Page 96 of It's a Wonderful Knife

I leaned back in my chair, keeping eye contact with Leo. “Why did you tell Dakota to forget what he saw and to let you handle things?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leo said stubbornly.

“Dakota told us about the strangers coming on the farm at night. How Jax is involved.” I really hoped he’d talk because I didn’t have much more information than what I’d just shared. “I’m sure whatever actions you’ve taken or plan on taking, they’re to protect Dakota and the farm.”

Leo shrugged. “Dakota doesn’t need to get tangled up in whatever Jax is doing.”

“So you admit Jax is up to something?” I pushed.

Leo hesitated. “Knowing Jax, yeah. He’s always up to something.”

Max said, “But you have no idea what that thing is?”

“Nope.”

“You don’t like Jax though, right?” I asked.

Sighing, Leo closed his eyes. “What is it you want me to say?” He opened his eyes and held my gaze, looking uneasy. “Jax is an asshole, okay? I wish Mona could fire him—”

“You wish shecouldfire him?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Why can’t she?” Max scowled. “She’s the boss.”

“She has her reasons,” he said.

“Did Jax threaten her if she fired him?” I asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You’re keeping stuff from me, Leo.” I let out an impatient breath. “Jax seems to be keeping an awful lot of secrets for people. He seems to use them as leverage. How about you, Leo? Is Jax holding one of your secrets too?”

Leo gripped his legs, his knuckles turning white. “None of that has anything to do with Santiago’s murder.”

I ignored his comment. “What was it Jax wanted you to do that day in the barn? He threatened to spill your secrets if you didn’t give him what he wanted. What was it he wanted?”

“Nothing,” Leo snapped, finally starting to lose his cool. “You’re messing with things that could really blow up. They have nothing to do with Santiago, so just drop it.”

“I can’t drop it. There’s too much I don’t know. There’s a man dead.”

Slumping, Leo said, “Please, Sheriff, none of what Jax was threatening me with is connected to Santiago’s murder.”

“And I’m supposed to just take your word for that?” I frowned. “That’s not how this works, Leo.”

“If I knew who killed Santiago, I’d tell you. I swear. But I don’t.”

Mona appeared at the doorjamb suddenly, her eyes wide and her face pale. She stumbled into the room. “Help me. Please, help me. He’s grabbed Dakota.” She was breathing hard. “He’s threatening to stab him!”

At that exact second, Mona’s cell in my pocket beeped, alerting me that cell service had been restored.

Chapter Twelve

Max

All three of us stood, and the office chair went spinning away, smacking into the wall.

Leo moved to Mona immediately, and she clutched his arms. “Who has Dakota?” Leo demanded.

“I don’t know who he is.” She licked her lips. “Hurry.Please.”