Broken Trust. Sharon Dunn

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СКАЧАТЬ felt herself growing defensive. He was asking her to betray the people she loved and cared about without cause or true evidence. She wasn’t about to point the finger at anyone just because of an offhand remark. “With airplanes, helicopters and cutting-edge surveillance equipment at your disposal, you can’t find one little training camp. Maybe it doesn’t exist.”

      “You know better than I do that there are a thousand places a group of men could hide out here,” he asserted.

      Christine pressed the palms of her hands together in an attempt to hide the rising anger. “You don’t understand these people. There’s a big difference between men who support each other and practice target shooting and men who are plotting to overthrow the government. Just because someone owns a gun and complains about paying taxes doesn’t make them an outlaw.”

      An edginess entered Wyatt’s voice. “Look, we messed up bad ten years ago, I know that. We thought we would be a little more low-key this time. That’s why I came to you. I need your help.”

      “The mistake the agency made ten years ago wasn’t just that poor kid getting shot. We came in as outsiders. We treated these good people like they were either stupid country folk or extremists. I’m not an outsider anymore. I can tell you these are good people here, smart and hard-working. They don’t want extremists here any more than you do.”

      “I’m trying to protect the good people, too,” Wyatt insisted.

      She stepped toward him. “These are my people now. They’ve put their trust in me when they elected me sheriff. I’m not going to betray them because one of them might have complained about the government at a church potluck.”

      “I’m not saying they are bad people. I’m just saying sometimes there can be some rotten apples. And the bad guys look and act just like the good guys.”

      “And what if I point the finger at somebody, and it turns out I’m wrong?” Christine set her teacup on the table. “I’ll do everything I can to help you get that child back, but I won’t make accusations without solid evidence. Reputation is everything around here. People are going to know if someone is brought in for questioning, and it won’t matter if the guy turned out to be innocent.”

      “Mommy, I heard voices.” Eva stood in the doorway holding her favorite stuffed bear.

      Christine swooped Eva up in her arms. “Sweetie, you are supposed to be in bed.”

      Eva pointed to Wyatt. “Who are you?”

      “He’s just an … old friend who came to ask Mommy for help she can’t give.” She couldn’t prevent the steely look she gave him.

      “What kind of help?”

      Christine rubbed noses with Eva. “You ask too many questions.” Her attempt at being playful sounded hollow. Wyatt had her so stirred up she probably wasn’t going to sleep at all tonight. “I have to put my daughter back to bed.”

      “Good, I’ll just see myself out.” His voice lacked the defensiveness she had expected. Instead, she picked up on something conciliatory in his tone.

      “Come on, Eva.” She took her daughter’s hand and led her down the hallway. As Christine settled Eva beneath her yellow quilt, she heard the door open and close. She kissed Eva and touched her sweet nose with her finger. “Now, for the last time, my dear, go to bed.”

      She closed the door to Eva’s room and returned to the kitchen. Wyatt had left the bag of frozen corn on the table. She rushed outside. He stood at the end of the stone walkway, holding a phone in his hand.

      “You can take this if it helps the pain in your arm.” His soft response had caused her to regret her own irritation.

      “Thanks, and it’ll give me something to eat later.”

      She smiled at his joke. “I didn’t mean to be so reactionary to your request. It’s just that … this is where I belong now.”

      “Don’t worry about it. I understand.” The inflection in his voice seemed to communicate the exact opposite of what he said. He was hurt on a personal level by her reluctance to help.

      “You helicoptered in, right? That was the lights we saw.”

      He nodded. “We thought that would be quicker and less noticeable than a truck that nobody recognized.”

      “So they are coming back for you?”

      He waggled the phone. “Already got a rendezvous point established. Just got to hike out there.” Again, the tone of his voice betrayed him. She could detect the hurt underneath.

      How easy it was to fall back into an old pattern.

      Why did she even care about his feelings? She let out a sigh, crossed her arms against the spring cold and said, “I hope you are able to find the little boy … but I really don’t think he’s around here. There are other sheriffs in other counties. They may have seen something.” Again, she resented the position he had put her in. Still, the thought of the little boy separated from his mom pierced through her. “Of course, as the sheriff, I am obligated to cooperate … and I will if it is needed.”

      Wyatt didn’t say anything, only pivoted and started jogging. As she listened to his footsteps fade in the distance, her emotions stirred up all over again. Only this time, she was upset with herself for the renewed intensity of attraction for a man she thought she would never see again.

      TWO

      Wyatt closed his Bible and massaged his chest where an intense ache had plagued him ever since he had left Christine’s. He had wanted to justify himself to her. To let her know that he was not the man she had dated ten years ago. But seeing the picture of Dustin with his arms wrapped around her had given him pause. She was a married woman. He questioned his motives in wanting her to view him in a different light … and knew he needed to back off.

      His partner, Samuel Cranson, opened the motel-room door and stuck his head in. “Nice morning out there. Ready to go?” Samuel was almost twenty years Wyatt’s senior and close to retirement.

      Wyatt tossed the Bible on top of his suitcase and rose to his feet after grabbing a wrap for his injured forearm. He didn’t have time to find a doctor. If he’d cracked a bone, it would mend on its own. “Let’s hope we get some kind of lead.”

      The two men got into a battered pickup that had been purchased for them at a sheriff’s sale one county over. He doubted the pickup would fool anyone. In a town as small as Roosevelt, every stranger stood out like a sore thumb.

      The plan had been made for Wyatt to try to probe Christine’s brain one more time while Samuel started questioning the law enforcement in neighboring counties. So much for easy in, easy out. Their investigation had just gone a little more aboveboard. Hopefully, though, no one would peg them as federal agents.

      The safety of the little boy was not an issue. All the reports and even the ex-wife confirmed that Emmett doted on his son. Since it had been a point of contention in the divorce proceedings, Emmett’s desire to raise the little boy with the radical views had probably prompted him to take his son. The urgency came in finding the camp before the members found out they had been located and Emmett had a chance to find a new hiding place.

      As they drove the СКАЧАТЬ