Destined (The Rangers of Ridge County #1)

Chapter Forty-Seven

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

EMMETT

I should have been upfront with Millie about my suspicions.

Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t be racing through the streets of Ranger Ridge right now. She would have been better aware of the threat still lurking.

I did my best to make sure someone was with her at all times, but my misguided attempt at sparing her more heartache put her in even further danger. She put her trust in me, and I failed her by keeping her in the dark.

When Dorothy called to tell me an anonymous package was dropped off outside the department, I bolted.

But it’d been a tactic to get Millie alone. And to let me know he was watching. Which was evident by the amount of pictures the box contained. All of Millie. I was in some of them. Rory and Greer in others. But Millie was in every single one, and there were hundreds.

I raced right back out the door, but I was too late—dispatch was already directing officers to an incident reported exactly where I left Millie.

Fuck .

I swerved into the parking lot, lights and sirens on, and immediately saw Millie standing by her vandalized vehicle—the clinic’s receptionist was comforting her. A small crowd had started to gather around them.

I ground my molars together until my jaw ached, relishing in the pain I deserved.

Throwing my cruiser in park, I jumped out and ran to her. One hand tangling in her hair and the other pressing her body into mine—my arms caging her in like armor. In response, her hands fisted the back of my uniform as she buried her face in my neck.

“Are you okay?” I gritted out as my head spun on a swivel, taking in the crowd and surrounding area. Theo and Bria were pulling into the parking lot, thankfully. They could help with crowd control and evidence collection.

“Who would do this?” Millie sniffled, and I shut my eyes for a brief moment—pained by the emotion evident in her voice. “Why me?” she whispered, the words hitting me like bullets to the chest.

Theo and Bria worked around us, pushing everyone back and securing the perimeter of the crime scene.

I needed to come clean. No excuses. Just the facts.

“I have to tell you something,” I confessed. As I leaned back, she peered up at me expectantly. Eyes full of faith I didn’t deserve but hoped to keep.

My gaze panned to her vehicle, the rose atop the hood stood out like a neon sign—reflecting against the gunmetal gray.

“You have a stalker,” I admitted. “Or at least I suspect you do.”

She spun in a circle, and I watched as suspicion crept in—her narrowed stare landing on each person in the dwindling crowd.

“The roses—” I started, but her face paled. And I noticed her hands start to tremble.

“What is it?” I asked, instantly on guard. Her breathing picked up, and I could see her being dragged under by panic. “Honey, you’re safe. I have you. No one is going to hurt you,” I vowed, stepping close enough to thread my fingers through hers and gripping hard.

“Emmett…” she croaked, “I’ve been receiving roses ever since I arrived in Ranger Ridge.”

“What?” I barked.

“They started showing up a month or so later,” her voice growing harrowed. “I called and tried making a report.”

Fucking hell . This was worse that I imagined. And I’d have to carry the guilt of knowing we could have connected all of this sooner.

But dwelling on the choices that brought us to this moment wouldn’t solve the puzzle in front of us now. Because it was obvious whoever was behind all of this didn’t intend to remain in the background any longer.

“We need to get back to the department,” I said as I pointed her in the direction of my cruiser. “I need you safe.”

She let me take the lead before pulling her hand from mine. The fear on her face gutted me, and I busied myself with opening the passenger’s door to stop from reaching for her.

I messed up but would be damned if I lost her over this.

“I owe you an explanation,” I admitted. “Let me get you someplace safe, and I promise to tell you everything I know.”

Her jaw clenched, but she nodded—brushing past me and climbing inside. I shut the door and rounded the cruiser, scanning the parking lot.

“Theo,” I called out, waving him over.

As he closed the distance, I moved to open my door—staying true to my word. I wanted her to know I was serious when I said I wouldn’t be keeping anything else from her.

He waved a hand to Millie, concern etched across his face. “Tell me what you need from me,” he stated.

“This confirms my stalker theory,” I voiced. “I will be implementing a protective detail due to the escalation in deranged behavior her stalker is displaying.”

“Understood,” Theo paused, looking from between me and Millie. “But a stalker showing such extreme, obsessive tendencies will likely target you as well.”

“True, but my concern is for Millie,” I admitted.

I heard Millie’s tongue click like she was preparing a rebuttal, but the arrival of Wendy and the team of investigators cut her off.

“Sheriff,” Wendy said in lieu of a greeting.

“Wendy, we suspect Ms. Rushing has a stalker,” I relayed. “In your report, please notate any similarities between this crime scene and the one from the Bennett farmhouse.”

“Will do,” was all she said before starting in the direction of her team .

“I’m going to take Millie back to the department,” I briefed Theo before climbing into the driver’s seat. “Interview the crowd and request any security footage pointed in the direction of this parking lot.”

“I’ll keep you updated,” he affirmed before jogging toward Bria to relay my orders.

“Ready?” I asked, looking over to Millie, but she ignored me.

I guess I deserved that.

Though, I heard her sniffle as I was pulling out of the parking lot and looked over to find her glaring daggers while wiping at the tears running down her face. “You don’t get to do that.”

I glanced at her but tried to keep my focus on the road. “I’m so sorry, baby,” I started, but she cut me off.

“What are you sorry for, exactly?” she snapped. “For not telling me that I have a stalker or for choosing to ignore your own safety?”

She wasn’t exactly wrong, but that’s not how I saw things. When I assumed this position, I knew it would come at a cost—a lot of my time, a little of my sanity, and a risk to my own safety. So focusing solely on her wasn’t me ignoring anything—it was me doing my job.

“It doesn’t have to be one or the other—me or you.” She sighed, as if those thoughts were written all over my face. “I refuse to believe there is no solution that keeps us both safe.”

She was right. It was me catching this sick son-of-a-bitch and putting him behind bars before he hurt anyone else.

The stiff silence that filled the space was deafening, putting me on edge. We were in my office, and Millie sat across from me. The case files were spread out between us. She might have been shocked initially, but now she angrily flipped through all the evidence we had compiled.

“Let’s work on a timeline,” I said, getting up and walking to the bulletin board I’d emptied. “You arrived in Ranger Ridge in August of last year.” Taking a red pin, I pressed it into the cork before continuing. “Then received the first rose about a month later?”

“That’s correct,” she muttered, continuing to flip through reports.

“And you said they showed up at random after that. How often?” I questioned, before palming a few of the pins.

“Every few weeks, maybe,” Millie said, finally making eye contact. I nodded, gathering my thoughts.

“Can you think of anything else that stands out as odd between August and the home invasion in March?” I asked.

“Well, there was something,” she admitted. “But it could have been nothing.”

“Tell me anyway,” I urged through gritted teeth, my anger rearing at the thought of him toying with her for so long.

“A package showed up on my doorstep on Valentine’s Day,” she started, and I had a feeling I knew where she was going with this. “I hadn’t ordered them,” she continued as she turned to the next page of whatever report she was reading, “but it was a pair of?—”

“A pair of earrings, right? We discovered them in the upstairs hall closet during the final sweep and tagged them as evidence,” I confirmed, remembering the package I found. But she didn’t answer. Instead, her expression morphed from anger to terror as she flipped the page she was holding around so I could see what had her so spooked.

“These,” she exclaimed, thrusting a photo of Molly Maxwell’s smiling face toward me. And in her ears hung a hauntingly familiar pair of teardrop diamond earrings.

The next few hours could only be described as chaotic. I called all of my deputies in for a debriefing and appointed Theo as case lead. As much as I didn’t want to, I knew it was necessary. I was too close to be impartial.

I left Millie in my office while I contacted other local officials as well as the sheriffs of the surrounding counties. We needed all the help we could get.

Next on my list was to bring in the department’s press liaison. Our working theory was that Molly Maxwell’s murder was a crime of opportunity, and the earrings were his trophy. The fact he gave them to Millie was a clear sign of obsessive fixation. And the vandalism to her car warned he was devolving and a danger to those around him.

I still wasn’t sure how Chance, Jeremy, and Paul fit into this, but my gut told me I was looking for the same guy for that crime, too.

Deep in thought, I thumbed through the notes spread out on Theo’s desk. He’d stepped into my office to take Millie’s statement while I handled the political phone calls. My office door was still in my line of sight, though.

I refused to put any more distance between us than I already had. I hung my head in defeat, running a hand through my hair.

I didn’t deserve her.

Sighing, I stood and stretched then, needing to move, I paced the area. What was taking them so long? Was Millie all right? I should have stayed in there. But she reassured me multiple times she was comfortable enough to speak with Theo alone. So we decided to divide and conquer—time being of the essence.

Now I was regretting that decision.

Having run out of reasons not to barge through my office door, I started toward it. My steps faltered when it swung wide and Theo stepped through the threshold. He lifted his chin, and I moved. Not stopping until the toes of my boots bumped the wheels of my desk chair. Millie’s eyes were downcast, studying the pictures littering my desk.

Theo cleared his throat. “She mentioned Dustin Bennett was there when she discovered her car.” I nodded, not taking my eyes from her. He and his uncle had already been on my suspect list, and this solidified their place there.

I reached for Millie but pulled back before my fingers made contact. I wanted to comfort her—to pull her into my arms where I could protect her and keep her safe.

But did she want that?

Did she still want me?