Blood roared in my ears as two figures climbed out of the van. My eyes flared as I recognized the driver—the man from The Brew yesterday morning.
I should’ve stuck with my first impression of him. The one that told me something was off. My time in Cedar Ridge had changed my perspective on things. I tended to give people the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, that was a mistake.
“Hello again,” the familiar voice greeted.
“This is private property. I’ll have to ask you to leave.” My voice was even, almost calm. But the Taser dug into my palm as I gripped it.
The second man gave me what he likely intended to be a reassuring smile. “We don’t mean any harm. We just need to talk to you for a minute.”
“I don’t care what you mean. You’re on private property, and you need to leave. I’ve got friends on the force here, and they’d be happy to haul you in.”
Lawson and Nash would do that in a heartbeat. But it would also mean I’d have to answer a hell of a lot of questions.
The first man shot me a cocky grin. “Come on now, Aspen. Don’t be like that. Or should I say Tara? Tara Monroe, isn’t it?”
All the blood drained from my head, and my mouth went dry. They knew. How? Had John sent them somehow?
“Quit it. You’re freaking her out,” the second man snapped. He turned back to me. “We didn’t mean to scare you. Really. I’m Tyson. This is Steven. We’re podcasters.”
Nausea swept through me. Better than someone wanting me dead, but not by much. “I want you to leave. Now.”
Steven rounded the vehicle and headed toward me. “We just want to ask you a few questions. We specialize in true crime.”
Of course, they did. “That’s great for you, but I don’t want anything to do with your podcast.”
“Come on now. You’re the only one who was there that night besides John. Well, unless you count that little girl.”
Bile surged up my throat.
“We’re just trying to get to the truth,” Tyson said as he crossed in my direction. “When a respected doctor goes to jail for murdering his beautiful wife, our listeners want to know what happened and why.”
“What happened was announced in a court of law. I have no comment except to say get the hell off my property before I tase you both.”
They stopped a few steps from me. Steven’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “Not everyone’s convinced the right person is in prison.”
The scar that curved from my chest down my side burned as my breaths came quicker. I couldn’t get a full one. Couldn’t catch hold of the oxygen I needed. The memories were too strong.
A door slammed, and my gaze jerked toward the sound. I couldn’t make out the figure at first. My vision was too blurry with panic. But as the large man stalked toward us, I saw fury on his face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
13
ROAN
The unfamiliar vehicle had tripped some alarms as I drove down Huckleberry Lane. Nothing about it was right. The fact that it was a rental. The time of day.
I’d turned up Aspen’s drive on instinct, and what I’d found had me seeing red. She was backed against the fence, fucking trembling. These two assholes had her cornered, and I was about to rip them limb from limb.
The tall, lanky one whirled around, his eyes widening as I rested my hand on my gun. “We just had some questions. That’s all.”
“About what?” I growled.
The shorter, stockier one with black hair glanced my way. “Don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“Aspen’s my business.” The words were pure instinct, through and through. “And the fact that you’ve got a woman alone and cornered, and I’m law enforcement, tells me it’s my business.”
The stocky one scoffed. “Aspen isn’t even her real name.”
I didn’t react. I was a master at holding back emotion. But doing it now cost me. “Identification,” I barked.
“No,” he shot back.
“Steven,” the lanky one warned, his voice low as he pulled out his wallet and handed me a driver’s license.
“He doesn’t have the right,” good ole Steven clipped.
“You’re trespassing. I could arrest you both.” I glanced at Aspen, who was unnaturally pale. “You want me to?”
She shook her head. “I just want them gone.”
There was no life in her voice, no fire. That simple fact made me want to kill them both and hide the bodies somewhere no one would find them. “Identification or I arrest you,” I growled at Steven as I took a picture of Tyson’s ID.