huffed. “If I was going to do something to fake an assault, I wouldn’t have hit myself that hard on my head or cracked my ribs. And I wouldn’t have broken my grandmother’s lamp.”
It sickened her to see it shattered like that. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a huge deal, but it felt like one to her. It was one of the few things she had left of her gran. And now it was gone—much like what little peace of mind she’d managed to regain over the past year.
“Who do you think would have done something like this?” Court asked, tipping his head toward the living room.
“Bobby Joe,” she answered without thinking. She knew it would get huffs and eye rolls from them, and it did. “You think he’s dead, that I killed him. But I know I didn’t. So, that means he could still be out there.”
Court didn’t repeat his huff, but she could tell he wanted to. “So, you think Bobby Joe set you up for my father’s shooting and then came out here and attacked you? If he’s really alive, why would he wait three years to do that?”
Rayna gave it some thought and didn’t have an answer. However, she wouldn’t put it past Bobby Joe. At the end of their relationship, he’d threatened to kill her. Maybe this was his way of doing that. Bobby Joe could be toying with her while also getting back at Warren McCall, who hadn’t managed to get her convicted of murder.
But there was something else. A piece that didn’t seem to fit.
“Tell me about the waitress,” Rayna insisted. “Who was she, and why did she take the picture of the woman in the parking lot?”
“Her name is Janet Bolin,” Court answered. “She said she took the photo because she thought you...or rather the woman...was acting strange.”
Egan groaned. Probably because he was agreeing with her theory of an ill-fitting puzzle piece. “I’ll get a CSI team out here to process the place.” He pressed a button on his phone and went onto the porch to make the call.
“You know this waitress?” Rayna asked Court.
He shook his head. “She’s new, has only been working there a week or so, but I’ve seen her around. We’ll bring her in for questioning.”
Good. Because it meant Rayna was finally making some headway in convincing Court that she hadn’t fired that shot or had anything to do with that woman’s death.
She hesitated before asking her next question. “How’s your father?” Warren was a touchy subject for both of them.
A muscle flickered in Court’s jaw. “He’s out of surgery but still unconscious. We don’t know just how bad the damage is yet.”
He might have added more, might, but a sound outside stopped him. Sirens. They were from the ambulance that was coming up the road. Since her house was the only one out here, they were here for her.
“I don’t want an ambulance,” she insisted. “I’ll go to the hospital on my own.” And it wouldn’t be to the one in McCall Canyon. She would drive into nearby San Antonio.
“That’s not a very smart thing to do.” No pause for Court that time. “We’re not sure what’s going on here. Plus, your ribs could be broken. You don’t need to be driving if they are.”
She couldn’t help it. Rayna gave him a snarky smile before she could stop herself. “Worried about me?”
That earned her another glare, but this one didn’t last. And for a moment she saw something else. Not the sympathy this time, either. But the old attraction. Even now, it tugged at her. Apparently, it tugged at Court because he cursed again and looked away.
“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you when we fell on the floor,” Court said.
“You didn’t.” That was probably a lie, but Rayna was hurting in so many places that it was hard to tell who was responsible for the bruises and cuts.
Court’s gaze came back to her. “Was there anything...sexual about the assault after you got hit on the head?”
“No.” Thank God. That was something at least. “In fact, I’m not even sure he intended to kill me. I mean, he could have shot me the moment I walked into my house—”
“Maybe he didn’t have a gun. He could have been robbing the place and got spooked when you came in.”
True. But that didn’t feel right. Neither did the spot on her ribs, and Rayna had another look. Too bad that meant pulling up her top again, and this time Court examined it, too. He leaned in, so close that she could feel his breath hitting her skin.
“It looks like a needle mark,” he said. “And you mentioned something about passing out?”
She nodded. “But the man was gone by the time that happened.” Of course, he could have come back. Heck, he could still come back.
That made her stomach tighten, and she gave an uneasy glance around the front and side yards. There were plenty of places on her land for someone to hide.
“You’re sure it was a man?” Court asked. He was using his lawman’s tone again. Good. That was easier to deal with than the old attraction. “You said you didn’t get a look at the person, so how do you know it was a man?”
“I’ve had a man’s hands on me before, so yes, I’m sure he was male.” She immediately hated that she’d blurted that out, even if it was true. But Rayna didn’t like reminding anyone, especially Court, of just how wrong she’d been about Bobby Joe. After all, she’d let Court go to be with him.
“After he clubbed me with the lamp,” Rayna added, “he hooked his arm around my throat. My back landed against his chest, so I know it was a man.”
Court took a moment, obviously processing that, and he looked at the lock on the front door. “There’s no sign of forced entry. Was it locked, and did you have on your security system?”
Everything inside her went still. With all the chaos that had gone on, it hadn’t occurred to Rayna to ask herself those questions. “Yes, it would have been locked, and the security system was on. I never leave the house without doing that.”
“Even if you were just going to the barn?” Court immediately asked.
“Even then.” She gathered her breath, which had suddenly gone thin again. It always did when she thought of the woman she’d become. “I honestly believe Bobby Joe is alive and that he could come after me.”
Court looked ready to grumble out some profanity, but Rayna wasn’t sure if that was because he felt sorry for her or because he thought she was crazy for being so wary about a man he believed was dead.
“The front door was unlocked when I got here,” Court continued several moments later. “Is it possible your intruder had a key?”
“No. And I don’t keep a spare one lying around, either.” She kept her attention on the ambulance that stopped behind the cruiser. “Plus, he would have had to disarm the security system. It’s tamperproof, so he couldn’t have simply cut a wire or something. He would have had to know the code.”
With each word, that knot in her stomach got
