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  She nodded as she brought her hands up to remove the tape covering her mouth. He helped her peel it off.

  “What’s going on? What just happened?” It was probably the fact that she’d almost died today but Isaac’s strong male voice wrapped around her. His gaze intensified on her. “Do you know that jerk?”

  “No.” Her mouth hurt. Her ankle throbbed. She tried to catch her breath through the sobs. “That man. I don’t know what happened. He came out of nowhere. There was a dog. A Labrador retriever. He’d been shot or stabbed. Then, I heard someone behind me and…”

  She had to take a moment to breathe. The urge to cry was a tsunami building in her chest. Let the flood gates open and there’d be no stopping the waterworks. She refocused her attention to slow the wave of emotion building.

  Normally, she wouldn’t notice how blue her rescuer’s eyes were or how carved-from-granite his jawline was while she was in the middle of an emergency. But she needed a distraction to stop her emotions from overflowing, and that’s all this was. Nothing else. Besides, it was difficult to ignore those intense blue eyes when they were focused on her no matter what else was going on, especially when they belonged to Isaac Quinn.

  “Did you get a good look at him?”

  “No.” She tried to sit. Moving hurt. “What time is it?”

  “Six forty-five.”

  Relief flooded her. Only a few minutes had passed. At least she hadn’t been knocked out for long. She skimmed her body. All her clothes were intact. Running shoes still on. She shivered at the thought of what her assailant could have done to her and was damn grateful the opportunity had presented itself to escape. Having Isaac show up when he did was nothing short of a miracle.

  “I’m calling Griff.” Isaac’s soothing timbre washed over her, settling her nerves a notch below panic. His cousin, the sheriff, would need information from her to investigate the case and stop the jerk who’d abducted her from hurting another soul.

  “Yes. Call 911. Get help. Please. And a vet. Someone needs to get over to the Labrador.” The words rushed out and she winced in pain as she tried to stand. Moving was a bad idea.

  “Jesus. What did that bastard do to you?” Fury radiated from Isaac as his gaze skimmed over her. “Never mind. That’s not important right now. You need medical attention.”

  “I’m okay. I just want to go home to my daughter.” Trembling, she hated how shaky her voice sounded. Granted, she’d just been through an ordeal like nothing she’d ever experienced. It would be too easy to give in to the terror threatening to overtake her. Being afraid would give that jerk too much power over her. She did her level best to tamp her fear down.

  “It’s not a good idea for you to go anywhere until you’ve been medically cleared, and Griff needs to know what just happened.” Isaac’s gaze surveyed her and she could tell he was assessing her injuries.

  “What if he comes back?” Saying those words out loud caused her body to shiver.

  “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. He’d be stupid to challenge me.”

  She glanced around. They were in plain sight. Helpless against a bullet. “Can I sit inside your truck? I’m not comfortable being out in the open like this.”

  “I’ll help you up.” He wrapped his arm around her waist to support her. She leaned some of her weight on him. Warmth shot through her and electricity pinged at contact. Isaac had grown into one hell of a man. He’d filled out, too. She didn’t want to notice how his muscles stretched and released underneath the thin cotton material of his shirt. Or how strong he’d become. Or how much that masculine voice of his affected her.

  How long had it been since she’d seen him? More than ten years. Too long, an annoying voice in the back of her head chimed in.

  A lot had changed since high school. But some events would always stay with her. Her first crush. Her first kiss. Her first rejection.

  Cell phone to his ear, Isaac said the words that made this nightmare feel even more real. “This is an emergency. We need an ambulance right away.”

  Isaac stood, arms folded over his chest, watching as the EMTs worked on Gina. He’d already given his statement to Griff.

  Right now, all he could think about was Gina and what had happened to her. Seeing her again, all glittery green eyes and full cherry lips, had him remembering times better left forgotten. Isaac shouldn’t have to remind himself she was the widow of one of his friends from high school. And he certainly shouldn’t have to remind himself that what she needed right now was him focusing on what had happened to her, as opposed to her lips.

  Des Anderson had been a decent-enough guy. Isaac owed it to his high school friend to make sure Gina was okay.

  “Did you get a description of the assailant?” Griff asked her as the EMT covered the cuts on her wrists with ointment.

  “No. He had on a ski mask that covered most of his face, but I saw his eyes through the rearview. They were brown. And when he turned his head, I saw that his nose was hooked. He had a long face, which probably describes half the male population in the county.”

  “Everything you can remember helps. What about height or weight?” Griff took a few notes.

  “I’m not sure. He was sitting in the driver’s seat of the SUV. The chair blocked my view.”

  Griff asked other routine-sounding questions she didn’t seem able to answer. The whole idea a man would come up from behind her while she helped an animal in trouble shot fire though Isaac’s veins.

  “What about you? What did you see?” Griff asked Isaac.

  “I didn’t get the whole license plate. Just the first three letters. B-D-Z.”

  “Let me text this to Sherry so she can run it through the database.” Sherry Arnold was his secretary and right hand. According to his brothers, the sixty-eight-year-old had been threatening to retire for the past six years. She wasn’t the type though; Sherry got bored taking vacation days.

  “Someone needs to get to the dog.” Gina’s wrists were red. Rubbing them made it look worse.

  “Your mother called a while ago. Said she spoke to you. I sent someone over to pick up the Labrador.”

  “Right. I remember that now. I’d forgotten all about speaking to her.” She blinked. She’d taken a blow to the head, which could cause temporary memory loss. Then again, this had been one helluva traumatic event. She might’ve blocked out events leading up to the attack. Most civilians weren’t prepared for violence. “How bad were his injuries?”

  “Michael is assessing him now,” Griff said. Michael Black was the best vet in the county. “Seems whoever did this shot the animal either to stop him from attacking, or to keep him quiet. The person must’ve figured him for dead.”

  Isaac had never met an unfriendly Labrador. More of that anger surfaced, igniting sparks in his chest. “Do you know who the dog belonged to?”

  Griff tucked his phone in his pocket. Before he could answer the question, his cell buzzed. He locked gazes with Isaac before fishing it out and checking the screen. “We got a hit. An SUV with the first three letters B-D-Z on its license plate was stolen from the Big Mart store parking lot at four p.m. yesterday.”

  “That’s plenty of time to make it over here. And then some.” The store was in Tarrytown, two cities over.

  Griff studied a spot on the ground before lifting his gaze. “As for the Labrador, his owner was found dead in the cabin.”

  Gina covered her gasp. “Oh, no. I can’t remember the name of the couple who owns that cabin.”

  “The Trapp’s. It wasn’t one of them.” First, he made eye contact with Gina and then with Isaac. “We knew her. We all went to high school together. It’s Brittany.”

  This time, Gina didn’t bother to cover her shock. The next few words came out low and under her breath. She seemed to be talking to herself mostly. “No. How can that be? We’re supposed to have lunch tomorrow.” Shock widened her eyes. It was easy to see she was trying to process what couldn’t be real.

  “Brittany Darden from high s
chool?” Isaac needed to make sure he was hearing correctly. Hearing someone had lost their life, especially in a senseless act of violence, never got easier. He’d been in situations overseas where death was all around him. And yet, there was something different, strange about this happening in Gunner.

  Griff locked eyes. Isaac saw the pain. Murder in Gunner was difficult enough to comprehend. Add to the fact it was someone they knew, and no one’s mind seemed able to go there.

  A few choice words came to mind about the bastard who would do something like this but Isaac settled on saying, “Why would someone hurt Brittany?”

  “That’s a good question. And an answer I intend to find.”

  “What about a boyfriend?” Isaac had been around law enforcement enough to know the biggest threat to a woman was the person who was supposed to be closest to her, a boyfriend or spouse.

  “She wasn’t seeing anyone that I know of. Again, Brittany played her cards close to her chest. I’ll interview Mrs. Stanley—”

  “Don’t you mean Mrs. Darden?” Gina corrected.

  “Brittany’s mom got remarried last year.” Griff kept tabs on the people in Gunner. He took their personal safety to heart.

  Gina’s brow shot up. “Really? Is he someone from around here?”

  “Bo Stanley is his name. The two met when she was visiting relatives in Austin, hit it off and got married six months later. He’s a small-time real estate developer who mostly works small commercial properties.”

  “We’ll check her computer for e-mails and her social media accounts, cell phone records.” Griff was close in height to Isaac. T.J.’s sons had dark hair while his brother’s boys were more of the sandy-blond variety. Same chiseled jaws, or so they’d been told.

  “I’m out of the loop.” Isaac had a lot of catching up to do in Gunner. Then again, he didn’t plan to stick around.

  An EMT interrupted. “Ma’am, can I see you for another minute?”

  She nodded and followed him a couple of steps away.

  Griff returned his gaze to Isaac. “I don’t think I gave you a proper welcome, cousin. Good to have you home.”

  “Thanks, Griff.” It had been a strange homecoming so far. He’d landed earlier this morning and had yet to see any of his brothers. He and his identical twin had kept close contact up until about a year ago. Then communication had fallen off. Liam had moved to Colorado and stopped answering calls.

  “Thank you for your service.” Griff’s sincerity hit Isaac in the chest. He could tell his cousin meant every word. It was strange being stateside again but Isaac figured there was a lot he needed to get used to. Wearing jeans and a regular shirt were the tip of the iceberg after spending almost a decade and a half in fatigues.

  “You’re welcome.” Isaac meant it. He’d been honored to serve the past fourteen years. He’d entertained a long-term career in the military, then one day, he woke up and knew in his heart he was done. There wasn’t one last mission that got to him, one last scene that would replay in his mind and haunt his thoughts. Isaac had always known somewhere deep down that he’d never been able to leave Texas permanently.

  He got tired of the constant moves, of never feeling like he had roots. So, when his time to renew had come up, he’d shocked his SO and opted out.

  Isaac could only hope that coming home to Gunner hadn’t been a mistake. There was the issue of his father, T.J., to deal with. Being a grown man should change the father-son relationship. Now, Isaac could fight back.

  “Will you keep me posted on what’s happening with the case? I need to get Gina home to rest that ankle.” He looked over to where she was standing with the EMT. From where he stood, he could already see the swelling in her ankle but what struck him most was the strength in how she was handling what had happened.

  Griff nodded. “This one hits close to home. I plan to find this bastard and nail him.”

  “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.” Isaac meant every word.

  Griff acknowledged with a nod. “Seems like yesterday we were all in high school. Everything’s changed now. People are married. Have kids of their own. Two of our friends are…gone.” He glanced toward Gina and Isaac instantly realized the other person his cousin referred to was Des.

  “When the hell did we get so grown up?”

  Griff half-smiled, breaking some of the tension. “You and me were born older.”

  “Can’t argue that point. But then we always had responsibility for the ranch. A Quinn didn’t have time for silly games.” How many times had T.J. said that? Isaac’s father was as old school as they came. The senior Quinn had built a successful ranch from nothing. He’d acquired thousands of acres across three states; the man was one of Texas’s most successful cattle ranchers. Ranching, he was good at. Family, not so much.

  T.J. might be one helluva rancher and businessman but he’d been a terrible father. Isaac could remember a time when his father had been happy. The death of Isaac’s mother had broken everything that had been good about their home. She’d been the warmth and love that had held the family together and grounded their father. In her absence, T.J. had hardened his own heart toward everyone, including his seven children.

  Gina was standing now with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and an EMT tending to the last of her wounds. “Can I go home now?”

  “Ma’am, my advice is for you is to go to the hospital,” the EMT said.

  “Sorry. There’s no way. I have a daughter.” She looked like she was winding up for a panic attack, so Isaac moved to her side and looped his arm around her waist to hold some of her weight. He chalked the electricity humming underneath his fingertips to residual attraction. The two of them had been a thing a long time ago and he hadn’t seen her in almost a decade and a half. There couldn’t be more to it.

  “Be sure to lock your doors day and night.” Griff’s warning caused her shoulders to tense.

  “Are you saying he might come back?”

  “Until we know what we’re dealing with I’d like you to be overly cautious. Everything you’ve learned about keeping yourself safe, use.” Griff’s cell buzzed again, drawing his attention toward the screen. He read the message with a frown.

  “What’s wrong?” Isaac asked.

  “Coroner’s preliminary examination says the style of killing was very personal. Whoever did this had a gun in his possession but decided not to use it on her.” He flashed his eyes at Isaac before continuing, “The victim died of strangulation. There are multiple stab wounds. That’s all we have to go on for now. My deputies and I will be looking into Brittany’s personal life, looking for a trail there.” Griff’s voice was a reverent whisper but he could’ve shouted for the effect his words had on Gina. She sank to her knees like she’d been standing on rubber bands.

  “I can’t believe she’s gone.”

  3

  “Based on the report, Brittany must’ve known the person who did this to her. Right?”

  Gina thought she might be sick. Her mouth felt like she’d licked a glue stick. She swallowed to try to ease the dryness in her throat. Ever since she’d heard the news about Brittany, she battled against losing it. And Brittany had died in such a brutal manner.

  “That’s usually the case in a crime of this nature.” Griff’s normally calm demeanor was replaced by deep grooves in his forehead.

  “How can that be? We were supposed to have lunch tomorrow.” A life cut short so young…Gina couldn’t go there in her mind. There was something about someone suddenly passing that hit her in a dark place. Yes, she’d lost Des way too young. They’d grown up on the same street and had known each other for most of their lives. They’d been close when they were younger, but he changed over the years and became more distant. It became harder to break through his walls and get him to talk about anything real.

  “When did the two of you make plans for lunch?” Griff asked.

  “About a week ago. The past few weeks of getting ready to move have been hectic. The baby is
teething and learning to walk. So, I don’t ever get to sit down. Forget about a warm meal.” She wouldn’t trade any of that for Everly, don’t get her wrong. But sleep and a hot meal would be a nice change of pace. None of which mattered after hearing the news about Brittany. First Des and now Brittany. Gina was reminded even more how precious life was.

  In that moment, her mind snapped to her daughter. Her arms ached to hold her precious little girl.

  She glanced at her watch and realized it was already past eleven. Everly would go down for a nap soon and she wanted to be the one to put her daughter to bed.

  “I’ll be in touch. Let me know if you remember anything else, okay?” Griff asked.

  “I will.” Isaac helped her to his truck. The damage from the van wasn’t enough to keep him from driving it.

  “Thank you for everything you’ve done today, Isaac. I can’t even think what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come along when you did.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He waved his hand like it was nothing but it was everything. She wouldn’t be going home to her daughter right now without him.

  “I didn’t know you were visiting Gunner. When did you get here?” Gina pinched the bridge of her nose to stem off a headache as she asked the question. She’d had a few humdingers lately and they nearly knocked her out when they came. It was all she could do to take care of Everly when a headache struck. Specialists couldn’t find the cause. After running more tests than she could afford, the consensus was the same. The pain was stress-related. Turned out, losing her husband and being suddenly faced with bringing up a child on her own was bad for her health.

  Isaac glanced at the clock on the dashboard and smiled. “Now.”

  “Today? Or like, right this minute?”

  “I was on my way home when I saw you, so I’m here now.”