The Sheriff's Secret. Julie Anne Lindsey

Ellet,” West said, “I’d like you to meet the Cade County Sheriff’s Department. Team, this is Miss Ellet.”

      The group offered warm smiles, but their gazes traveled the circuit from her to West and then to Cole. He’d clearly filled the group in on her history with their sheriff. Ridiculously, her cheeks heated.

      Cole greeted West with a handshake, then turned an apologetic expression on Tina. “I’m sorry this is happening to you.” He barely resembled the gangly teen she remembered. No more acne or braces. His undeniable Garrett genes had brought him through puberty with a gold star. Exactly like his brothers.

      She pulled the bag higher on her shoulder and gripped it with one hand. “Thanks.”

      Tina scanned her new surroundings with curiosity. Miraculously, she’d never been inside the station before. It wasn’t the way she’d imagined. Based on the horror stories her father had told, she’d assumed the place was dark and scary. Full of people like him in handcuffs. Instead, the building was open-concept, bright and clean. The walls were lined in diplomas, Don’t Text and Drive posters and a cluster of community boards with fund-raising flyers pinned to them.

      West lifted a hand in Tina’s direction, but dropped it quickly with a frown. “There’s coffee and hot water for tea in the break room, and there’s normally something to eat on the counter. Fruit. Bagels.” He stepped away from the little group, and she followed.

      She hurried behind him down a long hallway lined with closed doors. Her stomach twisted into painful knots at the thought of food. “Just a shower, I think.”

      He stopped at a door marked Locker Room. “We’ll need to put your clothes into an evidence bag, so leave them out when you’re done.” He pushed the door open and held it for her. “I’ll flip the in-use sign so no one bothers you. Small building. Everything’s coed.”

      Tina hesitated. Police station or not, the empty room was frightening. “Will you be here when I get out?”

      West looked over his shoulder. “I’ll try. I need to touch base with my team and see what’s been done. If no one’s visited the two men who missed your group this afternoon, then I’d like to get over there myself. I’ve got a limited number of deputies and a vested interest in this case.”

      Tina tried not to wonder if that “vested interest” was her. “Has anyone tried calling the men who missed the meeting?” Why hadn’t she thought to do that? “I have their numbers in my phone.” She dug nervously through the giant bag on her shoulder and nearly dumped the contents.

      “Hey.” West’s steady hand fell upon her fluttering one. “Stop.” He gripped her fingers until she looked his way.

      She pulled in deep breaths, borrowing strength from his touch. “What if the gunman visited them before coming to our session? Maybe that’s why they weren’t in group today.”

      “It’s unlikely,” West said, “but we’re going to find out. Plus, I have questions for them. We really don’t know what’s going on in the big picture yet.” He lowered his face to her level and searched her with kind eyes. “Can you think of any connection between the victim and yourself beyond your recent professional relationship?”

      Tina considered the way she’d found Steven asleep at a bus stop outside the hospital last month. They were strangers until then, and had only seen each other at group sessions since. “No. None. Why?”

      “I’m still trying to figure out how the shooting and the break-in are related. The crimes are vastly different, but the timing has my flags up. If the shooter is the same man who attacked me at your home, understanding the link between the three of you would be helpful. I’ll be back once I drop in on your absentees, then we can finish our interview. I still need a formal statement from you.”

      Tina straightened. “Take me with you.”

      He followed her lead, returning to his full height with a snap. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

      “West.”

      His expression changed, ever so slightly.

      “Please.” The stubborn sting of emotion bit at her eyes and nose. “I need to know the rest of my patients are safe. If they don’t answer their phones, I’m going to pay them visits myself. Seems like I’d be safer with you.”

      “I need you here making a formal statement.”

      “I’ll write it while you drive. I promise.” She hoped the desperation in her heart came through in her tone. “Please don’t leave me behind.”

      West ducked his head and gripped the back of his neck. “You shower. I’ll try to reach the men by phone before I leave. We already have their numbers.” He turned on his heels and walked away.

      “Does that mean I can go with you?” she called after him.

      “You’ve got ten minutes.”

      Tina ran for the shower. Ten minutes wouldn’t have seemed like long enough time to get wet before Lily was born. Since then, Tina had learned to do almost anything in a quarter of the time it had once taken.

      She folded her stained clothes and stacked them on a bench for evidence, tucking her underthings carefully between the pieces, unsure if she was meant to turn those in, too. These were things a person should never have to wonder. The things that had happened today didn’t belong in Shadow Point, Kentucky. They were fodder for television crime shows or the headlines of a city she’d never visit.

      Tina doused her hair with shampoo and lathered her body fron neck to toes in seconds, scrubbing harder than necessary, until the water ran clear. Ironic, because she doubted the stains from her day would ever truly be gone. She shook off the heavy wave of emotion and concentrated on the ticking clock. The damp towel was in the communal hamper and she was re-dressed with four minutes to spare. Tina grabbed her things and yanked open the locker room door. Hopefully, West had really waited. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t blame him.

      She’d always hated the way she’d left things with him after high school. When the college scholarship she’d applied for came through, she’d packed up and asked him to understand. It wasn’t an opportunity anyone could pass up, certainly not her. She’d needed to get out of Shadow Point like she needed oxygen. West had wanted to get married. He’d wanted a house and some land, a perfect replica of what his parents had, but Tina didn’t believe in fairy tales, and at eighteen, she couldn’t see past her escape. She’d picked up the phone a thousand times over the years to tell him the truth about why she had to leave. Her family was a train wreck. Her father was in jail now, probably for the rest of his life, and her mother had run away in his absence. Tina was broken because of it, and West deserved better. Without her to hold him back, West had enlisted in the military, served overseas and come home to be the county sheriff. She had been baggage for him, but she could never find the strength to say those things out loud, so she didn’t. Pride was vindictive that way.

      * * *

      WEST PRESSED HIS palms to the desk, scanning the map before him. Cole and the other Cade County deputies had compiled a list of viable reports about a man in a dark jacket and jeans spotted near the crime scene. Though no one outside Tina’s group had witnessed the attack, several had heard the gunshot and called to report it. A handful had confirmed Tina’s claim about the old pickup truck. “You can’t throw a stone without hitting an old pickup in this county,” West groaned.

      “Someone thought it was a faded red Ford,” Cole said. “That’s something.”

      West rubbed his eyes. Let Cole be the optimist for a change. Someone had to be because West wasn’t finding a lot of hope in the reports he had in front of him. The descriptions were in agreement, but the locations were all over the place. “So he either went north or south?”

      Cole sighed. “Yep.”

      West strained upright and shook his head. “Did we catch a lead on the assailant at Tina’s home?”