbing at my face again, this time a little harder than before.

“Do you think he killed Conrad?” I ask him as bluntly as intended.

Austin sighs, waiting a moment before he answers. I feel like a shitty friend asking him things like this when he is going through his own grief.

But he worked closely with Marty. If it was a year ago, I would have been having this conversation with Riggs.

My question bounces around in his mind, but his eyes are steady as they pin to me.

“No,” the response slips from his lips quickly, and I wonder if the word tasted bitter on his tongue.

“Out of towner?” and I get a shrug of a shoulder as he slips back into the chair, kicking his boots onto my desk.

“Maybe,” hands in his lap, thumbs resting over the top of each.

“This is not helping me,” I groan, sitting back in my own chair, tilting my head to the side.

“You're the sheriff, isn't it your job to work out who did what?” and I don't miss the slight venom that laced his tone, but I ignore it.

I chose not to respond, just give him a roll of the eyes.

“I didn't mean...”

I hold my hand up and shake my head

“You don't need to say a word more.”

Guilt flashes across his eyes and I know better than to act out on his impulsive words.

He is bitter at everyone.

The world included.

He lost a great love, yet everyone else is moving on around him and finding the second half of themselves.

But not Austin.

He is stuck here, in this permanent hell.

Silence crackles around the hostile room and as the seconds slip past, the more the agitation is nipping at the base of my neck.

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