Page 49 of Cry Wolf

Dania scooted closer to him. “I can’t wait to hear. Tell me.”

“He said that the marshals make a pact to protect each other. He wanted to deputize me.”

“What?”

“I know. I just stared at him. But then he pulled his shield from his belt, placed my hand on the star, and had me raise the other.” Tears pooled in Brett’s eyes.

Brett scrubbed his palm over his face and looked at her. “He swore me in as a deputy marshal and told me being an officer of the law was a very important job. No one would dare hurt me. Not even my dad. Then he said, ‘Now help me catch a bandit.’ In that instant, I knew Logan would never let Randy hurt me again.”

That moment must have been what had made Brett want to be a marshal. Dania studied the man he’d turned into. Thick brown hair brushed his ears. His dark, coffee-colored eyes were burnished in remembrance as he shared this life-altering event with her. Even as a kid and after everything he’d been forced to live through at the hands of an evil man, Brett had chosen to do the right thing.

Amazing. She could well imagine the relief that wrapped around him just to have a caring adult standing up for him. “No wonder Logan Mansfield was your hero.”

“The thought of putting Randy away where he couldn’t hurt anyone gave me the courage I needed. I pointed to the broom closet and told Logan to be careful ’cause he had a gun. Logan made me stand back. He walked to the side of the closet door, where Randy couldn’t see him, reached over, and opened it.

“Randy raised his gun to shoot, but Logan grabbed hold of Randy’s arm and dragged him kicking and yelling from the cramped closet. The two men fell hard to the floor, wrestling. Logan knocked the gun out of Randy’s hand. That’s when I sprang into action. I raced over and picked it up. I’d never held a gun before. It felt heavy. I realized this was the weapon that had shot my mother, and I wanted to drop it but knew I couldn’t, so I pointed the barrel to the floor.

“I watched as Logan wrangled Randy’s arms in back of him and slapped on cuffs. As Logan took the gun from me and said, ‘Good job, deputy,’ he shoved the gun beneath his belt. Then he jerked Randy to his feet.”

“Did Randy say anything to you once he was caught?” She doubted it but hoped so.

“Randy spit out all sorts of curse words and threats. Logan shoved him from the house and locked him in his car. I stayed on the porch, watching. As soon as Logan reached the top step again, I took his hand and told him that he needed to help my mom.”

“So, you still thought she was alive?” Emotion welled in her throat for the scared boy he had to have been.

“Sort of. I was in denial. I guided him to her bedroom. When he saw her, Logan rushed to her bedside, felt her neck, and pulled out his cell to call an ambulance. I stared at Mom. She lay so very still, and I wished with all my heart that she’d move or look at me one more time. She died trying to protect me.”

As Brett spoke these last words, a deep sorrow overcame his person. Dania took his hand, trying her best to comfort him.

He continued. “Logan hung up and guided me from the room. He sat on a dining room chair and pulled one next to his, patting it for me to sit on. As I settled on the seat, he looked at me for the longest time, then cleared his throat and told me that my mother didn’t make it. He pulled me closer and placed his hand on my shoulder. And I’ll never forget this. He said, ‘Deputy Rollins, you’re very brave. I know your mom is proud of you.’”

Tears puddled in his eyes as he stared at the floor. “I didn’t know what to do, what to say. I didn’t feel brave. I felt very sad, riddled with guilt, and so alone.” He rubbed his index finger and thumb to his eyes, then focused on Dania. “After a little bit, Logan explained that a lot of people would start arriving—paramedics and a few cops—and he needed to take care of Randy and make sure he never hurt anyone else. He asked if there was someone he could call to come be with me.

“I told him to call Gran and gave him her number. Through all the chaos that Logan had predicted, he kept me right by his side. That night was the first and last time I saw Deputy Marshal Logan Mansfield. He was killed in the line of duty less than a month later. But I will never forget the man who first deputized me and saved my life. Every time I have to arrest some little kid’s parent, I remember Logan and how he saved me. I owe him a great debt.”

Dania couldn’t help but think of thegreat debtshe now owed Brett. He’d grown into an honorable human being. The stab of sharp shame for how she’d treated him filled her with remorse. Gathering her wits, she said, “Logan is the reason you’re helping me, isn’t he?” She really didn’t need to ask. She knew the answer.

“Him and Matt.” Brett returned the photo to the drawer and closed it. He focused on her. “Plus, like I told you before, I don’t believe for one minute that you killed Matt. Like him, I believe in justice. We’re going to find whoever murdered him.”

It was all she could do not to give Brett a hug. She’d seen a side of him she hadn’t known existed, a side filled with sorrow and, oddly, hope. He’d overcome so much to become the person he was today. His story made her feel like she might find justice for Matthew, little Jacob, and herself. “Thank you for sharing your story with me. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“You know, I’ve never told anyone about that time or even about Logan.” A softening filled his gaze.

In that moment, she felt a new awakening within her. Warmth and deep personal fondness flooded her for this gentle man sitting next to her. Her feelings for him had moved to another level. She tried to think of something to say, but words failed her.

He studied her face as if he, too, were trying to understand what was happening between them. And then his face turned red, and he stood. “Sorry to have gone on and on.”

Had he taken her silence as rejection? She hoped not. She didn’t want him regretting that he’d taken her into his confidence. “I’m honored that you told me. And I’m sorry for snooping in your room. I’m really striking out today, aren’t I?” She stood, smiling at him, hoping that he could forgive her and that this odd awkwardness between them would leave.

But Brett stepped closer to her, and his eyes locked on hers. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then closed it.

She hardly dared to breathe. The air around them seemed smothering and yet exhilarating at the same time. They were in some type of timeless bubble that she didn’t want to burst. She wanted to stay in it, to figure out what Brett was thinking and feeling and whether it had anything to do with her own thoughts and feelings.

But then Brett moved away to open the door, and the bubble burst. He waited for her to leave.

She passed him, and he closed the door behind him.

As he headed downstairs, he said, “You’re not striking out. You’ve been very predictable.”