Page 38 of Dead Man's Alibi

He moved through the building, desperate now to findsomeonehe could poke at so he didn’t start having some kind of existential crisis when the real thing he needed to be focusing on was his brother.

But the front room of the office was eerily silent.

“Nate?”

Nothing.

Cal searched the entire office, his gut telling him to feel dread, his brain pushing that thought away.Maybe Nate had just walked over to the diner or something to get some lunch.Maybe he was with Sam.

Then why were the doors unlocked?

Just an oversight.Cal’s gut was overreacting.He pulled his phone out of his pocket, but before he could pull up his text messages and write one to Nate, his phone began to ring.

The readout showed a phone number and a business name.

Crawford County.

Everything inside his chest seemed to collapse in on itself, but somehow, he pushed forward.Took a breath against the unwieldy pressure.Pushed theANSWERbutton.

“Bennet,” he greeted, knowing, just… knowing the information he was about to get was bad.He just didn’t knowhowbad yet.

There was a brief moment of silence.Then Nate’s voice.“Cal.”

Cal closed his eyes and swore.Badbad.Nate calling him from a county number could only mean… “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

“Look, before we start worrying about me, I need you to find Sam.”

Sam.Jesus, his brother was a lunatic, worrying aboutSamwhen he’d beenarrested, if he was calling from the damn county.“What’s the charge?”

“I need you to find Sam and tell her that I’ve been arrested,” Nate replied, ignoring him.He sounded calm, even if his voice was low and urgent.“She’ll be worried if she gets back to the office and I’m just gone.That’s first thing.”

“No, the first thing is I come down there and—”

“And what?Nothing changes here if you take care of Sam first.I don’t know how she’ll take this, and I don’t want her to be alone.She’s been alone enough going through shit like this.”

“Nate, what is the charge?”

There was a beat, just a kind of slow sigh.“Murder.Obviously.”

“They can’t do this.”

“But they did.So I need you to find Sam.Now.She needs… support.”

He wanted to say,Fuck Sam, but managed to keep it inside.For now.“Youneed a lawyer.”You need support, you big, dumb hero.

“Yeah, and we’ll get to that.I can handle sitting in a cell for right now.Just—”

“Find her.Tell her.”How could his brother be so damned… noble?“Nate—”

“Take her to the ranch.She won’t want to, but Aly should be able to convince her to stay.She won’t want to be around anyone, but she needs it.I don’t want her in that house or that office alone.You get her someplace where someone can keep an eye on her, andthenyou come help me.”

Cal rolled his eyes since Nate couldn’t see him.“If only so she doesn’t plan a murder herself.”

“Yeah, well.”

“Nate—”

“I won’t say a thing to anyone here,” Nate insisted.Such a one-track mind.“I’ll be on my best behavior.I already have been.The only thing I’ve said to Hayes is I want my lawyer.Mostly.I’ll keep it at that if you promise to handle Sam first.Please.”