Her Three Wilde Champion Men (Wilde, Nevada 2)

Her jaw dropped and her belly twisted into a knot of despair. “How?”

“Same as Lucille. Gunshot.”

Shocked by this news, she felt her legs weaken. If Brandon hadn’t been holding her, she would’ve certainly fallen to the cabin’s floor. “I can’t believe this can get worse but it keeps getting so much worse.”

“You’ve only heard part of the worse, Shelby. You’re still not off the hook on this one.” He brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Justin told me about your gun. The one you mentioned when he was in your office the other day.”

“What about it?”

“Justin found one matching the description you gave him of your gun at the crime scene.”

“My gun is at my house, Brandon. I swear. The gun Justin found can’t be mine.”

“Let’s go to your house and retrieve your gun, Shelby. That will be your get-out-of-jail-free card with Byrd.”

Thirty-five minutes later, they were in front of her house in Brandon’s Mercedes. She bolted from the car and up to the porch. She could hear his footsteps right behind her. Before she could open her front door, it swung open.

Lily stood in front of her. “About time you came home, Shelby. Mom was getting worried.”

“No time to fill you in,” she answered, running past Lily into her home.

“She brought a guest, Mother.” Lily shut the door after he marched into the house.

Norma sat on the sofa, looking up at Shelby. “Everything okay, dear?”

“No,” she answered flatly, bolting for her bedroom with Brandon right behind her.

She went to her nightstand. “It has to be here, Brandon.” Her mother had given Shelby the gun, which they’d found in Nana’s own nightstand after her death. It had been there since her grandmother’s funeral. Always.

Shelby opened the top drawer and moved the magazine that always covered the pistol. Her heart jumped up in her throat when she saw the gun was not there. “Oh my God. I don’t understand.”

“Excuse me, young man.” Norma pushed her way past Brandon, who was blocking the door. “Shelby, what’s going on?”

She collapsed on the bed. “I’m in big trouble, Norma. I’m a suspect in a double homicide down in Elko.”

“Are you sure you didn’t move it to another place?” Brandon asked.

“No. It’s always been there. I’ve never moved it. What if that gun Justin found is my nana’s? What then?”

Norma sat down beside her and grabbed her hands. “Shelby, talk to me. What can I do to help? Surely Sheriff Champion doesn’t think you’re capable of doing such a thing.”

“I can assure you, ma’am, he knows Shelby could never kill someone in cold blood,” Brandon said. Another time and another place it would’ve eased her worry. But this was now and two women were dead. Shelby’s worry wasn’t about to back down.

“Mom, she’s got her attorney here with her,” Lily said, coming around Brandon. “You are an attorney, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

Lily sat down on the other side of her. “So? What’s Shelby’s next step? She’s innocent as can be. She couldn’t hurt a fly. I know.”

“I do, too,” Brandon agreed. “Shelby, do you lock your windows and doors when you leave?”

“This is Wilde, Brandon. People don’t use locks here. We trust our neighbors.”

Norma nodded. “That’s why I came back home. After losing Samantha, I had to leave for a while to clear my head. Lily and I both missed this place more than we thought we would.”

“What about you two?” Brandon asked.

“What about us?” Lily stammered.