He just looked at her.
“Ms Stewart.” The pretty blond man who’d been cleaning the gun stood close by, his mouth a set in an unhappy line. “Nick informed us he kidnapped you and held you against your will.”
“Nick!” She turned back to the idiot in the cell, moving too fast. Her head felt topsy-turvy. “That was personal. How could you tell them that?”
“It’s the truth,” he said calmly, like he was resigned to his dire circumstances. People heading to the chopping block probably had a similar joie de vivre. “What I did was wrong.”
“What you did is between us. I can’t believe you.”
The pretty blond cleared his throat. “Ah, Ms Stewart—”
And honestly, she’d had enough of this shit. More than enough of it. “Open the door. Let him out. He didn’t hurt me. Though I may hurt him.”
“But, by his own admission, he did hurt you. He held you against your will, at the very least.”
She growled. Men! They were all such fools. “Do not try to tell me you are punishing him for things he supposedly did to me. I decide how that works, not you. You are not involved in this. None of you.”
The pretty blond just blinked.
“And I’m not pressing charges, so don’t try to tell me it’s about the law either. Let him out.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” said the pretty blond.
“Roslyn, it’s more complicated than that,” Sean said, stepping forward to take the blame. “A lot of people in town don’t trust Nick. Letting him walk out of here would not be in his best interests. You noticed people weren’t happy. They’re still coming to terms with what happened that night. They thought they were safe inside these walls and they found out the hard way that they’re not.”
“He’s right,” said the pretty blond. “For a lot of people it was a big shock on top of what they’d already suffered. Nick would make a good target to take their fears out on right about now.”
“What?” Her brain hurt. They couldn’t be serious. Blackstone was fast turning from a dream into a nightmare. “Are you telling me someone still might try to kill him? Are you fucking serious?”
“We won’t let that happen,” said the pretty blond, looking highly competent but not soothing her in the least. This was Nick’s life they were talking about. If anyone would be killing him, it would be her. And she didn’t want him dead, so there.
“I’m sorry, what was your name?” she asked.
“I’m Finn,” the pretty blond said. “Town sheriff, basically. Sean’s right. For now, Nick’s safer in here. If what you’re saying is true and he didn’t hurt you, eventually it might be best if we move him out quietly once things calm down. Let him be on his way.”
“Move him out quietly?” She shook her head in disbelief. “You’d send him back out there. Mind you, after what I’ve seen of this place that might not be a bad idea.”
“You’d stay,” the big idiot in the cage announced. “You’re safer here.”
She doubted that, but it was beside the point. The idiot was trying to separate them. Now, after everything. “Shut. Up. Nick. The adults are talking.”
Nick gave her another less-than-impressed look. “Ros.”
“I’m serious. You’ve said enough this year.” The world went wonky and she swayed, hip banging into the bars. “Whoa.”
“Get her a chair,” said Nick.
“No,” she said with vehemence. Because for all the supposed intelligent life forms surrounding her just then, not one of the three men were making a shitload of sense. “Open the door. If you won’t let him out then I’m going in.”
Nick paced in his cage. “Like hell. You just got shot.”
“That was days ago. Keep up.”
Finn offered her a hand. “Ms Stewart—”
“Roslyn,” she corrected.
“Roslyn,” said Finn. “Please, let me help you to a seat.”
“No. I’m staying with him,” she said. “Did I happen to mention I committed vehicular manslaughter the other day?”
“It was self-defense,” said Nick.
“No,” she said, waving her finger at one and all. “Justin shooting me might have been self-defense, but I chose to run him down. So actually it’s not manslaughter, is it? How far in advance does one need to plan before you can say it was pre-meditated, exactly?”
No reply was forthcoming from the sheriff.
“Never mind,” she said. “I am a vicious and unrepentant killer who should be locked up. With him, my idiot boyfriend.”