Carla Cassidy - Her Colton Lawman

“Apparently, from the looks of the way things went down, he didn’t get her to change her mind. Something went wrong. Jolene tried to escape, but he caught up with her and made sure she wouldn’t be a threat to him.”

“This is just what we need with everything else that’s going on in town,” Flint replied in frustration. “Is somebody relieving you here?”

“Mike Harriman should be here within the next hour or so,” she replied.

“When he gets here, go home and get some sleep. I have a feeling we’re all going to be putting in plenty of long hours until we get Bittard under arrest again.”

Flint left the house, his head swirling with everything that needed to be done as far as this particular case. He needed to start at the beginning, reinterview all of Bittard’s low-life friends and check out the old haunts where he used to hang.

He had to be getting help from somebody to stay hidden in a town with no exit, and Flint was determined to arrest anyone who was aiding and abetting him.

Approaching his car, his gaze fell on the place where Jolene Tate had breathed her last breath. For just a moment, his mind cast him back in time and instead of Jolene Tate, he saw an older woman with blond hair sprawled on the ground after having been shot in the head.

Madelaine Vasso had witnessed a gang shooting, and unlike so many, she had been determined to put some of the thugs away. It had been Flint’s job to keep her safe until she got to the courthouse to testify. They had been walking up the courthouse steps and had nearly reached the front door when a single bullet had pierced her head and instantly killed her.

His utter failure to protect her and the depth of his grief and guilt had eventually made him leave the Cheyenne Police Department and return home, back here to Dead River.

He shook his head to dislodge the memory of Madelaine and instead was punished by a vision of another woman’s body lying on the ground, her wavy auburn hair like a lush blanket beneath her head.

Nina.

His heart crashed, and he drew a deep breath, knowing he needed to keep it together. He would not have another failure like Madelaine. He refused for Nina to suffer the same fate as Jolene Tate.

Somehow, someway, he had to find Bittard and neutralize him before he got to Nina and before the quarantine was lifted and a killer ran free.

Chapter 3

Nina stood at the front door of the diner, waiting for Flint to pick her up. The talk of the day had been Jolene’s murder and the house fire at Nina’s. While most of the conversations had been sober, at least it had taken the thought of the Dead River virus out of everyone’s head for a short period of time.

Business had been a little better today than in the past couple of weeks as people ambled in to get a bite to eat and soak up the latest gossip. She had been touched by the concern she’d received from customers and her staff. But she knew the uptick in business wouldn’t last. By the time all the gossipmongers got their fill, they’d disappear back into their own isolation.

There was no question in her mind that her business had taken a hit because of the disease that kept the town quarantined. It broke her heart to see people shunning each other as fear of catching the virus guided their decisions and movements.

She hoped the big Thanksgiving Day feast she’d planned in less than three weeks would bring people out of their homes and give them a single day to put all their fears behind them and come together with the community spirit that had been sadly lacking since the quarantine.

Wilma, an older woman who worked as a waitress for Nina, moved to stand next to her. “Nina, are you sure you’re really okay? I know you with your Pollyanna smiles and your need to make everyone else feel comfortable and happy, but you went through quite a trauma last night.”

“I’m fine, really,” Nina assured her. Wilma had no idea what kind of trauma Nina had endured in her life before last night. “I won’t lie, it was a horrible night, but I’m confident that Flint will find Hank Bittard soon, and he won’t be an issue for me or anyone else anymore.”

Wilma’s eyes darkened. “Everyone in town wants that murdering creep back in jail where he belongs. He was a bully as a teenager, and now he’s responsible for two people’s deaths.”

“And don’t forget the officer who is still in the clinic recovering from the injuries he received when Hank escaped,” Nina added.

“At least you have one of the most handsome bodyguards in town.” Wilma winked slyly. “There are plenty of single women in Dead River who think the chief of police would be a fine catch. They wouldn’t mind being in his custody for at least a night or two.”

Nina laughed. “Don’t go starting any rumors about my love life, or lack thereof. I have no attraction to Flint, and in any case, he has more than enough on his plate without adding in any time for romance. I imagine that’s the last thing he’s thinking about right now.”

“Maybe, but you’ve been here in town for a little over three years, and you’ve never even dated anyone,” Wilma said with obvious curiosity.

“In case you haven’t noticed it, I’ve had a fairly demanding business to run. Besides, I’m not looking for anyone in my life. I’m perfectly satisfied alone, always have been and always will be. Now get back to work and stop trying to matchmake for me.”

“It’s just a darn shame. You’re so warm and have such a big heart. You’d make somebody a wonderful wife.” Wilma sighed and disappeared into the kitchen.

Flint had called earlier to tell her that he would pick her up at five o’clock, and at precisely that time his car pulled in front of the diner.

She started out the door, but he halted her by placing his hand up to keep her just inside the doorway. He got out of the car and came into the diner and greeted her with a grim smile.

“I’ll walk you out,” he said. He looked exhausted, as if he’d fought with the day, and the day had definitely won. He took her by the arm and pulled her close against him.

Instantly, she was surrounded by the pleasant scent of him and the solidness of his tall, muscular body intimately close to hers. He kept her close against him until they reached the passenger side of the car and only then did he release her.

She slid into the seat and watched as he walked around the front of the car to the driver’s-side door. He cut a handsome figure in the black uniform that fit him perfectly and with the cowboy hat that added a rakish flair.

She knew he had her safety upmost in her mind, but she couldn’t help the faint wariness that mingled with her physical attraction to him.

She had lied to Wilma. She’d been attracted to Flint Colton since the very first time he’d walked into her diner about a year ago, but there was no question in her mind that he could never be the man for her. Besides, what she hadn’t lied about to Wilma was that she was fine living her life alone.

She’d made the decision a long time ago that marriage wasn’t in her future, and nothing in her thirty-one years of living had come close to changing her mind.

“You look positively exhausted,” she said as he got into the car.

“I think that’s become my permanent state of being over the past couple of weeks,” he replied. The lines of his face that made it interesting, that gave him character, appeared deeper than usual.

“If you don’t feel like stopping by the discount store now, I can make do for another night and have one of the other waitresses take me tomorrow,” she suggested. “I’ve got plenty of uniforms at the diner to put on during the day.”

He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. I don’t want you going anywhere with anyone else but me. We’ll swing by the store and pick up what you need and then stop to get some groceries. I haven’t forgotten that you said you’d cook for me while you’re under my protection.” He flashed her a quick smile that warmed her from head to toe. “So, how was your day?”