Jenna Night - Killer Country Reunion

When he was a kid, his dad worked horses by day and he was good at it. But he was angry at the world after the death of Zane’s mother and when he came home at night, he used drugs to feel better. Then he began to sell them. After that, it was a short step to dabbling in other criminal enterprises. Everybody had an opinion about Lee Coleman, and as a kid, Zane got tired of hearing about it. Everyone automatically assumed the worst of him—and for a while he’d been bitter and angry enough to live down to their expectations.

God had clearly been looking out for Zane the day Sergeant Henry Marsh found him selling cans of beer to fellow high school kids at three times their original cost. Zane also happened to have a little bit of weed he’d stolen from his dad stuffed into his shirt pocket. Sergeant Henry had cuffed him and tossed him in the back of his patrol car, and Zane had immediately turned on the charm. He’d learned to flip it on like a light switch as a survival mechanism to get his unstable dad to calm down. It was a useful talent and nearly every adult fell for it. Sergeant Marsh never did.

Neither did his daughter.

Zane stepped back into the office lobby. Caroline had already changed clothes and she had her phone up to her ear. It sounded like she was talking to her mom. Lauren Marsh had always been friendly and kind to Zane. Had even baked a cake and made a big deal about his birthdays.

But that feeling of him being part of their family belonged to the past. And Zane had made himself a promise he would only live life moving forward. Indulging in regret or trying to figure out a way to change things that could never be changed was a waste of time. It didn’t help him or anyone else.

He would do everything he could to keep Caroline safe because he owed it to her. And it was something he could do to honor the memories of Sergeant Henry and Owen. But that was it. There was no going back and undoing the mistakes he’d made.

“Who knew you were coming out to your lawyer’s office today?” Matt asked Caroline as soon as she disconnected her call.

She thought for a moment. “I couldn’t tell you exactly. Probably a lot of people. It wasn’t a secret. I’ve been over here fairly often since...since Owen died.”

“Settling your brother’s estate?”

She nodded. “And getting everything set up for guardianship of my nephew.”

“Any fight over inheritance? Bad feelings? Anything like that?”

Caroline sighed. “Owen’s ex-wife, Michelle, is disappointed that she didn’t get anything from Owen’s estate. I’ve only talked to her twice, but she’s got the impression Owen’s business, Wilderness Photo Adventures, is raking in a lot of cash. I told her she’s mistaken. There really hasn’t been any money flowing in yet. Owen was just getting his company started.” Her chin began to tremble and she hurriedly wiped away the tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

Zane felt his guts twist at the sight of her in so much pain and he took a steadying breath. He wanted to put an arm around her and comfort her, but that was not his place. It hadn’t been for a long time.

“I’m sorry, it’s kind of hard to think right now.” She exhaled a ragged sigh. “Maybe there’s something I should have noticed, but didn’t.”

Matt’s phone rang, and he answered it, turning aside.

Caroline faced Zane. “Thank you for helping me. I mean that sincerely. But I don’t want you going with me to the hospital. And I don’t want to talk to you anywhere else. I have enough drama going on in my life right now.”

She had every right to dismiss him. But she also needed to be protected. “I’d like to do what I can to help keep you and your family safe.”

She sighed and got her quivering chin under control. “You said you do search and rescue work. Go search for those men who tried to kill us.”

As soon as he got the call, he’d be on it. But there was no way he was going to rush in on his own and risk messing up an investigation. “When the police department needs me, they’ll call. And I’ll do everything I can to help. Right now I’m more concerned with looking out for you.”

“No, thank you.”

“We found that white van you mentioned,” said Matt, disconnecting his phone and turning to them. “Abandoned. It was reported stolen earlier this afternoon.” He turned to Zane. “Let’s get rolling. I’ll finish taking your statement while we’re at the hospital.”

Caroline cut Zane a sideways glance. She might not want him to come along, but the cop in charge did. And that was good enough for him.

They stepped up to the door and Matt’s phone chimed. He opened up a text, hesitated and then held out the phone so Caroline and Zane could see a picture. “They found this in the van.” It was a crumpled computer-printed photo of Caroline. “That tells me these guys didn’t know you personally. And they didn’t act on some bizarre random impulse. This was a contract hit.”

Which meant Matt’s earlier cautious assumption was right. The gunmen were professionals who had been hired to kill Caroline. They would try again.

THREE

It was well past dark when Caroline stepped out of Cobalt Community Hospital into the crisp, cool air.

The top of her left arm and shoulder were numb thanks to the injection a nurse had given her prior to receiving a half dozen stitches. The doctor confirmed no bones were broken and that, in spite of knocking her head on the boardwalk, her skull and everything inside of it checked out okay.

She could have been admitted overnight for observation, but she didn’t want to stay any longer than she had to. She was anxious to get back to the house. Even though she’d spoken to both her mom and Dylan on the phone, she still wanted to see for herself that they were okay.

Zane walked beside her, constantly sweeping his gaze across their surroundings. Matt walked ahead, his holster unbuckled and his hand resting on his service revolver.

“Any updates on the search for those creeps who tried to kill us?” She directed her question to Matt. It had been a couple of hours since she last talked to him or to Zane. She had given her statement to a detective, and a female officer she’d never met before had guarded the examining room while she was getting checked out by the doctor.

“Forensics is still going over the van,” Matt answered without turning around. “We’ve got officers canvassing the neighborhood where it was originally stolen as well as the area where it was ditched. And we’re interviewing witnesses, taking descriptions and having people look at mug shots. We’ll have you take a look at them after you’ve gotten some rest.”

Matt’s patrol car was at the end of a short walkway outside a secondary entrance at the back of the hospital. The plan was to keep her departure as low-key as possible. A second patrol car idled behind Matt’s, with two officers standing outside the vehicles, keeping an eye on the few cars driving by on the narrow street.

Cobalt was a small mountain town that had experienced a population explosion after being featured in several outdoor living online magazines and television shows over the last few years. The high-end Cobalt Resort had gone up on the edge of the lake, its owners hoping to capitalize on people’s love of pristine nature combined with luxury accommodations.

Staffing the resort had significantly added to the town’s population above and beyond the tourists, which led to far too many people for the authorities to keep in check. City services were struggling to keep up and the police department was stretched thin. They had enough problems on their hands without giving Caroline a personal escort and the assurance of round-the-clock armed babysitters for at least the next twenty-four hours.