Read Online McCullen's Secret Son (The Heroes Of Horseshoe Creek Book 2) by Rita Herron - Free Book Online Page B

instincts kicked in. If Leo and this guy were friends, they might have been in cahoots over something illegal.
    He wasn’t a cop, but his brother was. He wanted to ask Maddox for his help more than he’d ever wanted to ask him anything in his life.
    But the tears Willow had just wiped away haunted him. He couldn’t turn to his brother now, not as the sheriff.
    Although, if he could use Maddox’s computer, he could research Leo’s past. His father, his arrest record, this man, Gus...
    That information might lead him to whatever Leo was involved in that had gotten him killed.
    And then to Willow’s son.
    “Thank you, Doris.” Brett handed her a card with his number on it. “If you think of anything else that might help us find Leo, let me know.”
    Doris caught his arm before he could leave, but she looked at Willow as she spoke. “If you hear from him, tell him I’m still here.”
    He expected Willow to show a spark of jealousy, but she gave Doris a pitying look and walked back to the car.
    Brett followed, his mind ticking away. First they’d stop by Willow’s house for her to pack a bag, then they’d go back to Horseshoe Creek.
    Maybe he could sneak onto Maddox’s home computer and access his police databases while Maddox was out.
    * * *
    W ILLOW CHECKED HER PHONE as Brett drove away from Doris’s. “Why haven’t they called?”
    Brett made the turn onto the highway leading back toward her rental house. “They’re probably putting together a list of their demands.”
    She prayed they were. Although she had no idea what they would want from her. She had a couple of thousand in the bank, but that was all.
    “Do you think Doris was telling the truth?” Brett asked.
    Willow sighed. “She didn’t seem to know Leo was dead. If she had, why wouldn’t she have hidden the fact that she knew me?”
    “She was pretty up-front about that,” Brett agreed. “Did you see anything in the house to indicate Sam was there or had been there?”
    Willow shook her head no. “If Doris didn’t murder Leo, who did?”
    “That’s what we’re going to find out. I think the key is somewhere in Leo’s past.”
    Willow heaved a breath. “I feel like such a fool, Brett. I thought I knew Leo when I first met him, but I didn’t know him at all.”
    “He showed you what he wanted you to see,” Brett said.
    Humiliation washed over Willow. She’d made such a mess out of her life, while Brett had risen to success. “It’s my fault Sam is missing,” she said, her chest aching with guilt. “If anything happens to him...”
    Brett squeezed her hand. “Nothing is going to happen to him. If he’s anything like his mom, he’s a tough little guy.”
    He was nothing like her and everything like Brett. But she bit back that comment for now. When they found Sam, she’d have to tell Brett the truth.
    For now...she needed him focused and helping her. Because if he knew Sam was his, he’d blame her, too. And she couldn’t bear any more guilt.
    They lapsed into silence until they reached her house, and Brett parked. Leo’s truck was still sitting in the drive, Sam’s mangled bike beneath it. She gritted her teeth as they walked up to the front door. “Just pack a bag with some clothes. You can stay at the cabin until this is over.”
    The scent of blood and death permeated the air as Willow entered the house, then her bedroom. The bloodstain that had seeped through the sheets to the mattress looked even more stark in the daylight.
    She rushed to the closet, grabbed an overnight bag, then threw a couple of pairs of jeans, a loose skirt, some blouses and underwear inside. In the bathroom she gathered her toiletries and makeup, then carried the bag back to the hall. Brett was kneeling in front of Sam’s room with a dark look on his face.
    “What is it?” Willow asked.
    He gestured toward the floor. “A bloodstain. It looks like Leo might have initially been shot here, then moved to the bed.”
    “Why move him to the