again, he had to ask himself why he was sitting in the sheriff’s office.
“Is the boss around?” He glanced toward the hallway.
“Afraid not. Everything all right?” Concern creased her forehead.
“With me? Yeah. I was just checking on a friend,” he said.
“Since when do you have a friend in town?” Her brow shot up.
The phone rang. She excused herself to take the call.
Hudson had almost talked himself into slipping out the door while she was preoccupied with the conversation. Until he heard her say the name Madelyn Kensington.
“Where is she?” Doris asked.
Hudson leaned a little closer to Doris’s desk.
“The Red Rope Inn, got it,” she said low into the receiver. “I’ll sure tell the sheriff when he returns. Should be half an hour or so.”
Did something happen to Madelyn?
“She’s hysterical? What about?” Doris asked into the phone. “Okay. I got it. I’ll let him know. Thank you for the call.” Before Doris could end her conversation and delay Hudson with questions, he was out the door.
Madelyn was in trouble. He’d heard it in Doris’s voice. The Red Rope Inn was eighteen minutes from there, according to his GPS device. He glanced at the route, confident he could make it in ten.
Hudson zipped in and out of cars. The deputy on duty wouldn’t appreciate any interference with his investigation, so Hudson needed to think of a good excuse to show up. Mentioning Doris might get her in trouble, and based on his proximity, he had about two minutes to come up with a plausible excuse.
The parking lot was quiet. All the action was going on inside the lobby, Hudson noticed as he searched for Madelyn through the glass. His pulse calmed a notch when he saw her—saw that she was okay—and he didn’t want to care as much as he did. He told himself it was the action he missed and not the person who’d occupied his thoughts since she’d driven away.
“I couldn’t get ahold of you on your cell.” He made a beeline toward Madelyn with the pretense they were a couple. The bell gave away his presence the second the door moved.
Her gaze flew to him and he couldn’t immediately discern if his being there was a good thing or not.
“Why are you here?” The shock in her voice gave away the answer...not thrilled.
Deputy Hank Harley stepped in between Hudson and Madelyn, blocking the path. The deputy’s left hand came up, palm aimed at Hudson, and his right remained firmly on the butt of his Glock. He was ready for that split-second decision that might come where he had to pull his weapon and fire. The action was so automatic that most cops kept a hand on their gun even during what many would consider routine traffic stops. Officers knew that traffic stops were right up there with domestic disturbance calls in terms of threat to an officer’s safety. Hudson didn’t know Harley on a personal level. He’d done his best to keep his presence as quiet as possible since returning to Cattle Barge a year ago, which meant Harley didn’t know him or his background. That could be dangerous if Hudson charged in like a bull, so he stopped and made sure his hands were visible to the deputy.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir.” Harley took a step toward Hudson. Most would view the move as threatening. A law-enforcement officer had one primary goal when he left for work—make it home again. Hudson appreciated Harley’s motivation. But he was on a mission, too. Tread lightly.
“I’m a friend. I just want to make sure she’s okay.” Both hands went up to show he wasn’t carrying a weapon. Texas was open-carry and that put some people on edge.
Harley sidestepped, putting Hudson and Madelyn in his line of sight, and he looked like he was seeking confirmation from Madelyn.
“I can use a friend right now.” She didn’t ask the obvious question: How did he know she was there?
Hudson took her encouragement as a good sign.
“What’s going on?” he asked, careful not to infringe on Harley’s investigation. Any random person who cared about a victim would ask the same question.
“Someone was inside my room and left a message for me.” Her eyes were wild. She didn’t need to spell it out for him. He immediately realized she’d been threatened. He also noted how exhausted she looked. He ignored the inappropriate stir of attraction, chalking it up to overprotective instincts. Yeah, right. He was being chivalrous and that was all those feelings were. He couldn’t sell water in the desert with a fake sales pitch like that. But this wasn’t the time to worry about it.
“The white sedan?” Hudson took a purposeful stride toward her and the deputy didn’t protest, which was the second good sign since he’d arrived.
“That’s what I’m trying to ascertain,” Harley said as Madelyn released a panicked-sounding sigh.
“I’m not sure. I mean, I guess. The person from the sedan makes sense. I didn’t see anyone coming and going from the parking lot.” The words rushed out all at once, almost sounding like they were tripping over each other.
“Is there surveillance video of the parking lot?” Hudson moved to her side without protest from Harley. He expected to maybe put a hand on her shoulder to provide some sense of comfort but she shot up and practically pounced toward him. He had to catch her to stop her from crashing into him and she immediately buried her face in his chest.
“I’m sorry.” She pulled back after his muscles went rigid.
“It’s fine.” The feel of her body against his sent a lightning bolt directly to the center of his chest. Not usually the reaction he had with a woman this close but this wasn’t the time to break it apart. He pushed the feeling aside as she leaned her head against his chest. His heart pounded and he told himself that it was from the rush of adrenaline that accompanied the possibility of real action and not from physical contact with her.
“There’s no video on that side of the lot,” the motel worker said.
“I’ll check footage of nearby sites,” the deputy said.
They both knew that could take days. Hudson thanked Harley anyway.
The deputy told everyone to stay put before he excused himself, presumably to check out her room.
“What did the message say?” There was no way Harley was going to let Hudson trample all over his crime scene, so he’d have to rely on Madelyn. She was trained to look for things out of the ordinary, same as him. But she was flustered and it was her life on the line and that made a difference.
“That I should walk away or die. It was scribbled on the mirror and I have no idea how anyone got inside. I mean, I sure didn’t let anyone in my room or leave the door unlocked. You’re the only person I know in town.” She flashed her eyes at him, sending another jolt of electricity straight to his chest. Being this close to her was like standing on live wires in a thunderstorm.
“I’m guessing the staff denies giving out a key.” He glanced toward the clerk.
“Yes. In fact, she’s the one who called the law on me.” Another flash of those cornflower blue eyes. She was scared but there was a lot more going on and he couldn’t pinpoint what else it was. Exhaustion...yes. Fear...absolutely. Desperation...and another emotion...
“So far today someone ran you off the road and presumably another person has threatened you?” he asked.
“That about sums it up,” she stated, and he didn’t like the defeat in her voice.
“Did the deputy give you any indication of whether or not he believed