of her wanted to run out there and confront him, and the other part of her just wanted to see what he planned to do. She figured he wanted to finish what he had started on the Miller’s Creek Bridge.
“Is that the guy who ran you off the road?” Colt asked, his voice barely making a sound.
“I’m pretty sure it is.”
Elise had only gotten a glimpse of him. Or rather a glimpse of his clothes, specifically the midnight-black Stetson that looked identical to the one the Colt had worn since he was a teenager.
Maybe a coincidence.
But with everything else going on, she wasn’t so sure. She had only been back in Sweetwater Springs for a month. Had barely unpacked her things at the house that’d once belonged to her grandparents. But since Elise had arrived, she’d known she wasn’t exactly welcome in town.
“Had you seen him before tonight?” Colt continued, sounding very much like the lawman that he was.
“Earlier today, I saw someone watching me from the parking lot at the grocery store. I thought it was you.”
He made a sound in his throat to indicate it hadn’t been. “I need to bring him in for questioning. This could be just some kind of misunderstanding. I heard something about your previous tenant not being happy about having to give up the place when you moved back.”
No, he hadn’t been. In fact, the guy had trashed the house and left a rude message for her. “I know the tenant, and he’s not the guy.”
Colt stayed quiet a moment, watching the man walk closer to them. “Stay put,” he told her.
And that was the only warning she got before Colt stepped out from cover. “I’m Deputy Colt McKinnon,” he called out. “Who are you?”
It was hard to see much of anything with just the watery moonlight, but the man didn’t lift his gun in their direction, and he stopped, staring across the narrow clearing at Colt.
“Toby Gambil,” he said, practically in a growl.
She repeated the name under her breath, trying to remember if she’d ever heard it. But she hadn’t. And she didn’t recognize that voice, either.
Elise wished she had her laptop handy so she could do a quick check to see what she could pull up on him. It was something she did almost daily. Her job as a corporate security analyst gave her access to all sorts of dirty little secrets.
And she had a bad feeling this guy had some.
“Any reason you’re out here this time of night?” Colt pressed.
“Yeah. Some bimbo ran me off the road. I suspect she was drunk, and I came looking for her.”
Elise frantically shook her head, but if Colt realized what she was doing, he gave no indication of it.
“You know this woman you claim ran you off the road?” Colt asked.
“Never saw her before in my life. I was just out here in Sweetwater Springs looking for an old army buddy. Got lost. Then, when I tried to get across the bridge not far from here, she smacked right into me with her car.” He tipped his head to the front of his truck. “I want to find her because I’ll need to make an insurance claim.”
The man made it sound so innocent. As if it was all her fault. And it wasn’t.
“You ran me off the road,” Elise shouted out to him. Colt glanced back at her, scowled, but that didn’t deter her. “You acted like you were trying to kill me.”
The man took his time answering, and if he had any outward reaction to her accusation, he sure didn’t show it. “Well, little lady, it seems we have a difference in opinion as to what happened.”
His condescending nickname irritated her almost as much as his smug attitude.
“Just give me your name, and I’ll be on my way,” the man added. “I’ll let the insurance company sort it all out.”
“You already know my name,” she snapped. “Because you were watching me at the grocery store earlier today. It’s Elise Nichols.”
Again, he didn’t jump to respond. “Seems you’re mistaken about that, too. It’s my first night in town. Never been here before in my life. Maybe you’re not thinking straight after the little wreck you caused.”
Again, he was cocky. And that tone chilled her even more than the night air. It must have done the same to Colt, because he stepped in front of her.
“Let’s drive back to the sheriff’s office on Main Street,” Colt ordered. And there was no mistaking the fact that it was an order given by a man with a badge. “I’ll follow you. I can get your statement and call for a medic to come and check out Elise.”
The moments crawled by, and Elise figured the guy would flat-out refuse. But he didn’t. Gambil finally nodded, then shrugged and, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, he strolled back to his truck.
“Just follow the signs to town,” Colt instructed Gambil. “It’ll take you straight to Main Street.”
Colt got her moving again, staying just slightly ahead of her so that he was between her and Gambil. Once the man was inside his truck, Colt practically stuffed her inside his and hit the master switch to lock her door.
“Any chance what he’s claiming is true?” Colt asked, taking out his phone. He didn’t reholster his gun, and he didn’t take his eyes off the other vehicle that was parked just a few yards ahead of them.
“No chance whatsoever,” Elise insisted. “He ran into me, and when he got out, he was coming right at me with a gun.”
“But he didn’t shoot? And he didn’t say anything to you?”
“No.”
That’s where her explanation ground to a sudden halt. Because he’d certainly had time to shoot her. Or at least verbally threaten her. She’d had to get out from beneath the air bag, exit on the passenger’s side and then start running.
He could have put a bullet in her at any time.
So maybe this had all just been an accident. Except it hadn’t felt like one.
And still didn’t.
Colt started the engine and turned on the heater full blast. Until the warm air started to spill over her, Elise hadn’t realized she was shivering. He also punched a button on his phone.
“Reed,” he said a moment later. Reed as in Deputy Reed Caldwell from the Sweetwater Springs Sheriff’s Office. “I need you to run a license plate.” And Colt rattled off the number of Gambil’s truck. Waited.
Looked at her.
Of course, no look from Colt was ever just a mere look.
They shared too much history for that, and those bedroom blue-gray eyes always had a way of cutting right through her. Elise tried not to let that happen now. In fact, she tried not to think of anything from
