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“Yeah, Amber has her bridesmaids over.”

“Wait,” I said, my heart thudding in my chest. “You mean Charlotte is over there right now?”

Owen shrugged. “I would think so,” he said. “She’s one of the bridesmaids. Luke was saying something about her coming into town for tonight, which is why he went with Collin into town. Amber was going to be busy.”

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered. “You bringing anything?”

“Anything?” he asked, confused.

“A weapon,” I said. “It’s the Andersons. They’ve got guns.”

“Yeah, but they don’t use them,” he said. “They aren’t that stupid. If they pulled a gun, that’d be the end of them, and they know it. Besides, if we roll up there packing, that’s us escalating.”

“I guess,” I said, my teeth set on edge as I waited for him to finish getting his shit together.

“Look,” he said, “you make sure Charlotte’s all right, and I’ll talk to the Andersons. I’m bigger than all of them, they won’t try anything on me. I can get the situation calmed down, all right?”

“Yeah, all right,” I said. “Let’s go, Owen. You’re taking a long damn time.”

“Perfection ain’t quick,” he said, grinning. “It’s going to be fine, Jesse. Chill out.”

“I’ll chill out when they are gone, and I know the girls are fine. Luke’d kill us if something happened to Amber and we didn’t stop it.”

“I don’t think Amber is your main concern right now,” he quipped. “Is she?”

“Let’s just go,” I said.

Chapter Twelve

Charlotte

“That ain’t no way to talk to an officer of the law.”

“I thought you got fired,” Amber said, her arms crossed as she sat on the couch beside Tamara.

The tension in the room was so thick you could slice it with a butter knife.

“I took a leave of absence,” Arnold said through gritted teeth. “That’s not the same thing. No one fired me. I’m the sheriff. It’s an elected position.”

“Yeah, about that,” Mr. Miller said. “If I recall correctly, the last three elections, the only person running was you. And before that, the last two people running against you mysteriously dropped out right before the election. I’ve been meaning to ask you about that.”

“I wouldn’t have the slightest idea why anyone would drop out of a race, Bill,” Arnold spat. “I’m sure they had their reasons.”

“Rumor was, the reason was you threatening them,” Mr. Miller said defiantly. “Which, after your behavior on my front lawn a few months ago, I absolutely believe.”

Arnold took a deep breath and let out an annoyed sigh.

“As I have stated repeatedly, that night has been misconstrued, and I have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the FBI.”

“I thought they just dropped the case,” Mr. Miller continued, needling Arn for all he was worth. “That doesn’t mean you got cleared; it just means they stopped pursuing it. For now.”

“It’s irrelevant,” Arn said, his eyes going back to Amber. “What’s relevant here is that I need to speak with Amber. Alone.”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “You have no authority to compel her to, nor does she have any reason to come with you.”

“Public intoxication,” Arn said.

“In my own house?” Amber shot back.