Page 93 of Diamonds in the Mud

I was getting so tired of playing this game. It had over a year and I was no closer to finding out who was pulling Felix’s strings than I had when I’d first come to town.

I itched to send a text to Rayne or Jasmine. Instead, I showered and changed, and when Ben knocked on my door, I left with him.

I sat back in his truck while he downed a bagel sandwich and sipped coffee. I even filled him in on spending the night in jail.

Since he and Felix already knew what had happened, I figured I’d stick to the story that Rayne had offered to help me find all my stuff that had been swiped. Which was true.

Hopefully, they wouldn’t read anything more into the situation other than an ex-lover trying to help me out of a bind.

I was surprised when we drove straight up to the Taylor house and parked next to a shiny, souped-up, cherry red Mustang.

“Looks like someone’s enjoying his new income.” Ben chuckled as he got out of the car.

New income? I glanced at the house. So, Henry Taylor was new to the business. Not the head of it.

“Want me to wait here?” I asked.

“Not this time,” Ben said, motioning for me to follow him.

We stood on the front porch and waited for the door to open.

Seeing Wyatt Taylor grinning back at us after he opened the door slightly surprised me, but not as much as seeing who was standing behind him. My entire world shifted.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I have always felt a gift diamond shines so much better than one you buy for yourself!”

–Mae West

Rayne

At Randy’s request, I took the rest of the day off. I spent most of those first hours at home in bed, after I’d showered the dried blood and dirt off.

I woke sometime before dinnertime, made myself some macaroni and cheese, and ate it on the sofa catching up on my shows. I kept checking my phone, looking for messages from Jameson.

Somehow, I felt like a fool for trying to get his stuff back and peg the death of Mason on his attackers. Had I known they were the Dupont brothers, I would have never tried to look for them.

The Dupont family was untouchable in Madison County. Everyone in all of Louisiana knew that. Even if their father hadn’t become sheriff, the family had run the county for decades.

Just before I crawled into bed, I sent a text to Jameson, knowing he wouldn’t respond before morning.

To my surprise, he replied quickly.

“I finished that last chapter in the book I was reading.”

I frowned down at the message and just as I was going to respond, asking him what he was talking about, my heart sank.

Last chapter. He was about to make his move. Which meant he was closing his case.

“Good,” I responded. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Will you be starting the next book soon?”

This response took a little longer.

“I’m going to wait a while. Maybe watch a few movies or get lost in a show.”

I smiled at that. I wanted to say more but knew we better not chance it.

“Night.”