Her Three Wilde Champion Men (Wilde, Nevada 2)

His eyebrows shot up. Clearly he was curious about her reaction.

“Brandon, don’t go accusing my friends. Please. There’s already too much to deal with. I’ve known Norma my whole life. They’ve suffered more than you can imagine.” She thought about Samantha. Norma had aged a couple of decades since her daughter’s death. Lily had an edge to her that hadn’t been there before.

“I’m not accusing anyone, Shelby. Just being thorough. There will be a lot more questions later for everyone.” He turned to Norma and Lily. “Have you seen anything strange or anyone you didn’t recognize lurking around this house?”

“No,” Norma answered.

“We’ve been gone some over the past few days though.” Lily grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Mom and I have been looking for work and finally landed jobs today, Shelby. I’ll be waitressing at Norma’s and Mom is going to work at the liquor store for Carlotta.”

“Lily, that’s great, but I have much bigger issues to deal with right now.”

A flash of a frown crossed the woman’s face, but then she nodded. “I’m sorry, Shelby. You remember that I’m a motormouth whenever I’m nervous, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Don’t be sorry, Lily. I’m just so afraid of how this is going to turn out. My gun is missing. Someone might’ve used it to kill two Elko women.”

“Young man, what is your name?” Norma asked.

“Brandon Champion, ma’am.”

“Was Lily right about you? Do you practice law?”

“As best I can. Yes.”

“Have you heard about the Mexican cartel nosing around Wilde?” Norma’s eyes were filled with apparent concern.

“I have,” he answered.

“I bet those drug dealers are behind this. I’ve only been back a few days and I’ve heard about how they want revenge for the death of Malcolm Winters, their point man here in Northern Nevada.” Norma patted her leg but kept her gaze fixed on Brandon. “Shelby is a sweet young woman. You have to fix this for her.”

“I will, ma’am.” Brandon turned to Shelby with a look of determination that was almost frightening to her.

A pounding on the front door sent a jolt through Shelby’s body. Though the words were faint, they were detectable even from here.

The speaker was none other than Sheriff Byrd. “Open up. I have an arrest warrant for Shelby Taylor.”

* * * *

Standing in the Elko County Courthouse about to be arraigned, Shelby looked over at the three Champion men standing next to her. She was glad they were here. Facing this nightmare alone would’ve been horrible.

“Your Honor,” the district attorney said. “Given that Miss Taylor’s gun was found at one of the crime scenes, we request that bail be denied and that she remain in custody until a date is set for her trial.”

“My client is no flight risk, Your Honor. She has no prior convictions.” Brandon went on with a litany of why a low bail should be granted.

God, he is good at this. I hope he’s good enough.

Her head hadn’t stopped spinning. Lucille and Trixie were dead. Someone had killed them and used her gun. That someone was still on the loose. What if it was the Mexican cartel behind the whole horrific mess as Norma and Lily had suggested back at her home? Were the drug lords using her to get to Austin, the real man they wanted to bring down for hurting their business?

“This is a murder case, counselor, not parking tickets,” Byrd said from behind them.

The judge pounded her gavel. “Quiet. I will not tolerate another outburst from you or anyone else, Sheriff Byrd.” The woman looked down through her glasses at some papers on her desk. When Judge Paulson looked up from the stack, her serious gaze locked on Shelby’s eyes. “Your client’s gun at the scene makes this difficult for me, counselor.”

“Yes, Your Honor. But as I suggested before, anyone could’ve planted—”

The judge held up her hand, but her eyes never left Shelby. “Yes. I heard you the first time and the second time. I will grant bail. What I’m trying to determine is what to set it at.” The woman began thrumming her fingers on the wood.

When Justin had called with the news of Trixie’s death, Shelby had been dumbfounded. When he told them about her gun being found at the scene, she’d almost passed out. When she’d gone to her home to retrieve her gun from her nightstand, the place it had been since Nana’s funeral, her whole world had fallen apart. They’d found no gun and Sheriff Byrd had shown up and placed her in handcuffs. Brandon had been firm and protective, but there wasn’t much he could’ve done.

The handcuffs on her wrists didn’t have the same meaning to Shelby as the ones she’d worn at The Masters’ Chambers. First, this wasn’t the club. Second, this wasn’t a scene. Third, this wasn’t Wilde. This was Elko. She was standing in front of the county judge.