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battered body flashed in her mind and she choked back a rush of
tears.
    Someone needed
to tell Preacher Adams. She couldn’t imagine what he must be going
through, not only as a father, but also as a man of God. He had to
be questioning his God’s motives. Is this how his God repaid him
for all the years he’d spent serving him?
    ****
    These people are unfuckingbelievable. What do I have to do to
prove I didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance? She’s
just a kid for fuck’s sake .
    Taylor came to
a sobering stop in his parking lot. Apparently, the group he’d just
left behind wasn’t the only ones who believed he had something to
do with Casey’s abduction. Scrawled across the picture window of
his shop, were bright red letters.
    LET CASEY
GO!
    CHILD
ABUSER!
    “ Holy shit!” He spun his bike around in a blaze of rubber. He
raced through the cloud of smoke toward the precinct. You’ve gone too far this time.
    Smell of burnt rubber filled the street as he came to a
screeching halt out front of the station. He lurched off his bike
and noticed Dianne standing behind the driver’s door of the Sedan.
Her mouth slightly agape, her eyes filled with concern. I’ll deal with you later, lady.
    Taylor
dismissed her with a wave of the hand before storming over to the
front door. He swung it open it and flew down the short hallway to
the office.
    “ You have to put a stop to all this bullshit, Steve.”
Adrenaline coursed through his veins. “I’ll be damned if I’m going
to sit back and let a bunch of small town assholes call me a child
abuser, and figure it’s okay to fuck with my property.”
    “ Calm down, Taylor.” Chief rounded his desk and took him by the
arm and coaxed him over to a chair. “Why don’t you tell me exactly
what’s got you so riled up?”
    The front door
banged open and Dianne walked in.
    “ Agent Parker, I’m glad you’re here.” Chief Walker smiled.
“Taylor here is having trouble with some people in
town.”
    “ I know. I was at the post office when things got ugly.” She
touched his hand before sitting down next to him. “I’m sorry that
happened. It was uncalled for.”
    He made a point
of not looking in her direction. “That’s nothing compared to what
they did to my shop.”
    “ What’d they do?” She moved to the edge of her
chair.
    “ We got ourselves a regular Van Gogh, who feels the need to
express himself on my windows.” Taylor jumped up, and leaned across
the chief’s desk. “If you don’t make them stop, I will.”
    Dianne hurried
to his side. “Why don’t you show me what they’ve done? We’ll decide
what to do next, after I’ve assessed the damage.”
    His gaze
narrowed. “And why should I believe a single word that comes out of
your mouth?”
    No sooner had
the words left his lips than he regretted saying them. She stepped
back as if he’d smacked her in the face. Taylor dropped his head,
defeated. “I’m sorry. I’ll meet you there.”
    Her footsteps
followed him out to the street.
    “ Hey, for the record, I think the way they’re all treating you
is so very wrong.”
    He shrugged and
hiked his leg over bike, kicking her to life. He flipped up his
kickstand and slipped into gear. Without so much as a glance in her
direction, he tore off down the street. Unable to help himself, he
looked in his mirrors. Agent Parker leaned against the hood of her
car, pressing her fingers to her temples.
    Way to go, champ. You made the lady feel bad. Taylor shook his head, disgusted with his
behavior . Who am I?
    He concentrated on the wind, the way it whispered around him,
the morning sun kissing his face. He’d been so wrapped up in
dodging threats. His pulse slowed down and he eased into his
well-worn seat. Dianne wasn’t behind him in his mirrors, so he
passed the shop. Once around the block
won’t hurt.
    Ten minutes
later, he stood in front of his shop with her beside him, as they
stared at the ugliness covering his windows.
    She stood