Sweet Revenge

Chapter 23

The instant roaring through Matt’s head didn’t bode well for any of them. The woman pointed the gun at Nate, her gaze confused, her hand trembling.

“Put down the gun.” Matt kept his voice calm and controlled to cut through her panic.

“No.” She widened her stance. “I think it’s time you introduced us.”

Matt edged to the right and subtly shook his head when Nate moved the other way. His brother paused, one eyebrow raised. “I’ve got this,” Matt said.

“Do you, now?” Laney changed her aim to him. “You let me sit through an entire interview with your brother without letting me know who he was.”

Okay. So she had a right to be pissed. Kind of. “I said to put down the gun.”

Nate chuckled and leaned against the wall, giving the impression he was relaxing. “Remember when Josie pointed a gun at us?”

“Yeah.” Matt angled closer to Laney, his eye on the weapon.

Laney swallowed. “Who’s Josie and what happened to her?”

“She’s our sister-in-law, and she married our brother, Shane,” Matt said. Nate appeared calm, but he could strike without warning, and Matt didn’t want him shot… or Laney hurt. “Nate? I need to you go to the sheriff’s office and get a picture of me off his computer.” The sooner Matt got Nate out of the bar, the better.

Nate frowned. “You let the sheriff take a picture?”

“Yes, and I hope it’s on his work computer. Now that you’re working with the FBI, you can get access to it.” Actually, the situation was ideal.

Laney’s nostrils flared. “Then what?”

“Then we’re leaving town,” Matt said. He was close enough to lunge and take the weapon, but he didn’t want to frighten her. Too much. “All of us.”

Nate let loose with a low growl and pushed off the wall. “We’re not finished with our talk.” Without looking back, he strode around the pool table toward the front door. Once close, he glanced over his shoulder. “By the way, Eleanor, I’m Nate. The brother who isn’t going to let you take Matt down.” He turned and shoved the door open before disappearing into the morning storm.

Laney cleared her throat. “I can tell he likes me a lot.”

Matt eyed her. “Pointing a gun at somebody you don’t intend to shoot is unacceptable and has consequences. Drop the gun, now.” The bite of command echoed in his voice along with an anger he failed to mask.

She widened her stance. “I think you should answer your brother’s question first.”

Whether he loved her or not? Now wasn’t the time for emotion. “Laney, you’re two seconds from having an incredibly rough moment. I’m happy to deliver, but I feel it only fair to warn you. If I have to take the gun from you, I will, but I’m giving you one chance to choose your own result here.”

Her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated. “I don’t like threats.”

“Consider it a promise.” He eyed the gun. Yep. She’d released the safety. “What’s the first lesson I taught you about guns?”

“Not to point one unless you intend to shoot, and not to shoot unless you intend to kill.” Her voice cracked on the end.

“And?”

She sighed and lowered her hand. “If it helps, for a few moments, I considered shooting.”

He snagged the gun. “Believe it or not, that doesn’t help a bit.”

She nodded. “So, Nate, huh? Those must’ve been colored contacts.”

“Yes. We all have the gray eyes. It’s a genetic marker used by the scientists.” He slipped the safety back into place and slipped the gun in his waistband. “That was your one chance to hold a gun on me and still be able to sit for the next week. Don’t do it again.”

Her chin lifted. “Unless I intend to shoot, you mean.”

He couldn’t stop his grin. The woman had guts. “Yes. Unless you plan to shoot me.”

“Your brother doesn’t like me.” Odd, but she sounded hurt by that fact, as if he’d taken her home to meet his family, and they’d disapproved.

Matt sighed. “Nate doesn’t like doctors, women, or, well, people. Don’t take it personally.” Nate wouldn’t like anybody who messed with Matt’s focus, which Laney certainly did. Whether she realized it or not. “You need to pack. Once Nate has my picture, we need to get out of town.”

“Won’t the FBI follow us?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Yes, but we have better trackers after us, so the FBI is the least of our worries.” His phone rang, and he lifted it to his ear. “What?”

“Nate said you’re in over your head for this woman, and you’re going to get yourself killed,” Shane said. “He wants the full background on her sent to his phone.”

Yeah, that sounded like Nate. He’d dig into Laney’s past until he knew everything and how to get her out of Matt’s life. “Send him the full package.” Matt eyed the little brunette. She’d told him the truth about the commander, and Nate would have to reach that conclusion on his own. They’d all done things in life they regretted. He’d figure it all out later. “I know what I’m doing. Prepare for us to arrive sometime tomorrow after Nate fetches what I need.”

Silence echoed across the line for several beats. “You’re bringing her here, Mattie?” Shane asked.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Matt drew deep for patience. “Trust me, Shane. She’s coming with me because we need her.”

“We need her, or you need her?” Shane asked quietly.

Matt kept his focus on Laney as she tried to listen to his conversation. “Both,” he said. Panic and fear swirled around his gut, making it hurt. His entire body ached. But he went with his instincts and solidified all emotion into a plan he could pursue. God, he hoped he was making the right decision. If trusting Laney harmed his brothers, he’d never survive the guilt.

Nate cataloged the number of weapons in the main hub of the sheriff station. Three deputies stood in the room, and each had a holstered gun. At least one of the guys walked like he had another weapon secured to his ankle.

The gun at Nate’s back provided safety for him.

With a nod at the men, he maneuvered past the desks to the sheriff’s office. “I spoke with Laney Jacobs and her boyfriend,” Nate said, striding inside and dropping into one of two wooden guest chairs.

The sheriff snorted. “I don’t like the boyfriend.” A beautiful picture window made up the entire wall behind him and showcased an abundant forest. A mounted trout took up another wall, and diplomas and awards the third.

Nate tapped his fingers on his pants. “The boyfriend seemed okay to me. Former soldier, trying to find himself. I’d say he’s common.” Yeah. Matt was anything but common.

The sheriff pushed back from his desk. “I don’t know. He arrives in town, and women are attacked. Seems suspicious.”

“My professional opinion is that he’s not our killer.” Nate slid on a charming smile. “Plus, he’s stayed in town knowing you suspect him. That counts for something.”

“Perhaps he’s an arrogant son of a bitch who doesn’t think we’ll catch him. Or maybe he can’t leave until he kills Miss Jacobs, considering he’s been sending her notes.” The sheriff revealed sharp teeth. “Besides, I took his picture and told him I’d send his mug to every law enforcement agency and every news outlet in the world if he skipped town.”

“How?” Nate asked. Just how long had his brother been distracted?

“I interviewed him right after Claire was murdered and snapped a shot before he left.”

Nate chuckled. “Good move. Have you sent the picture anywhere?”

“No. It’s on my computer.” The sheriff patted his protruding belly.

A whisper of cotton sounded at the door, and a woman rushed in. “Oh my God. I received a letter, Todd.” Dressed in surgical scrubs, the woman waved a piece of notebook paper as she hitched across the room before dropping it on the desk.

The sheriff frowned and grabbed the paper: You’re lovely, and I can’t wait to know you better. I feel you’re the one. He read the words slowly, crimson sliding across his face. “Damn it.”

Nate leaned forward. “The guy needs to stalk two women at once.” A primary target and a secondary. Unfortunately, the primary ended up dead quickly. “He’ll try again for Miss Jacobs soon.”

The woman fluttered her hands, her classic face pale. “Todd, what should I do?”

The sheriff stood and tucked the woman close for a hug. An intimate hug. “I won’t let anything hurt you, Tasha. I promise.” They stood about the same height, but next to the burly cop, the woman appeared lean.

Nate frowned. “Is this your first note?”

“Yes,” she said.

The sheriff released her. “My apologies. Dr. Leo McGovern, this is Dr. Tasha Friedan, our local coroner.”

And the sheriff’s girlfriend, apparently. Nate smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.” He studied her.

Intelligent eyes dominated a classic face. She wore her blond hair straight to the shoulders in a no-nonsense style she could pull back when cutting into bodies. No wonder Matt had liked her for the surgeon he’d hunted… until he’d fallen for the actual surgeon.

She pushed back from the sheriff. “It’s nice to meet you. What kind of a doctor are you?”

“I’m not. A profiler,” he said.

Her head lifted. “I see,” she said in the snotty tone only medical doctors could manage when dealing with other doctorates. “Why is this guy after me?”

Probably because she was a bitch. “He likes successful career women who live alone in quaint-sounding towns. You fit the bill perfectly.”

“Wonderful,” she said. “The FBI has been after him for some time, right? Shouldn’t you have a better handle on who he is? I mean, our tax dollars do pay your salaries.”

Nate shrugged. “I’m not with the FBI.”

The reporter poked his head into the doorway. “No, but her question was a good one. Why doesn’t the FBI have more on this guy?”

Hell if Nate knew. He wasn’t a profiler. “Why don’t you? I mean, you’ve followed the case for weeks now, right?”

“Yes, but I just report the news. I’m not involved in solving cases.” Frant shoved his glasses back up his nose. “Though, frankly, I think I’ve provided more information to the FBI than the other way around. What is the status of this case?”

“None of your business.” Agent Patterson shoved past Frant to reach for the newest note, which he read quickly. He eyed Tasha. “Where was this?”

“On my car at work. I left to go grab lunch, and the paper was secured under my windshield wiper.” Her voice trembled at the end, and the sheriff reached down to take her hand.

Agent Patterson swore and yanked out his tattered notebook. “Tell me everything.”

Nate listened as Tasha recounted her last week, noting several times she hadn’t seen or even felt anybody watching her. The woman had terrible instincts.

Of course, apparently Laney hadn’t noticed anything, either, and she probably had decent instincts. At least to have hidden from the commander for so long. Nate knew Matt would go after the guy hunting Laney, but hopefully it wouldn’t be until they survived the damn chips.

Finally, Patterson wound down the interview and thanked Tasha Friedan. He turned toward the sheriff. “Do you mind acquiring the surveillance video from the coroner’s office?”

“Nope. I’m on it,” the sheriff said.

Patterson faced Nate. “My partner, Agent Cusack, will be back in town in about an hour. He interviewed all of the earlier witnesses from the last two towns and has a lot to report. How about we meet and plan our next step?”

“Sounds good.” Nate hoped to be heading out of town at that point. “Let’s meet at Swank’s Diner, down the street. We can have a lunch meeting.”

“Excellent. I need to make a couple of phone calls.” Agent Patterson strode out of the office without another word.

The sheriff slid an arm around Tasha’s shoulders. “Come on, Tasha. Let’s go get the video, and then we’ll figure out a way to keep you safe, sweetheart.”

Nate stood. “Hey, Sheriff? I’d love a copy of the picture you took of Matt Dean. If I send the photo to colleagues in the FBI, they can give us a better idea of who he is. Just in case.”

The sheriff kept his gaze on Tasha. “Go for it. The shot is in my computer in a picture file called ‘Big Catches.’ ” He grinned. “I usually keep fish pictures in the file.” Keeping a protective arm around Tasha, he ushered her from the office.

Nate skirted the desk to sit and find the file. He brought up the picture of Matt. Anger shone in his brother’s eyes, while Laney stood right behind him. Interesting. They made a striking couple.

Shaking his head, Nate typed in a series of commands to corrupt the picture. After completing the task, he erased the photo and emptied the trash.

Good enough. Slipping away from the desk, he strode through the sheriff’s department to his car waiting outside. Once inside, he dialed Matt. “It’s done.”

“Excellent,” Matt said. “Thanks. Drop by and we’ll load up your car before heading out of town. I’d like to be on the road within the hour.”

“You got it.” Nate disconnected the call. God, he hoped Matt knew what he was doing in bringing the surgeon they’d been hunting for five years to their safe house in Montana.

His big brother wasn’t thinking clearly, but Nate had made the decision to trust Matt with his life more than once.

He couldn’t stop now.