Thirty-One and a Half Regrets (15 page)

“Do you think it was Daniel Crocker?” I asked.

The deputy hesitated.

“It was him,” Mason said, his voice low. “He swore to get revenge for what he thought Rose did to him. In his mind, she not only got him arrested, she damaged his pride. He’s gonna want the satisfaction of scaring her. I don’t think he’ll stop until he makes her suffer.”

Cold chills ran up my back.

Chief Deputy Dimler rested his forearm on his knee. “With all due respect, Mason, you just admitted you have a personal interest in her safety. That could make you jump to conclusions. You’re no longer impartial.”

“No, Jeff. It makes me more invested, so I might look at things you would miss. Who told you Crocker was still around town?”

He groaned. “You did.”

“Crocker’s dead set on making Rose pay. He won’t leave her alone until he’s satisfied. I’m even more certain after hearing everything that happened to Rose when Crocker thought she was his informant. Most of it wasn’t in the reports.”

The deputy scowled. “Who took the damned reports?”

“Hilary,” I said, remembering how nice she’d pretended to be. “She’s with the state police, but she was Joe’s ex-girlfriend at the time.”

“Wait. Joe Simmons?”

“Yes,” Mason said. “He and Rose became romantically involved. I suspect Officer Wilder may have let that influence her report.” Mason grabbed his notes off the table and shared the rest of my story with the deputy.

Jeff released a frustrated breath. “That information would have been helpful two days ago. There’s no question that Crocker is behind this, whether he was physically in Rose’s house or not. She needs to be protected until further notice. She’s not safe here so I’m going to take her to our safe house.”

“And where’s that?” Mason asked.

A grin lifted one corner of the deputy’s mouth. “It wouldn’t exactly be our secret safe house if I went around telling everyone where it was.”

“I’m not everyone.”

“Nevertheless…” He stood. “Rose, you’re going to come with me now.”

I blinked, startled. “What about Mason?” I looked at him for reassurance.

There was a strange expression on his face, like a mixture of regret and indecision.

“Mason’s not the one in danger,” Jeff said in a firm voice. “You are. And with all the craziness goin’ on, he’s needed at the courthouse.”

Mason’s arm tightened around my waist. “Maybe I should take the rest of the day off to be with her.”

“We’ll keep her safe, Mason. You’ll be of much more use at the courthouse. You and I both know the sooner we catch this bastard the better.”

A war of emotions played out across his face.

I leaned toward him and put a hand on his chest. “I’ll be fine. You go to work and I’ll hang out somewhere secret for the day.” I grinned and tried to keep my chin from quivering. “A day off! Imagine that. Maybe I’ll read a book. I heard Jana Deleon has a new mystery out.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“Mason, you’re already in hot water with McClary and the DA as it is,” Jeff warned. “Not to mention that incident with the Baumgartner trial.”

Mason’s eyes widened. “You know that wasn’t my fault.”

“And we both know the DA blamed you anyway. Think this through.”

Mason swore under his breath and began to pace.

I knew Jeff Dimler and Mason were friends, but the way Mason listened to the chief deputy told me that they were more acquainted than I’d realized.

The deputy turned to me. “We need to go
now
, Rose. I would have taken you sooner, but the safe house wasn’t ready.”

“Okay.” My voice was shaky as I stood. “But can I call my sister and check on her?”

He shook his head. “We really don’t have time and once we leave, you can’t have contact with anyone.”

“Bull shit,” Mason growled as he pulled my cell phone out of his pants pocket and handed it to me. I’d forgotten he still had it. “She can take a couple of minutes to call her sister.”

Jeff sighed. “Fine, two minutes. But don’t tell her anything except that you’re safe.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Okay.”

The two men stepped into the kitchen to talk while I dialed Violet’s number. Mason’s temper seemed like it was getting the better of him. Violet answered on the first ring, catching me off guard.

“Hello?” she asked hesitantly. After yesterday, she probably wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Vi, it’s me. I don’t have much time, so listen.”

“What do you mean you don’t have much time?” Her tone was one part concerned and two parts irritated.

Mason’s voice rose in the kitchen. “You know that I don’t give a damn about that!” I heard him say.

“Well, you should!” Jeff answered, hands on his hips.

I shook my head. I needed to focus on my conversation with Violet, not eavesdrop on Mason and Jeff’s. “Daniel Crocker broke into my house last night and left me a threatening note.”

“
Oh, my word!
”

“The sheriff’s deputies are taking me somewhere so he can’t find me.”

“Are you okay?” Her voice broke. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. I promise. The sheriff is going to make sure I’m safe, so there’s nothing to worry about.” I tried to make it sound believable. I succeeded enough that
I
almost believed it. “But I wanted to be the one to tell you. I don’t know if they’ll call you once I’m settled.”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. They won’t tell me.” I tried to keep my voice from breaking. “But I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

“Okay.” I could tell she was crying. “Rose, I’m so sorry about yesterday.”

“I love you, Vi. No matter what. No argument will ever change that.”

“I love you too.”

Jeff moved toward me, or more accurately, away from Mason, who looked close to erupting.

“I have to go, Vi. Be safe.”

“You too.”

I hung up the phone and stuck it in my pocket.

“I’m sorry, Rose.” Jeff grimaced apologetically. “You’ll have to leave your phone behind.”

I reluctantly handed my phone to Mason, and he pulled me into a tight embrace.

I desperately wanted him to come with me. I was terrified and Mason was the only one who could give me any kind of reassurance. But I also didn’t want to be selfish. What if he lost his job over me? I had caught enough of their conversation to figure out that Chief Deputy Dimler thought it was a possibility. I couldn’t do that to Mason.

I leaned back and cupped his cheek, looking into his eyes. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“I have a really bad feeling about this, Rose.”

My mouth lifted in a half-smile. “I do too. But Jeff is right. There’s no need for you to sit around doin’ nothing with me. Besides,” I glanced over at the deputy “that’s what the sheriff’s deputies are trained to do. Protect people.” It didn’t seem like a good time to remind him that I’d been kidnapped from the sheriff’s office a month ago right under their noses.

“I’ll come see you as soon as I can.”

“Mason,” Jeff groaned. “You know we’ll need to limit outside contact.”

His face reddened with anger. Before he could open his mouth, I grabbed his shoulders and stood on tiptoes so I could look him in the eye. “Just do your part and help me come home,” I whispered. “To you.”

Mason pulled me into the kitchen and kissed me with a ferocity that surprised me. I clung to him, scared to death to go into hiding without him, but I didn’t have a choice. Instead, I absorbed as much strength from him as I could.

“Be careful,” he murmured, searching my eyes. “Do what they say and don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger.”

“You too,” I said, tears burning my eyes.

Alarm spread across his face when he saw a tear fall down my cheek.

“I’m fine.” I pulled away from him and walked toward the chief deputy. “I’m ready.” If I didn’t leave now, I’d change my mind and beg Mason to come with me. And I knew I’d always regret that.

“Rose,” Mason called out from behind me, but I ignored him as I followed Jeff to the door.

The deputy’s phone rang and he scowled when he looked at the caller ID. “Wait here,” Jeff said. He ducked outside, closing the door behind him.

I sniffed, hoping I could hold it together long enough to get out of the house.

Mason pressed his chest to mine, pushing me backward until my back was against the wall. His mouth devoured mine, working me into a frenzy of desire and need. “I’ll see you tonight,” he whispered in my ear. “I’ll find a way to get to you.”

“I don’t want you to get into any trouble, Mason.”

“Don’t worry about me. Just worry about you.”

“Will you call Neely Kate and let her know? She’ll be so worried. And Jonah?”

His face softened. “Of course.”

“And check on Muffy.” My voice broke. “I’m sure she’ll be fine with Violet, but I forgot to ask about her, and—”

He grabbed my hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “I know how much she means to you. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“Thank you.”

The door opened again and Jeff poked his head through the crack. “Okay, we’re ready.”

Mason opened my hand and placed another kiss in my palm. “I’ll see you soon.”

I leaned into him and murmured against his lips, “I’m counting on it.” Forcing myself to step away, I followed Jeff out the door.

“Rose, why don’t you ride in the back and I’ll have you duck down as we drive through downtown Henryetta, okay?”

I nodded and slid into the back of his unmarked car.

Jeff climbed behind the wheel and started the engine while I watched Mason stand there in his doorway. Our eyes locked and we stared at each other, both of our faces expressionless, while Jeff backed out of the driveway. As he drove down the street, I turned to watch Mason grow smaller and smaller. And when he disappeared completely, I swallowed a sob.

I had never felt so alone in my life.

I took several deep breaths to keep from breaking down and embarrassing myself in the back of Chief Deputy Dimler’s car.

“Rough morning, huh?” he asked.

My gaze strayed up to the rearview mirror and found him looking back at me. “Yeah.”

“Mason seems very attached to you. How long have you been dating?”

He’d already asked Mason that inside, so why was he asking me? Who knew how far the safe house was, maybe it was far enough that he wanted to pass the time with conversation. “Our relationship is…complicated.” Just like the rest of my life.

He laughed. “People say that, but either someone’s worth fighting for or they’re not. Nothing so complicated about that.”

It was a presumptuous thing to say, but he had a good point. “Are you married, Chief Deputy Dimler?”

He looked over his shoulder with a grin. “If you’re a good friend of Mason’s, we’re past the formal stage. Call me Jeff.” He turned back to look in the rearview mirror.

I looked behind us, too, and noticed that the unmarked police car that had been parked in front of Mason’s house was trailing us.

“And yep, married with three kids. Expensive little buggers.” He paused. “Funny that Mason has never mentioned you to me before—other than professionally, of course.”

“Well…” I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to say.

“Mason’s a great guy. He got a raw deal in Little Rock. Who can blame him for beating the shit out of the bastard who killed his sister?”

While I agreed, the edge in his voice made me uncomfortable. Not to mention Mason didn’t go spreading that information around. “He seems to be making the best of the situation.”

“True, but that’s Mason for you. He believes in white knights and chivalry and justice for all.”

“And you don’t, Jeff?”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “Let’s just say I’m a bit more jaded than Mason. I’m a good ten years older, so I’ve been around long enough to lose some of that idealism.”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that, either.

“Like I said, he’s a great guy, but he tends to throw himself whole-heartedly into his projects. And he gets too emotionally involved.”

I bristled. I was sharp enough to know he was insinuating something but I was too tired to play games. “What are you getting at, Chief Deputy Dimler?”

He chuckled again. “Back to formal, huh? There’s no need to act defensive, Rose. We’re both on the same team here. We both want what’s best for Mason.”

“And let me guess, you don’t think I’m what’s best for him?”

He didn’t answer.

“You don’t know anything about me or us.”

“You’re right.” He stopped at a four-way intersection and turned back to look me in the eye. “I don’t know anything about you…besides the fact that you’re a thorn in the Henryetta Police Department’s side. And like I said, I’ve been a friend of Mason’s for months, and he’s never mentioned you other than in professional conversations. It just seems coincidental that you’re in trouble and he’s suddenly taken a shining to you. I can’t help but wonder if his white knight complex has kicked into gear.”

I didn’t owe him an explanation and I considered telling him off, but two things stopped me. One, he was in charge of guarding my life, so it wouldn’t be wise to antagonize him. And two, he really did seem to have Mason’s best interests in mind. Could I fault him for trying to be a good friend? “I can assure you that we’ve been friends for months and we’ve had…feelings for each other for some time.”

“What happened with Joe Simmons?” He studied me in the mirror.

“We broke up over a month ago.”

“So Mason’s your rebound?”

Now I was angry. “It’s none of your business how we define our relationship!”

He pulled the car to the side of the road and looked over the seat, his eyes blazing with anger. “You’re wrong. When my good friend is ready to threaten his career because of a woman he only recently started dating, it becomes my business. What kind of friend would I be if I let him throw everything away without thinkin’ it through?”

I was right. He was right. We were both right. But I was too tired to argue. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Rose.” His voice softened. “It’s not personal. I just want to make sure Mason doesn’t get hurt.”