Then she and Nate were alone. She would have preferred to have Logan here as well. Two bodyguards were better than one. It was broad daylight. Nothing was going to happen to her in a police station.
Nate nodded at Hope. “I appreciate it. Is there anything else I should know?”
“Your wife came by.”
Nate’s face became thunderously fierce. “Callie left the cabin?
She better have a damn good reason for leaving the cabin. I left explicit instructions that she was supposed to stay there with Zane.” Laura half expected the little mouse to run away, but Hope merely frowned at her boss. Her eyes rolled just slightly as though she was utterly used to her boss losing his temper. Maybe she wasn’t so shy.
“Zane brought her in. They brought your lunch and a thermos of coffee. I believe they thought that since Stella’s was closed today, you might have a hard time finding something to eat. And not eating makes you crankier than normal. It’s sitting on your desk. The special agent in charge used your office while you were gone. He had a call with DC. I hope it was okay. He didn’t really ask me. He just kind of told me he was going to do it.”
“It’s fine. Damn, I hope these guys are gone soon. I want my station back. It’s too loud. And I haven’t been fishing all damn week.” Nate growled a little and opened the door to his office. “Where are they now?”
“Special Agents Conrad and Lock are talking to the cameraman.” Hope motioned toward the back of the building where the small interview room was located. “It took them a while to get him to talk.
He was trying to make a news story out of this.” Nate grimaced. “Asshole. I hate reporters. You go on into the break room and grab a cup of coffee. Take fifteen or twenty minutes to yourself, Hope. But you make damn sure there are people around, you understand? I’ll answer the radio.” Hope nodded gratefully and disappeared down the hallway.
Laura walked into Nate’s office and sat down. She thought about calling Rafe up on the radio, but decided against it. She’d already talked to him, and she didn’t want to disrupt their work. The sooner they got done, the sooner they would come for her.
Nate took off his hat and sat behind his desk. There was a paper sack and a thermos sitting in the middle. It spoke of sweet domesticity. She would have to make sure Cam had lunch when he started coming to work.
The door opened again, and Brad Conrad stuck his head in. He was dressed in a perfectly pressed suit and tie. If he’d been in the field, he didn’t show it. Apparently Brad was one of those guys who didn’t get his hands dirty. He looked down at Laura. “You came in.”
“I told you I wasn’t going to run again.” Was he the one she was running from? She rather thought not. Unless he was a spectacular actor. He seemed too emotionally undisciplined. Though he had asked her very leading questions. He’d seemed to delight in her discomfort.
“I heard you wanted to talk to me.”
“Yes,” Brad replied. “We’ll get to you soon enough. Don’t leave the station. I don’t want to have to track you down.” Yeah, she kind of hoped it was that asshole.
“Hey,” Nate called out to the special agent. Brad turned, his face bunched in an impatient frown. “Could you show her the letter?”
“Sure. She should know what’s coming for her. It’s really just a whole bunch of quotes,” Brad explained.
She could guess who the bastard was quoting. “From the Marquis de Sade?”
“Dunno.” Brad held his hands up, impatience apparent in his stance. “Someone’s looking into it. It’s a bunch of crap about how morals are arbitrary and destruction is nature’s mandate. It’s all pretentious shit. I think this guy is stuck in a college phase.”
“Just get her the letter,” Nate said, his eyes narrowing on the special agent.
“I’ll see if Joe is still around. He’s been running all over today.
It’s been hard to pin that man down. He has the letter.” Brad shut the door.
Nate sighed and sat back in his chair. There was a weariness to the sheriff’s eyes. How hard had this been on him? Callie was pregnant, less than a month away from giving birth to their first child. Nate should be at home getting ready for his kid and taking care of his wife, but he was dealing with feds and autopsies and playing her bodyguard.
“Nate, I’m so sorry about all of this.”
“What?” Nate asked, clearly surprised. “Don’t you apologize.
This is none of your doing. This is my job. I might complain some.
Fine, I might complain a lot, but I love this town, and I’ll protect every citizen with my life. Except Max. I’ll protect him with my toe or some limb I’m not real attached to.”
“Point taken.” She wasn’t alone.
Nate reached out and grabbed his thermos, opening it. Laura was immediately assaulted with the smell of coffee.
“You want some?” Nate asked. “I can get you a cup. If I know my wife, it’s some froufrou flavor. She never just makes plain ordinary coffee even now that she can’t drink it. Zane has gotten just as bad as Callie. He claims he needs to push the taste envelope because he’s a restaurant owner. It’s a bar. He makes wings and burgers, not high-end coffee. What the hell does he know? Bullshit, I say. Coffee is best when it tastes a little like overused motor oil.” Laura leaned forward. “Do you drink a lot of overused motor oil, Sheriff?”
He smiled, his handsome face splitting. “Maybe not, but I like a masculine coffee.” He took a long drink and grimaced slightly.
“Vanilla.”
“Then yes,” Laura replied. “I would love some. And I’m still hungry, so if you want to split that lunch of yours, I’ll take it. You closed down the only diner in town.”
Nate frowned. He opened the bag. “It’s just a sandwich. I don’t know if that will feed me. Hope was right. I get cranky if I don’t have proper sustenance.”
“Fine.” Nate Wright was a greedy bastard. She obviously wasn’t going to get anything out of him. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom? I still feel grubby.”
He waved her toward the bathroom as he took a long drink of the coffee his wife had brought him. “Feel free. Apparently we have time.
I tell you, I don’t like being on someone else’s timetable. I’m going to call over and see if Caleb’s gotten started.” On the autopsy. Laura stood and tried to approximate a smile.
“Okay. You do that. Rafe and Cam should be here soon.” She turned and walked into Nate’s private bathroom. She closed the door behind her and took a long, deep breath. The events of the week crashed over her. She choked back tears. She couldn’t lose it now. Later, when Rafe and Cam were surrounding her, she could lose it, but now she had to keep her composure.
She walked to the window. Fresh air. Nate’s office had a window with a broken lock allowing for the pane to open. Laura opened it and breathed in the cool air. Despite the fact that it was summer, the mornings were still cool. She let her head rest against the sill.
She had to find the strength to get through this. She wasn’t alone, and she wasn’t walking away this time. She wouldn’t leave her home.
Never again.
She straightened up. As she went to close the window, she noticed a car in the alleyway. It was a big, black SUV. One of the feds. Damn it. Now they couldn’t be bothered to park in the lot?