Page 109 of Guarding Over You
“Almost sounds as if they regret doing it,” Ford said. “Definitely conflicting.”
He took a picture of the note. Arden wanted to see it, but he didn’t want her to know just yet. Not until Gracie was in bed. Which would happen soon with the day the little girl had.
Ford put the bike in the back of the SUV for evidence. “Are you going to try to get prints?”
“I will. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Let’s go back to your place.” Ford pulled his phone out. “Tate just went on a call. I’ll catch up with him tomorrow.”
“That’s fine. It’s better that way.” He turned his head when Clay came down the road. “You called him?”
“Yep. You brought him into it to start. The last thing I need is him being pissed at me as much as I am at you. This is serious, Blaze.”
“Jesus Christ. You think I don’t know this now?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I had no idea it was going to turn into this. I took the steps I thought would help and it was all dead ends.”
“It won’t be this time,” Ford said.
33
CLOUD YOUR JUDGMENT
“You’re kidding me,” Billy hollered into the phone. “You really think I’d do this to my daughter?”
“No,” she said. “I don’t think that.”
She turned to see Ford sitting on the couch in Blaze’s house. Blaze was at her house, with Gracie sleeping upstairs. It was better to do this away from raised voices.
She knew damn well that Blaze hadn’t wanted to leave her, but it wasn’t as if she was in danger with the sheriff and his ex-military brother helping himself to food in Blaze’s fridge.
She didn’t miss the gun Clay had on him either. Good lord, this was getting out of hand.
But was it really?
She was scared.
Deep down in the marrow of her bones terrified.
Not for herself now, but her daughter.
“Then why are you calling me about it?” Billy yelled.
She held the phone away from her ear and saw Ford lift his eyebrow. Even Clay turned out of the corner of her eye to look at her.
Great way for Blaze’s family to see how much her ex cared about her.
“I’m calling because you need to know. You need to talk to the sheriff. He has some questions to just rule this out.”
“Fuck you, Arden.”
She started to cry. There was no way to stop it. “I don’t need this right now, Billy. Someone is out there trying to frighten me and it’s working. I know you don’t give a shit about me anymore, but now they’ve touched something of our daughter’s. Do you not have a soul?”
“Oh, I’ve got one. And I’m going back to my attorney on this. All this crap that I’m the one she’s afraid of and it’s not me causing problems. It’s you.You’rethe one putting her at risk. Maybe it’s your job. We’ve talked about this before.”
The tears didn’t stop. Nor did the guilt.
Before she could say another word, Ford was taking the phone out of her hand.
“This is Sheriff Ford Ridgeway with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department. I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Don’t let him say that shit to you,” Clay said.
