Page 16 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed
“I didn’t,” Hallie replied keeping her attention pinned to Jay. “What did the police say when you took the note to them?”
Jay shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t tell them. What good would it have done?” he tacked onto that. “No way would the cops come after their precious golden girl.”
Hallie gave him a flat look, and Reed wondered if she was on the verge of reminding him that her life had been anything but golden.
“You know what I mean,” Jay went on, and he glanced in the direction of the street when there was the sound of a police siren in the distance. “You’re untouchable because some people feel sorry for you and because you’ve somehow managed to have a decent solve rate for murders.”
“It’s eighty-four percent,” Reed volunteered. “A hell of a lot more than just decent.” And it was. The average was closer to fifty percent in most cop organizations so Hallie was a superstar in her field.
“Whatever,” Jay barked, obviously dismissing that. “The point is that the powers that be are blind to Hallie’s shortcomings, and—”
“Everything you’re saying right now is a red flag that you incited your girlfriend to try to kill me,” Hallie interrupted.
“Jay didn’t do that,” Charity shouted, and she started to struggle again. “It was that article about you. I read it, and I know what you are.”
Reed’s gaze whipped to Jay to see his reaction to that, and there was some smugness now mixed with the anger. “Yes, the article did…upset Charity.” Butter wouldn’t melt in the asshole’s mouth. “I’m sure you’ve read it. Oh, wait, maybe you haven’t since it was just posted an hour ago.”
“What article?” Hallie asked, sounding plenty tough. Reed hoped that the asshole wasn’t about to put a dent in that toughness.
“One from that reporter, Luther Crowe, who’s helping your mother,” Jay said. He was clearly pleased to inform her about this. “You should read it, especially the reply your father had his lawyer post for him.”
Hell. There was that dent in Hallie’s resolve. It was barely noticeable, hardly more than a flinch, but he saw it well enough.
“Here, let me show you,” Jay went on, pulling up something on his phone. He turned the screen toward Hallie as he approached her. “There it is. All for the world to see.”
Jay came close enough for Reed to get a look at it, and it didn’t take him long to spot the reply that had been posted. Jay had obviously memorized it because he began to recite it aloud.
“On behalf of my client, Kip McQueen, here’s his response to this drivel of an article. My wife, Tami, and her lackey reporter friend are liars. Tami is a lying bitch and so is my daughter Hallie. No matter what she says, Hallie knew exactly what her mother and I were doing, and she did nothing to stop it. All those deaths are on Hallie’s head.”
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Chapter Seven
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All those deaths are on Hallie’s head.
Those words had kept Hallie tossing and turning most of the night, which meant she’d gotten very little sleep. It was the reason she was now gulping down her third cup of strong coffee and praying for a miracle that would ensure she had a clear focus.
So far, the caffeine wasn’t getting her any closer to that.
Sighing and praying that her mind would just settle, she stared out her front window at the street that wasn’t showing any signs of life yet. No surprise about that. Even though her house was in a town and only a couple of blocks from pretty much everything, this wasn’t a beehive type of neighborhood. The promise of peace and quiet had prompted her to buy the place, but now the peace was eluding her, and the quiet seemed to be closing in around her.
It was only seven AM, an hour before she was due in at work, but she was dressed and ready to go. What she wasn’t doing was, well, actually going. Sooner or later, she had to face her deputies and try to explain that she hadn’t known about her parents’ murders, that her father had lied.
Of course, that admission would no doubt make at least some of the deputies wonder just how good of a cop she was not to have noticed something like that going on around her. Andthere were times, like now, when Hallie asked herself the same thing.
Her phone dinged with a text just as she saw the black SUV come to a stop in front of her house. She immediately went on alert, sliding her hand over the butt of her gun in her holster. But then she saw the text was from Reed.
And Reed was also in the SUV.
He waved at her through the SUV window. And smiled though she couldn’t tell if it was genuine or if he felt sorry for her.
“Coffee and breakfast sandwiches,” he’d texted. “Just shut the curtains if you want to pass.”
Hallie sighed again. But she didn’t shut the curtains. She used her phone to disengage her security system and went to the front door to open it. A few seconds later, Reed stepped in bringing the delicious smell of coffee, bacon, and fresh bread with him.
Of course, Reed’s own scent was there, too. Something all alpha male and temptation. The dirty variety that promised great kisses and equally great everything else he could dole out. If she could have bottled that scent, she would have made a fortune.
