Under Threat by B.J. Daniels (reading the story of the .TXT) 📕

Chase would go to the marshal, Mary’s father, have him run the prints. Once that happened... She told herself that there was time. And, there was Deputy Dillon Ramsey.

“Miss! I need a receipt, please.”

Lucy shook her head and smiled. “Sorry,” she said to the woman, printed out the receipt and handed it to her. “You have a nice day now.”

After his initial surprise at seeing the cowboy, Hud waved Chase into a chair across from his desk. As the young man came in, he carefully set a white porcelain coffee cup on the edge of the desk. Hud eyed it, then Chase.

“I need you to run the fingerprints on this cup.”

The marshal lifted a brow. “For any particular reason?”

“I really don’t want to get into it. I’m hoping I’m wrong.”

Hud leaned back in his chair. “That’s not enough reason to waste the county’s time running fingerprints.”

“If I’m right, this person could be a danger to Mary. Isn’t that enough?”

Rubbing his jaw, he studied the cowboy. “You do understand that unless this person has fingerprints on file—”

“They’ll be on file if I’m right.”

Intrigued, Hud sighed and said, “Okay. I’ll let you know, but it might take a few days.”

A deputy was walking past. Hud called to him as he bagged the cup Chase had brought in. “Dillon, run the fingerprints on this cup when you have a minute. Report back to me.”

“We’re still on for tonight, right?” Lucy asked when Dillon called. The last thing she wanted him to do was cancel.

“You know it.”

“Then I have a small favor,” she said. “It’s one that only you can grant.” She could almost hear the man’s chest puff out. “And I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Really?” He sounded intrigued. She reminded herself that he was only doing this to get back at Mary. The thought did nothing for her disposition, but she kept the contempt out of her voice. She needed his help.

“Really. But then maybe you don’t have access to what I need down there at the marshal’s office.”

“Name it. I have the run of the place.”

“I believe Chase Steele might have brought in a cup and asked that fingerprints be run on it?”

Dillon chuckled. “The marshal asked me to do it when I had time and report back to him.”

“Have you had time?” she asked, her heart in her throat.

“I like to do whatever the marshal asks right away.”

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe. Her prints were on file. Chase must have suspected as much.

“I haven’t seen him though to give him the report.”

Lucy took a breath and let it out slowly. “Is there any way that the report could get lost?”

He snickered. “Now you’ve got me curious. Why would you care about prints run on a Fiona Barkley?”

So her prints had come back that quickly? “If that report gets lost, I’d be happy to tell you when I see you. Like I said, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Are we talking money?” he asked quietly. “Or something else?”

“Or both,” she said, her heart pounding. “I can be quite...creative.”

He laughed. “What time shall I pick you up?”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t I meet you later tonight after I get off my shift? I know just the spot.” She told him how to get to the secluded area up in the mountains. She’d spent her free time checking out places for when it came time to end this little charade.

Dillon thought he was going to get lucky—and use her to bring Mary into line. She’d known men like him. He would blackmail her into the next century if she let him.

“I have to work late. Is midnight too late for you?” she asked sweetly.

“Midnight is perfect. I can’t wait.”

“Me either.” The deputy had no idea that he’d walked right into her plot, and now he had a leading role.

Chapter 16

Later that night, as Lucy prepared for her date with Dillon, she couldn’t help being excited. She’d spent too much time waiting around, not rushing her plan, being patient and pretending to be someone she wasn’t.

Tonight she could let Fiona out. The thought made her laugh. Wait until Dillon met her.

She had to work only until ten, but she needed time to prepare. She knew all about forensics. While she had little faith in the local law being able to solve its way out of a paper bag, she wasn’t taking any chances. Amy, who worked at the coffee shop, had seen her talking to Dillon when he’d asked her out, but as far as the other barista knew, he was just another customer visiting after buying a coffee.

If Amy had heard anything, she would have thought he had been asking her for directions. There was no law in him flirting with her, Lucy thought with a grin. That exchange would be the only connection she had to Dillon Ramsey.

At least as far as anyone knew.

She didn’t drive to the meeting spot. Instead, she came in the back way. It hadn’t rained in weeks, but a thunderstorm was predicted for the next morning. Any tire or foot tracks she left would be altered if not destroyed. She had worn an old pair of shoes that would be going into the river tonight. Tucked under her arm was a blanket she’d pulled out of a commercial waste bin earlier today.

The hike itself wasn’t long as the crow flew, but the route wound through trees and rocks. The waning moon and all the stars in the heavens did little to light her way. She’d never known such a blackness as there was under the dense pines. That’s why she was almost on top of Dillon’s pickup before she knew it.

As she approached the driver’s-side door, she could hear tinny sounding country music coming from his pickup’s stereo. He was drumming on his steering wheel and glancing at his watch. From his expression, she could tell that he was beginning to wonder if he’d been stood up.

When