A smile tugged at his lips as he reached into his coat and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “If I thought I could get away with it, I might try. But I know that running isn’t the answer.”

I opened the page, confirming it was a copy of the page from Dora’s journal.

“You really think it might come into play?” he asked as I folded it back up and stowed it in my purse.

“It might. That’s all we really know just yet.”

He nodded. “J.R. is out for blood, Rose. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be walking around as free as you please.”

“I know. But I’m also tired of someone dictating what I can and cannot do.”

“Is that how you see me?” he asked quietly. “As someone who dictates what you can and cannot do?”

“No, Mason. No.” I grabbed his hand and held it close. “I’ve always felt like an equal with you. You make me feel like I can do anything. But you love your job, and I’m not gonna compromise that anymore.”

“Rose, Mom called me. I’m guessing you might have heard this since she already talked to Skeeter, but Bruce Wayne’s missing. He was out back with Anna, and they both vanished into thin air. She called Joe, and he’s over there talking to her now. But we both know that could be you next.”

I shook my head. “No, Jed’s with me. He’s just inside the doorway behind us.”

“But what if he wasn’t? You need to be able to protect yourself.” He leaned over my legs and opened the glove compartment. I gasped when he pulled out a small handgun. “I bought this last week, but I’ve been waiting on the paperwork. It’s small enough for you to carry in your purse, but it’ll do the job if you need to use it.”

I looked up into his face in shock. “It looks just like the gun Jed gave me. I thought it was taken for evidence.”

“It was. Same make, different gun. I know Neely Kate showed you how to use that gun, and I figured it would be best for you to have a similar one.”

“Mason, I . . .”

“You still have your Taser?”

“Yeah . . .”

“Good, but it’s not enough. Not with J.R. I pulled some strings and got you a concealed carry permit.”

“Mason!”

He shook his head. “A Taser won’t stop him, Rose. If it comes to a confrontation, you’re going to have to shoot him.” He paused, searching my eyes. “Promise me that you’ll protect yourself if it comes down to it.”

He was asking me to promise to kill a man. While I’d killed a man in self-defense before, it was still a hard promise to make.

But I nodded. “I will.”

“Thank you.” He gave me a hard kiss, then pulled a box of ammunition out from his seat. He opened it, pulled out a clip, and handed it to me with the gun. “Go ahead and load it.”

I felt self-conscious doing it in front of him, but I pointed the gun toward the windshield and forced myself to slide the clip into place.

“You need to keep it loaded at all times. Keep the safety on, but if you think you’re in a dangerous situation, turn it off and be ready to use it.” Fear edged his words.

I made sure the safety was on and put the gun in my purse, along with the box of bullets and the permit.

“I’m gonna be fine, Mason.” I turned to him. “Thank you for this, but I hate that you broke the rules to do it.”

He grabbed my hand. “I should be helping you. I’m part of this, too. After what he did to my sister . . .”

I shook my head, tears in my eyes. “No. This county needs someone who’s honest and dedicated to making things right again. If you get caught up in this, you won’t be able to do what needs to be done later. So let me handle it.”

“It hardly seems right for you to take on all the responsibility.”

“And you think the Fenton County District Attorney can go gallivanting around chasing a jail escapee?” I gave him a sad smile. “You have your job, and I have mine. Remember when you gave me that money last month when I was broke? You said you were investing in me. Well, this is me investing in us. We’ll never be free of that man unless we put a stop to him.”

I reached for the door handle. “I have to go.”

“Wait.” He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me.

When he pulled back, he searched my face. “You said you were doing this for us. Does that mean there’s hope?”

“You know I still love you. But let’s figure all of this out before we try to figure us out.”

“I can live with that,” Mason said.

We both got out of the car, and he met me at the rear. He pulled me close and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I love you, Rose Gardner. Promise me you’ll be safe.”

“You’re asking for a lot of promises today.” I placed my hand on his chest, rubbing the cloth of his dress shirt with my fingertips. “This will have to be enough for now.”

He gave me one last kiss and then dropped his hold on me.

He nodded toward the entrance to the tunnel. “You go ahead. I’ll make sure you’re not followed.”

“I love you.”

He nodded again and then shifted his gaze to the garage entrance, keeping watch as I hurried toward the tunnel.

Chapter 16

Jed remained expressionless when I emerged from the garage, but Neely Kate had joined him—and she didn’t waste any time before pouncing on me.

“Why did he insist you come alone?”

“Because he wanted to give me something.”

“What?” Neely Kate sounded suspicious.

I opened the wide mouth to my purse, showing her the contents.

“He gave you a gun?” She looked up at me. “The gun Jed gave you?”

“Shh.” I closed my purse and looked around the short tunnel before heading for the door to the jail. “It’s a different gun, but he said he thought it would be best for me to have a familiar model.”

Jed’s eyes hardened. “While I’m all for you carrying protection, we don’t want you caught with an illegal weapon.”

“He got me a concealed carry permit.”

“How?” Neely Kate asked. “He’d have to break the rules to do that.”