Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(90)

Her sneer never wavered through my whole speech, so I wasn’t surprised when she said, “Unlike you, I don’t turn on my family. I protect them. You people aren’t touching my family, and I’m sure as hell not going to let you destroy them.”

Helen turned her back on me and stalked out of the station. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop her.

“Lucerno, follow her,” Carmichael said. “See where she goes. Who picks her up. If she goes to the house or farm, come back.” Lucerno nodded and obeyed. I had to sit down when my legs grew wobbly. “Sheriff, I need you to get on the horn to your most sympathetic judge and DA. I’ll type up the affidavits on what we have already and pray your judge signs off on the search warrants.”



“There are children. At both places,” I said shakily.

“Then get CPS on the horn too.”

“Even if you get the warrants with the nothing evidence you have, he’s probably already sanitized both sites,” Luke said.

“Yeah, because of your fucking girlfriend,” Carmichael snapped. “You know what? I don’t care whose godson or whatever you are. Get the fuck out of here. Both of you. And if I so much as get a whiff of either of you still sniffing around my case, I’ll arrest you both for obstruction of justice. I’m serious. Fuck off.”

There wasn’t anything we could do anyway. My mind spun 150 miles per hour attempting to figure out how to proceed. What I could do to salvage the situation. How to rescue my brother.

Somehow I rose from my chair. “Don’t you dare let those people out of your sight,” I said to Carmichael breathlessly. “Not for a goddamn second.” I could barely breathe, as the panic made me light-headed. I was shocked I could walk.

“What happened? What’s going on?” Joyce asked as we passed.

“Just do your best to keep us informed, okay?” Luke said.

“Yeah.”

Luke placed his hand on the small of my back to guide muddled me out of the station to his car. I climbed in and just sat staring at the station for a few seconds. “Iris?” Luke asked.

“Fuck!” I shouted before beating his dashboard. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I fell back in my seat and covered my face with my hands. “Shit. Shit.”



“What do you want to do?” Luke asked a second later.

“I don’t know. I don’t know!” I said, literally throwing my hands up in the air. No, I knew. A Hail Mary pass that could leave me paralyzed if I didn’t reach the end zone. “Take me home.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to get my car.” And my grandfather’s gun.

“To go where?” he asked, his voice hard. “That is a bad idea, Iris.”

“You have a better one? I have to try. I have to try to get him out of there.”

“They’re on high alert,” Luke said. “The police are watching the farm. Mathias threatened you. They more than likely have guns. Wh—”

“I’ll find a secluded spot to jump the fence and sneak across the property. I’ll be careful.”

“There is no way I am letting you put yourself in danger like that. No damn way.”

“Let me?”

“You know what I mean. You’re not thinking clearly. You’re being impulsive. Iris…you have done enough.”

“No, I haven’t. I haven’t. Carmichael’s right. This is mostly my fault, Luke. My brother is in serious fucking danger now because I—”

“No. You know I’d tell you if this were your fault. This is on Carmichael. He should have told the sheriff about his investigation months ago. He brought in Helen Mitchell prematurely and lost her. He let his pride get in the way of the case. It is not your fault, Iris, and I will be damned if you put yourself in danger for another man’s mistakes.”



I hung my head. “I put myself in danger for almost ten years for total strangers. This is my brother, Luke. My family. If something happens to him my grandparents will be devastated. Mom would probably kill…” I shook my head. “And if I don’t warn him, if I don’t try one last time to get him out of there, I will never, ever forgive myself. I couldn’t save Hayden. I cannot lose another person I love. I can’t. What wouldn’t you do for someone you love?”

I glanced at Luke, who stared at me with sympathy and resolve. “Nothing. Not a damn thing.” He stared straight ahead and sighed before starting the car. “You remember the address or how to get there?”

“To my grandparents’ house?”

“The Apex. You remember where it is?” Luke asked.

“You’re not going,” I stated.

“And you’re not going without me. Someone has to watch your back.”

“No. No way. You heard Carmichael. If we get caught, he’ll arrest us. He’ll—”

“After all his screwups he wouldn’t dare accuse me of anything. This is nonnegotiable, Iris. You go, I go. Ride or die, remember? So let’s ride. End of discussion.” He pulled out of the parking lot. “Now let’s go save your damn brother.”

I stared at my partner, my best friend, who was ready to risk himself to help me to his own detriment. I found myself smiling. “I really don’t deserve you,” I whispered.