Rafe did the brotherly thing and ripped the paper out of the typewriter. 'Chill out.' Before Devin could lunge to his feet, Rafe slapped a hand on his shoulder. 'Look, we can pound each other, I don't mind, but why don't we get the preliminaries out of the way? What the hell are you doing resigning as sheriff?'
'What I should have done a long time ago. I'm getting the hell out of this town. I'm tired of being stuck here in the same damn rut, with the same damn people.'
'Dev, you like nothing better than a rut.' Rafe tossed the paper aside. 'What happened with Cas-sie?'
'Nothing. Leave it.'
'Aren't you the one who came breathing down my neck and made me face up to what I felt for Regan? One good turn.'
'I don't have to face what I feel for Cassie. I've faced it for years. What I have to do is get over it.'
'She turn you down?' The vicious gleam in Devin's eyes didn't frighten Rafe; it touched him. 'Go ahead, take a shot at me. I'll give you a free one.'
'Forget it.' Deflated, Devin dropped back into his chair.
'Want to talk about it?'
'I'm talked out.' He rubbed his hands over his face. 'I'm tired. Connor doesn't trust me, she doesn't trust me. It comes down to neither of them wanting me enough. I can't keep trying to prove myself.'
'The kid's come a long way, Dev. So has Cassie. Give them a little time.'
'I've run out of time. I need something back, Rafe.' Devin drew a deep breath. 'I just can't keep hurting like this. It's killing me. I'm getting out.'
Before Rafe could speak, the phone rang. Devin snagged the receiver and all but spit into it, 'Sheriff's office. MacKade.' He was on his feet in a flash, swearing violently. 'When? That's over a damn hour ago. Why in hell wasn't I notified? Don't give me that crap.' He listened for another minute, then slammed down the receiver.
'Dolin's out.' He strode over to the gun cabinet, unlocked it and pulled out a rifle. 'You're deputized.'
Chapter 12
Joe stayed hunkered in the ravine across from the little rancher where his mother-in-law lived. He doubted they'd look for him there, not right away. They'd go to his friends, check on Cassie. Maybe, just maybe, MacKade or one of his horse-faced deputies would swing by.
But his mama-in-law wasn't home. There was no car in the drive, and the curtains were drawn tight over the front windows.
The ranch house sat on the edge of a dead-end road, and was perfect for his purposes. He kept his eyes peeled, then scurried out of the ravine, keeping low. The far side of the house faced nothing but trees, so he used that for his entry. With an elbow, he shattered a window.
Once inside, he headed toward the main bedroom. He needed fresh clothes, and knew she kept some of her dead husband's things hanging in the closet like shrouds.
The old bag was morbid.
She was also paranoid.
That was how he knew there would be a pistol in her nightstand drawer, fully loaded. The only thing he wouldn't find in the house was a drink. But he'd see to that soon enough.
Instead, in dry clothes too small for his frame, he settled down to wait.
He heard her drive up, listened to her fiddling with the locks and bolts on the front door. He smiled as he rose and walked out into the darkened living room.
She was carrying a bag of groceries in one arm, a cheap purse in the other. Her eyes widened when she saw him.
'Joe, what in the world—'
He did what he'd wanted to do for years. He swung out and knocked her flat with the back of his hand.
Actually, he thought about killing her. But he wanted to save that for his darling little wife. As she moaned and flailed at him weakly, he tied her with clothesline, gagged her. Once she was secured, wriggling like a fish on the floor, he dumped out her purse.
'Twenty lousy bucks,' he complained. 'I shoulda known.' He stuffed the bills in his pocket and picked up her keys. 'I'm going to borrow your car, need to take a little trip. A little trip with my wife. A wife's bound to go where her husband tells her to go, isn't that right?'
He grinned as she rolled her eyes, as sick panic dulled them. 'It was real obliging of you to write all those letters to the prison. Real obliging. That's why I'm not going to mess you up too bad. I want to show you how I appreciate it.'
He laughed when Constance moaned and babbled against the gag. 'Now, Cassie's a different thing, isn't she? She didn't stick by her husband like a proper wife, did she? But I'm going to take care of that. I'm going to teach her a real good lesson. Want to hear what I'm going to do to your daughter, old woman? Want to hear what I got planned for her?'
Because he was enjoying the panic in her eyes, Joe hunkered down and told her.
Devin squealed to a halt at the inn. His eyes scanned every bush, every tree, as he hurried around to the back and up the stairs. He didn't stop praying until he opened the door and saw Cassie at the stove.
He couldn't help it. He grabbed her, dragged her hard against him and just held on.
'Devin—'
'Sorry.' Clamping down on every emotion, he drew back and became a cop again. 'I have to talk to you.' He flicked a glance to the living room, where Connor and Emma sat staring at him. He started to tell Connor to take Emma to her room and stay there, then realized he was thinking like a father, not a cop. 'Joe walked off work release just over an hour ago.'
Cassie's knees buckled. Devin held her up and guided her to a chair. 'Sit down, and listen. I've got people checking on his known associates, the places where he used to hang out. We'll pick him up, Cassie. Does he know you're living here?'
'I don't know,' she said dully. 'My mother might have— I don't know.'
'We won't chance it. I want you to get whatever you need. I'm going to take you over to the cabin.'
'The cabin?'
'You'll stay with Savannah. I need Jared. I need Shane, too, or I'd have taken you over to the farm. Pull it together, Cassandra,' he said, sharply enough to have her eyes clearing.
'I can't go to the cabin, Devin. I can't put Savannah and her children in danger.'
'Savannah can handle it.'
'So can I. Give me a minute.' She needed to take a breath. 'Connor and Emma will go wherever you think they'll be safe.'
'No, ma'am.' Connor curled his trembling hand over Emma's. 'I'm not going anywhere without you. I'm not leaving you.'
'Nobody's leaving anybody. You're all going where I tell you to go. Get your things,' Devin snapped. 'Or do without them.'
'Savannah is not responsible for me and mine,' Cassie said slowly. 'I am.'
'I don't have the time to be patient with you. I can't stay here and take care of you, so you're going.'
He whirled around. Connor, his stomach queasy, saw a kind of fury he'd never seen before, not even in Joe Dolin's eyes. 'Get downstairs, into the car.'
'I can take care of my mother.'
'I'm counting on it, but not here. Do as I tell you, Connor.'
'Devin, take the children, and—'
'The hell with this.' He spun around again, picked Cassie up bodily and flung her over his shoulder. 'Out!' he shouted at Connor, then swore when the boy's blood drained out of his face. 'Damn it, boy, don't you see I'd die before I'd hurt her? Before I'd hurt any of you?'
And Connor did, so clearly that the shame of it burned color back into his cheeks. 'Yes, sir. Come on, Emma.'
'Put me down, Devin.' Cassie didn't bother to struggle. 'Please, put me down. We'll go.' He set her on her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders for a moment. 'You have to let me take care of you. You have to let me do
