Page 10 of Search for the Truth
Ryan started squirming again. Blake shifted her weight to stop him.
“A victim,” he yelled.
Blake snorted. She looked down at the back of his head.
“Ryan, you’ve never been a victim a day in your life.”
“You—you don’t have any right to be doing this to me,” he wailed back. “Now get off before I really get mad.”
Blake had no intention of doing that at all, but the sheriff cleared his throat. He had gotten closer. Blake had to crane her head up to see into his eyes.
“I might not know what’s happening, but I think I can take it from here.” That deep baritone sure was nice.
Still, she hesitated and glanced down at his badge.
The pain in her eyebrow disappeared. The ache in her chest that had started six months ago flared to life.
Then she relented.
THEMANSPENTtheir walk back to the parking lot trying his best to damn the woman walking behind them. It wasn’t until Deputy Price met them at the tree line that he shut up. And that might have had more to do with Price’s reaction.
In the middle of asking what was going on, he stopped himself and openly stared at the woman.
“Blake?”
Liam turned in time to see the woman smile briefly.
“Hey there, Price. It’s been a minute. How are you?”
Price’s eyes were wide, his excitement showing with ease.
“What do you mean, ‘how are you?’ What’s going on? Who is—” Price stopped himself again. Now he was focusing on the man in cuffs. Whoever he was, Price seemed to recognize him. But only after seeing the woman.
His excitement dulled.
“What are you doing here?” he asked the man.
The chatterbox suddenly didn’t like talking. He didn’t answer.
Liam was annoyed at the lack of context he, the sheriff, had in this situation.
He also didn’t like the wandering eyes of the people still in the parking lot. He motioned to Price’s cruiser.
“I want to know what’s going on, but let’s go to the station,” he said.
“Am I under arrest?” The man broke his silence.
Liam looked over his shoulder at Blake. Blood was coming down the side of her face. Her dress was torn at its side. There was a scratch or two along her left arm. She might have had the upper hand when he had shown up, but clearly the man had gotten a few licks in. He tried to keep his anger out of his response.
“I strongly suggest we all head that way to talk.”
It wasn’t technically an answer, but it did the trick.
The man hushed. Price took charge of him. Then he looked to Blake.
“Do you want to ride shotgun? Or—”
Liam cut him off.
