Oh crap. I couldn’t tell them about Skeeter’s involvement. And how was I going to explain how I was wearing his coat? “I don’t know. He dragged me outside, and some man confronted him. I plum passed out from fright, and when I came to, Rich Lowry was lying dead next to me.”

Both men looked less than convinced by my story.

“How’d you know so much about Skeeter Malcolm’s business?” Mason asked.

I swallowed, hoping I didn’t look nervous. “I heard it workin’ tonight. People’ll tell bartenders anything.”

Joe turned to Mason. “If you got knocked out, then how’d you get out here?” Joe asked.

“I don’t know.” He looked down at me. “Rose?”

“Uh . . . two guys carried you out and dropped you in the grass.”

“Who were they?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Good Samaritans?” Joe asked.

I almost laughed. Skeeter would hate being called a Good Samaritan.

“So Mick and his men killed Nikko. But what happened to Dolly Parton?” I asked.

“I think she’s really in hiding,” Mason said. “I think she saw something and took off, just like you suspected.” He shook his head. “But I never put together the connection that Dolly worked here. I only knew of her as Sapphire, and then it was only hearing her name in passing from Nikko. You only mentioned that she worked in a bar.”

“How did Dolly have your cell phone number?” I asked. “I found it in her box at Billy Jack’s.”

“Probably from Nikko. He approached me about a month ago, telling me they were going to bribe the DA to drop charges against one of their buddies. I didn’t want him to use my official phone line in case my boss caught wind of it, so I gave him my cell. I’ve suspected the DA has been on the take for years. Joe and I are trying to build evidence against him. Only a handful of people knew.”

“So who broke into our house?”

Both men remained silent, and Joe finally answered, “I don’t know.”

I studied Mason’s face. “Did you get what you needed?”

“No. While I now have evidence they tried to bribe me, there’s nothing pinning any previous transgressions to my boss. I can file charges against the men in that room for bribery, Nikko’s murder, and our attempted murder, but my boss is still scot-free.”

“Is it my fault?” I asked.

“No.” Mason’s face softened. “While I’m far from thrilled you’re here, the truth is you helped save my life. That, and the brawl that broke out in the other room. They knew what I was doing from Nikko, which is why they told me to meet them at the bar in Big Thief Hollow to evade Joe. They knew he’d be there.”

I looked around, suddenly remembering Neely Kate. I nearly panicked when I saw my truck and she wasn’t inside. “Oh my word, where’s Neely Kate?”

Joe shifted his weight. “She’s fine—mad as a hornet, but fine. She was trying to get through the front door to get to you, but a deputy held her back. We should let her know you’re okay.”

We walked around the building to find her, and her face broke into relief when she saw us. “You scared me half to death!” she exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. “Don’t ever do that again!”

Joe snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“I heard that,” I muttered.

“I intended you to,” he said before he stomped off.

***

The next day, Dolly Parton, who’d been hiding at an old co-worker’s house in Louisiana, finally resurfaced. She told Joe that Billy Jack had been helping Diamond and the owner of Gems. Dolly Parton had heard things at the club and was about to help Nikko deliver more information to Mason, hoping to get her latest solicitation charges dropped in the process. But Billy Jack caught wind and told Diamond, hoping for a payoff . . . and perhaps some good will from the pretty lady. Mick’s men had captured Nikko that Friday night at Gems, but Dolly managed to take off in Nikko’s car. Billy Jack must have experienced a change of heart when he called Neely Kate and arranged to meet with us, but someone had decided to stop him—in a permanent way—from leaking any information.

Skeeter swore up and down that the attempt on Mason’s life had been carried out by his former associates, while Joe tied Eric Davidson to the crime via Mick. His theory was that Eric had tried to kill Mason after finding out he was setting them up. But Mason’s phone hadn’t been recovered, and I still had an unsettling feeling that the threat came from another source—Joe’s father. Not that Joe or Mason would even consider it.

I just needed to find a way to prove it.

Chapter Thirty-One

On Sunday morning, I woke up snuggled next to Mason. He nuzzled my neck while his hands roamed my body under the covers.

“This is a pleasant way to wake up,” I murmured drowsily.

“I thought so. I told you I was planning the entire day, and this is just the start,” he said, rolling me over onto my back. “I have a couple of early Christmas gifts for you. Which do you want first?”

That woke me up. “I love presents.”

He grinned. “I know. Almost as much as I do.”

That was debatable, but I knew better than to tackle it with the former Pulaski Academy debate captain. “How can I choose which one I want if I don’t have any clues?”