Page 95 of Trail to Trouble

Now she really wanted to know. Lee? Heidi?

Was this why Lee used the word my instead of we before, and I’m instead of we’re? Was Lee letting the chief know Heidi wasn’t with him—was in some sort of position?

Good heavens. Did Heidi do this? She recalled the elk story from earlier in the day. Lee beamed when he’d said Heidi shot that elk at five hundred and seventy-five yards.

Had Chief Ricco asked the men the question, already knowing the answer to keep the shooter a mystery? Had he and Hunter just held that brief conversation for her benefit? To keep her from knowing the truth when asked?

You know what, she didn’t care who the shooter was, the demon was dead and wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.

ChapterTwenty-Five

With Sebastián dead,there was no need for Bianca to confess her part in the murders of Alyssa and Hannah’s parents, but she did. She’d written a full confession for the police. Filled in all the missing details. She told them how she and Sebastián had been secret lovers while he dated Hannah. How Sebastián had manipulated her into keeping him abreast of Hannah’s every move. How Alyssa was not the target that day; Hannah was. How the guy from the gas station was the contract killer Sebastián hired. It all came out. Every horrible detail. Even the detail about Sebastián killing the gas station guy for screwing up. The man had still expected to be paid for killing Alyssa rather than Hannah.

As angry as Hannah was knowing her friend had betrayed her, she hoped Bianca’s sentence would be a light one. Knowing firsthand how manipulative and unhinged Sebastián was, she believed wholeheartedly that Bianca felt Sebastián gave her no choice but to do what she’d done. He would have killed her if she hadn’t complied.

Alyssa’s parents were not as forgiving. After three years, the case had been labeled as a cold case. For ten years, Alyssa’s parents waited for answers, and now that they had them, they wanted Bianca to pay dearly for her role in the murder of their daughter. Even after all this time, when Hannah looked at Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, the pain in their eyes was unbearable. It broke her heart all over again, knowing that if not for her, her friend would still be alive. Alyssa’s mom pulled her into a tight embrace and assured her she felt no ill will toward her, and then released her. The woman probably had no idea how much she needed to hear that.

Hunter gripped her hand as they walked out of the district attorney’s office.

“Now what?” he asked.

“I’m exhausted. I want to sleep for a week.”

Her exhaustion was no lie. It had been only two days since everything broke again on top of Lover’s Leap Falls. It was a whirlwind during those two days. Getting Bianca the medical attention she needed. Talking to the authorities. Calling her brothers. Coming back home. Letting the world know they were out of hiding now that Sebastián was dead. She still carried a hint of fear that Sebastián’s parents would retaliate, but the two had done nothing to her the entire time Sebastián was in prison, so she held hope they’d think better of doing something to her now. It was almost like they’d cut themselves off from their son back then. Maybe they did. Maybe the last thing they needed was the attention Sebastián brought to the family and the family business.

“Well, Hannah Rice, I think I can arrange that, and I know the perfect king-sized bed to do that in.”

“Hannah Rice,” she repeated.

“It’s got a nice ring to it. Not that I didn’t like Katrina Holmes, but it wasn’t the name of the woman I fell in love with.”

Now that Sebastián was gone and she and her brothers returned to their former names, she’d go by Hannah again.

She turned toward Hunter and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I love you.”

He leaned forward, pressed his lips lightly to hers for a couple of beats before pulling away.

He arched a brow. “If you’re not too exhausted, I know a lot of other things we can do in that king-sized bed that awaits us.”

She pulled him to her and kissed him. This time, a bit longer. It about killed her to release him, but since they were standing on a sidewalk in front of the county building, she thought it best to back away from him.

“I’m up for whatever you have in mind.”

Both his eyebrows wiggled teasingly.

“We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”

“Agreed. And the making up for it starts now.”