Fracture by Aliyah Burke Page A

lingering on the butt of her pistol,
she neared him. “Can you explain why it’s registered to a man who’s
been dead for five years?”
    His hat continued to hide his eyes, but she had no
doubt he was sizing her up. He reached out and handed his ID to
her. “Sure. Daniel was my brother.”
    Those words barely registered as she read the name
on the card. Chase Aaron Ellery.
    “Chase,” she said. “Haven’t seen you around these
parts in a while.” Not even for your brother’s funeral. He
took back his card.
    “Haven’t been back until now. Can I go now?” The
hint of impatience in his tone grated on her nerves.
    “Why don’t you let me give you a ride back to town.
I’m assuming that’s where you’re headed.”
    “No, thanks. I’ve spent enough time in the back of
police cars, and I’m sure not entertaining another Boshay by
allowing them to put me into one. I’ll walk, if it’s all the same
to you.”
    She couldn’t ignore the anger that tinged his words
that time. Vicki understood his comments. She’d been the rich girl.
Him—wrong side of the tracks.
    “So ride in the front. Christ, Chase, we used to go
to school together. Let me give you a ride. It’s way to dangerous
to be walking out here in this fog, and you still have another
fifteen miles to town.” She put steel behind her words. “Get
in.”
    The defiant set to his chin increased before he
stepped forward, allowing her to see his facial features. Damn. Chase Ellery had gone and got himself all growed up.
The boy had become one hell of a man.
    Harsh. Cold. Angry. Still had those incredible
cerulean blue eyes, however, that she recalled from school. Right
now, they were focused on her.
    Chase walked by to the passenger seat and climbed
in. She closed her eyes before breathing deeply and getting behind
the wheel.
    “You have a room at the hotel?” She put the car in
gear and shut off the flashing lights.
    “Nope.”
    “Need one?”
    “Nope.”
    She ground her jaw. “Where are you staying that
you’d like me to drop you off?”
    “Home. If you go to that side of the tracks.”
    Another dig. Also well deserved. Didn’t stop
her from gritting her teeth. “Not a problem.” She called in to Tim
and informed him she was headed out to the old Ellery place. Then,
she focused on the road and anything but the masculine scent
filling her nose.
    The tension grew with each passing mile until it
stifled her. If it affected Chase, she had no way of knowing, for
he didn’t show it. Hell, the man didn’t show anything at all. He
sat on his side of the vehicle, bag between his legs on the
floorboard, and didn’t move. He could have been marble for all the
moving he did.
    She slowed and rolled over the tracks, taking her to
the portion of Cottonwood Falls she’d never visited until she’d
donned the uniform.
    Chase continued his Oscar-award winning portrayal of
a Greek statue. She pulled up before the singlewide trailer. He
hopped out and slammed the door behind him. She lowered the
window.
    “Mr. Ellery,” she called out. He stiffened but
stopped. “Vance’s Auto Repair, which used to be Devon’s Towing, is
still in business. I’d recommend you call him to take a look at
your truck. Welcome home.”
    She drove away, uneasy by the rioting emotions
within her.
    ☼
    Chase paused before the steps. He peered behind him
at the retreating patrol car. Vicki Boshay. Never guessed she’d
put on a uniform. Thought she’d be wed to some uppity rich guy with
the expected one boy and one girl by now.
    A light snapped on to his right seconds before a
screen door squeaked.
    “That you snooping around, Chase Ellery, like you
ain’t got the sense God gave a gnat?”
    Since he’d begun heading to Cottonwood Falls, this
was his first smile. “Yes, Mrs. Candace.”
    “Come over here so I can see you proper.”
    He listened without a second thought, leaving the
shadows that served him so well. Candace Mallery didn’t look a day
older than when