Buried Secrets (New Adult Dark Suspense Romance) by Emme Rollins Read Free Book Online

grateful for it. “Are you kidding me? Joe Wilson last month! My brother this month! So where’s this so-called bobcat?”
    “Dusty, listen.” Buck took a deep breath, but he didn’t get to finish.
    “Fuck you!” she snapped. “I’m done listening! I don’t want to hear any more talk. I want action! You and Deputy Dawg need to get off your fat asses and swear off trips to Dunkin Donuts in Millsberg until you catch who—or what—killed my brother!”
    “Hey.” Buck straightened, eyes hardening. “I know it’s hard to accept. But you have to trust me on this. Your brother was killed by an animal.”
    “So why did you bring Shane in for questioning?”
    Shane’s hold tightened on her, and she felt his sudden intake of breath. It was inaudible but his chest expanded quickly against her back.
    “Just information.” Buck Thompson looked over her shoulder at Shane who was still gripping her tightly in the circle of his arms. “Isn’t that right, Shane?”
    Shane didn’t respond.
    “I want to know.” Dusty cried. “I deserve to know!”
    The sheriff nodded. “This stuff takes time. I’ve done everything I can do. We’ve got evidence being processed over at the lab and I’ve called in more help from the Millsberg force for the night watch out at the cemetery.”
    “If you’ve had a watch out there, how did my brother manage to get into the cemetery without you noticing?” Dusty’s voice shook with anger.
    “We…” Buck cleared his throat. “We actually just started it.”
    “Joe’s death wasn’t enough?” Dusty snarled. “You had to wait for Nick to die before you decided a few guys with guns actually paying attention might be a good idea?”
    “Well, Joe wasn’t actually in the cemetery,” Buck reminded her. “We thought it was an isolated incident.”
    “So now my brother’s dead,” she said flatly. “Thanks, Sheriff. Good call.”
    “I’m sorry.” He blinked at her. “There’s really nothing more we can do, except watch and wait.”
    “Yeah, you did such a bang-up job of watching the first time.” She stared at him, jaw clenching and unclenching. “So what’s your evidence?”
    Buck shook his head. “I can’t discuss that.”
    “What? Are you kidding me?” Dusty wanted to scream at him. Instead, she took a deep breath and said, as calmly as she could manage, “I want to know. How do you know it was an animal that killed my brother?”
    “Sweetheart, I don’t think I should be the one to tell you…” Buck glanced toward the family room where the sound of voices floated toward them.
    “Tell me what?”
    “Dusty.” Shane murmured low in her ear. “Just… drop it.”
    “I will not!” She struggled in his arms again, frustrated at his grip. “How do you know? How?”
    “Sweetheart…” Buck looked pained. “Your parents came and identified the body—what was left of it. Your brother, he…”
    She twisted in Shane’s arms, but he refused to let go. “He what?”
    “Dusty, stop,” Shane begged her, voice cracking. “Please don’t.”
    “No! I want to know! Tell me! What?”
    “Jesus.” Buck breathed, passing a hand over his eyes. “Let’s just say there’s a reason the casket was closed. Okay?”
    Dusty blinked at him. Her father had informed her they were having a closed casket, had told her the circumstances surrounding her brother’s death, but the look on the sheriff’s face told her it was far worse than she had even imagined.
    Buck swallowed, his gaze skipping away from hers. “No human being could have… could have done that. In twenty years, I swear, I’ve never seen…”
    “Enough!” Shane demanded.
    “Oh God.” Dusty felt her knees give out, but Shane was right there, holding her up. She turned in his arms, and he let her fists flail, beating at his chest until he could get a good grip again, trapping her arms between them as she sobbed.
    “No. No. Nooooo!” Dusty wailed, burying her face against his t-shirt, her cries