“Addy?”
She glared at him. “The truth is, I may never be fine again. But that’s not going to stop me from finding this son of a bitch.”
“You’re exhausted,” he said gently. “You’re upset. You have every right to be.”
“Look, Dr. Phil,” she glared at him, “give me five damned minutes and I’ll be good to go.” All she had to do was wash her face and take a few more deep breaths.
“If you insist,” he relented, his frustration showing. “But, like I told you before, I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he said flatly, those hazel eyes hard with determination. “You stay right where I can see you twenty-four seven until this is over. After what happened in that cemetery, I’d think you would be down with that.”
“And what happened to my mother?” He needn’t forget that part. If Adeline had been on her toes she would have sensed the danger before it happened. She’d fallen down on the job as a cop and as a daughter.
“Yes,” he confessed.
She folded her arms over her chest. “And if I don’t agree to those terms, what do you plan to do about that, Sheriff Henderson?” This was ridiculous. How could she do the job if she had to be right under his thumb every second?
“Put you in protective custody as a person of interest to this case.”
Impotent laughter bubbled into her throat. “You are seriously cracked if you think I’d let you get away with that shit. Remember, I know as much about the law as you, hotshot.” Anger had completely taken over all those weaker emotions now. Even she realized she wasn’t reacting rationally.
“Try me.”
She took a mental step back. He was serious. The fury in his tone as he’d uttered those two little words warned that he would not back off. Allowing him to control her every move was out of the question.
“I’m out of here.” She started around him, but he reached out, closed his fingers around her arm.
“If anything happened to you,” he stared into her eyes, “I don’t think I could bear it.”
A fist rapped against the door. “Sheriff Henderson?” The secretary. “The others are waiting for you.”
Wyatt’s gaze held hers as if there was more he wanted to say. There was certainly more she should say, but she didn’t dare.
As much as Adeline wanted to, she wasn’t entirely sure she could trust him not to let her down again.
He certainly couldn’t trust her not to run again.
The only thing they could both count on was that they were damned good cops.
For now, getting the job done—for her mother, for the missing women—would have to be enough.
39
5:42 p.m.
Wyatt removed his cap and swiped the sweat from his brow. The fifty-five degrees felt like ninety. The teams had filed out nearly six hours ago to search their designated grids.
Womack, Sullenger, and Addy were on Wyatt’s team but they’d gotten a later start than the others. Addy had insisted on bringing Nichols to the location.
Wyatt couldn’t deny the woman had sensed some of the details about the killer, but he wasn’t so sure how far to follow that lead. And daylight was wasting.
He’d kept a close eye on Addy. He could hardly believe her mother was dead. Even more unbelievable was the idea that he’d allowed her to be a part of this search.
Admittedly, as long as she was focused on the investigation, she didn’t dwell on all the insanity.
But there was no way to avoid the issues. She was in denial now. He couldn’t let her fall apart without being close by to back her up.
The way he’d failed to do nine years ago.
Wyatt shook off the painful thoughts. He couldn’t afford to be distracted.