Branded by the Sheriff

Good. It was backup. If Nolan Wheeler or whoever was still out there, then maybe he’d be caught. Maybe this would all be over within the next few minutes. Then she could deal with this adrenaline roaring through her veins and get on with her life.

Faith waited there with her fingers clutched so tightly around the pepper spray that her hand began to cramp. The minutes crawled by, and they were punctuated by silence and the occasional surly glance from Beck.

He still hated her.

She could see it in his face. He still blamed her for that night with his brother. Part of her wanted to shout the truth of what’d happened, but he wouldn’t believe her. Her own mother hadn’t. And over the years she’d convinced herself that it didn’t matter. That incident had given her a chip on her shoulder, and she’d used that chip and her anger to succeed. Coming back here, getting the job as the assistant district attorney, that was her proof that she’d risen above the albatross of her family’s DNA.

“It’s me,” someone called out, causing her heart to race again.

But Beck obviously wasn’t alarmed. He got to his feet and watched the man approach the window.

“I see some tracks,” the man announced. “But if anybody’s still out here, then he’s freezing his butt off and probably hiding in the bushes across the road.”

The man poked his face against the hole in the window, and she got a good look at him. It was Corey Winston. He’d been a year behind her in high school and somewhat of a smart mouth. These days, he was Beck’s deputy. She’d learned that during her job interview with the district attorney.

Corey’s insolent gaze met hers. “Faith Matthews.” He used a similar tone to the one Beck had used when he first saw her. “What are you doing back in LaMesa Springs?”

“She’s going to be the new assistant district attorney,” Beck provided.

That earned her a raised eyebrow from Corey. “Now I’ve heard everything. You, the ADA? Well, you’re not off to a good start. You breeze into town, your first night back, and you’re already stirring up trouble, huh?”

The huh was probably added to make it sound a little less insulting. But it only riled her more. She’d let jerks like Corey, and Beck, run her out of town ten years earlier, but they wouldn’t succeed this time.

She would continue full speed ahead, and if that included arresting her own brother, she’d do it and carry out her lawful duties. Of course, because of a personal conflict, the DA himself would have to prosecute the case, but she would fully cooperate. It helped that she had been estranged from her mother and sister. That wouldn’t help with Darin. It would hurt. But duty had to come first here.

Beck reholstered his gun and glanced around at the glass on the floor. “Secure the scene,” he told Corey. “Cast at least one of the footprints, and I’ll send it to the lab in Austin. We might get lucky.”

“You think it’s worth it?” Corey challenged. But his defiance went down a notch when Beck stared at him. “It just seems like a lot of trouble to go through considering this was probably done by those Kendrick kids. You know those boys have too much time on their hands and nobody at home to see what they’re up to.”

“There’s a killer on the loose,” Beck reminded him.

That reminder, however, didn’t stop Corey from scowling at Faith before he turned from the window and got to work. He grumbled something indistinguishable under his breath.

Beck looked at her then. He wasn’t exactly sporting a scowl like Corey, but it was close. “I need you to come with me to my office so I can take a statement.”

It was standard operating procedure. Something that needed to be done, just in case it had been the killer outside that window. Besides, she didn’t want to be alone in the house. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. She would truly have to rethink making this place a home for Aubrey.

Faith grabbed her purse and got ready to go.

“I don’t believe it was the Kendrick kids who threw those rocks,” Beck said to her.

That stopped her in her tracks. “You think it was Darin?” she challenged.

“If not Darin, then let’s play around with your assumption, that your mom and sister’s killer was Sherry’s ex, Nolan Wheeler.” He hitched his thumb toward the broken glass. “If Nolan was outside that window tonight, he could want to do you harm.”

She shook her head. “Stating the obvious here, but if that’s true, why wait until now?”

“Because you were here, alone. Or so he thought. You were an easy target.”

Faith zoomed in on the obvious flaw in his theory. “And his motive for wanting me dead?”

“Maybe Nolan thinks you’ll use your new job to come after him for the two murders. He might even think that’s why you’ve come back.”

She opened her mouth to deny it, but she couldn’t. In fact, that’s exactly the way Nolan would think.

Other than in confidence to her boss, Faith hadn’t announced to anyone in Oklahoma that she had accepted the job in LaMesa Springs.

Not until this morning.

This morning, she’d also called LaMesa Springs’ DA to tell him she would be arriving. She had arranged for renovations and a security system for the house. She’d made lots and lots of calls, and anyone could have found out her plans.

Anyone, including Nolan.

“Where’s your daughter right now?” Beck asked. His tone alone would have alarmed her, but there was more than a sense of urgency in his expression.

“Aubrey’s still in Oklahoma with her nanny. Why?”

“Because I was just trying to put myself in Nolan’s place. If he came here to scare you off and it didn’t work, then what will he do next?” His stare was a warning. “If he’s got an accomplice or if it was his accomplice who just tossed those rocks, that means one of them could be here in LaMesa Springs and the other could be in Oklahoma.”

Her heart dropped to her knees.

Beck took a step toward her. “Either Darin or Nolan might try to use your daughter to get to you.”

“Oh, God.”

Faith grabbed her phone from her purse and prayed that it wasn’t too late to keep Aubrey safe.

Chapter Three (#u8692ad98-6d4e-550e-85fa-9bf5ad475c98)

By Beck’s calculation, Faith had been pacing in his office for three hours while she waited for her daughter to arrive. Even when she’d been on the phone, which was a lot, or while giving her official statement to him, she still paced. And while she did that, she continued to check her delicate silver watch.

The minutes were probably dragging by for her.

They certainly were for him.

Beck tried to keep himself occupied with routine paperwork and notes on his current cases. Normally he liked keeping busy. But this wasn’t a normal night.

Faith Matthews was in his office, mere yards away, and sooner or later he was going to have to break the news to his family that she’d returned. Since it was going on midnight, Beck had opted for later, but he knew, with the gossip mill always in full swing, that if he didn’t tell his father, brother and sister-in-law by morning—early morning, at that—then they’d find out from some other source.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Faith tossed him a glance from over her shoulder.

Despite the vigor of her pacing, she was exhausted. Her eyes were sleep-starved, and her face was pale and tight with tension. On some level he understood that tension.

Her daughter might be in danger, and she was waiting for the little girl to arrive with her nanny and the Texas Ranger escort from the Austin airport. Beck hadn’t had the opportunity to be around many babies, but he figured the parental bond was strong, and the uncertainty was driving Faith crazy.

“You’re staring at me,” she grumbled.

Yeah. He was.