Salvation in the Sheriff's Kiss(61)

His father walked farther into the room. “You think to question me? Am I accused of a crime?”

“Not yet.” Hunter watched his father’s uneven gait. He had been a big man once, but the stroke had struck him low. He’d lost weight and his once erect posture had grown hunched. But the illness had not diminished Vernon’s ego.

“And just what crime do you think I’ve committed?”

Hunter held his tongue. His father was a smart man. If he was involved in the Syndicate, he’d try to glean as much information out of Hunter as he could without giving any in return.

“Hmm,” his father grunted. He reached across the desk and gathered the thin ledgers in his gnarled hand. Arthritis had taken over the knuckles, twisting his fingers into an unnatural shape.

“Are you part of the Syndicate?” He threw the question out there, watched his father carefully for any telltale signs, but his father wasn’t some greenhorn intimidated by a badge. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t do anything. His face remained implacable. That in itself told its own tale. “You need to mind your own business, boy.”

“And I need you and whoever else you are working with to leave Meredith the hell alone. She’s been through enough.”

“When someone insists on nosing around and stirring up dirt, they find themselves six feet deep in it. That’s just the way it is.” His father had a cryptic way of speaking volumes without ever incriminating himself.

“Are you threatening her?”

“You want that girl left alone, you do what her daddy did seven years ago. You get her gone.”

“She’s not leaving. She has plans of settling here and setting up a dress shop. She won’t be run out of town again.” And he had plans of his own. Plans that included making her his wife, raising a family, finally having a home filled with love and laughter and a place to belong.

“You’ll find a way. You did before.”

“Steer clear of Meredith, do you hear me? Anything happens to her and it won’t go well for you.” His hand rested against the Colt at his hip. It would be a hell of a thing if it came down to using it, but he would if he had to.

“It’s not me you have to worry about. Now, from what I hear, the town council thinks her little dress shop is a grand idea. You need to change their way of thinking.”

“You want me to tell the council to vote it down? They’re never going to vote against you. They never do.”

Vernon sneered. “Seems their wives are all in a dither about it, insisting they vote to pass it. You want her left alone then you best convince the council their wives are wrong. The way I see it, if they are convinced, it doesn’t leave her much reason to stay, does it? Because if she does stay...” He shrugged and a thin smile played about his lips. “Abbott saw the wisdom in my advice. If you know what’s good for you, and for that Connolly chit, you’ll heed it, as well.”

Hunter stared at his father, words escaping him. Is this how Abbott had felt? Backed into a corner with nowhere to turn. He’d been desperate when he’d enlisted Hunter’s help all those years ago, his insistence that of a father who would do anything he had to in order to protect his child. It was Abbott’s desperation that made Hunter act, even without knowing the particulars. It had hit him at an instinctual level, bleeding through him until Abbott’s need became his own.

And now here he was again, only this time he had a better idea of what the threat was and how many people had paid the price for it.

How could he let Meredith pay it, too?

The hopes he’d allowed to grow since her return to Salvation Falls withered and died, just as they had seven years before. But this time a small ember kindled in the remnants. He could go with her. They could start over somewhere new where the Syndicate would never find them.

The idea of tucking tail like a coward and running away stuck in his craw, but the idea of Meredith out in the world with no one to protect her... He couldn’t countenance it. Could he swallow his pride? His honor? Hell, he’d choke both down along with the oath he took as Sheriff to protect the people of this town from the likes of the Syndicate if it meant Meredith got out of this alive. He would live with the shame easier than he could live without her.

“If I do this, you need to swear the Syndicate will leave her alone.”

“On one condition.”

“What?” It was like bargaining with the devil. Every time he thought he’d given enough, the devil wanted one more strip of flesh.

“You’ll retire that badge pinned to your chest immediately thereafter and come back home where you belong.”