He stiffened and felt Sinjin and Kade do the same, but before he could continue to question her, Gabe pulled up and unfolded from his vehicle.
“You okay, Emily?” the sheriff asked, and when she nodded, he removed a pad and pen from his shirt pocket. “Okay, start from the top and tell me what happened.”
By the time Gabe finished taking Emily’s statement, then his and the others, Holden had a knot in his gut the size of Texas. He was certain that wasn’t the last she’d seen of Perez.
“Is it okay if I leave?” she asked Gabe. “I have to go home and take care of my animals.”
The sheriff nodded. “Just be vigilant, Emily, not thickheaded. Let me know if he shows up again.”
“Wait.” Holden stepped forward. “Shouldn’t she file arestraining order?”
Gabe glanced at Emily. “Has Perez harassed you before today?”
She shook her head. “No, not really. The past ones were just the usual complaints when I was at his property to serve the notices.”
“But did he threaten you?” Holden repeated the question, fairly certain she was avoiding the answer.
“No more than any other animal abuser ticked off that I removed their target.” She sighed. “Look, Holden, I’m fine. Just tired. I’d like to go home.”
“Maybe I should follow you.” The words were out before he could stop them. “How do you know Perez didn’t head there? If he tracked you here, odds are he knows your address too.”
Gabe scratched his temple. “He’s not wrong.”
Emily eye-rolled them. “Y’all watch too much late-night TV.”
Holden grunted. Other than sports, he hadn’t watched television in years. “I don’t even own one.”
Not currently, anyway.
Emily’s head jerked back. “Now, Sheriff, that right there is a crime.”
Even though Holden wasn’t crazy about her making light of the subject, hewascrazy about the light returning to her eyes. It had been absent since she’d walked away from the horse shelter earlier. Warmth trickled into his chest, much like it had then too.
“I’m going to grab my purse from inside then head home to feed my animals.” She walked to the shelter entrance then glanced over her shoulder at them and smiled. “And watch some TV.”
When she disappeared inside, he turned to address Gabe but waited while a mother and son walked by with their newly adopted Labrador puppy leading the way. That behavior was going to become a problem for the family if they didn’t teach thedog to follow and not lead.
It was a common mistake for first-time dog owners.
Holden shook all thoughts of dogs from his head, and once they loaded up in their SUV and drove away, he turned to face the guys again. “Are we all in agreement that Perez is trouble?”
Kade nodded along with the others. “I’ll keep an eye on things here. If he shows up again, I’ll let you know, Gabe.”
“Roger that.” The sheriff nodded then lifted a hand and waved to someone behind Holden.
He turned to see Emily getting into a car parked down the lot in front of the Humane Society building. Twenty seconds later, she beeped at them as she drove by.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to follow my wife’s stubborn friend home,” Gabe said, heading to his Tahoe.
Relief eased the tightness in Holden’s shoulders and chest. The possibility of Emily facing Perez alone—should the bastard be waiting at her home—no longer had such a stranglehold on him now. His formidable SEAL buddy would have her six.
“Roger that.” The former sheriff waved at the current sheriff and affirmed his promise to keep an eye on Emily while she was at the shelter. Kade then turned his attention to them. “I’ll talk to you two later. I want to check on Tracy.”
“Of course,” he echoed Sinjin.
The poor woman had been more rattled than Emily.
“You all right?” his buddy asked when they were alone.
