“Skeeter?”

He nodded. “We grew up together.”

That explained so much.

“One day we decided to go fishing, and Daisy begged to come. She was learning how to bait a hook with the earthworms from the backyard. I got her set up, and then Skeeter’s brother, Scooter, caught a huge catfish that damn near broke his rod. All four of us boys—our friend Pete was there too—we all fought that fish, trying to get it ashore, and I never once looked back at Daisy.”

My stomach cramped.

“When I finally did, she wasn’t on the bank.” He paused. “I found her floating in the water. I have no idea how long she’d been in there. Not long, but long enough. Skeeter helped me drag her out onto the bank. We tried CPR, and after a couple of minutes, Skeeter—who was older than me and bigger—picked her up and hauled ass for his house. But it was too late.”

“I’m so sorry.” When he didn’t volunteer any more information, I asked, “I still don’t understand why he asked you to protect me.”

“He knows you remind me of Daisy.”

I sucked in a breath. “Oh, Jed.”

“He knows how much I regret my mistake, so he’s given me a second chance. But tonight …”

“It’s not your job to protect me. I’m not your sister.”

“I know. But you’re more important to Skeeter than you know. I don’t know what he would have done if they’d killed you.” He lowered his head until we were eye to eye. “You think Crocker went batshit crazy? That was nothing compared to the vengeance Skeeter would have meted out.”

I shivered. “Well, I’m safe, but I really need to call Mason. Just let me borrow your cell phone, and I won’t tell Skeeter about it.”

“Skeeter’s right. We don’t know who’s behind this, and they think the evil deed is still waiting to be done. He’s hoping to flush them out with this call.”

“But what does that have to do with me calling Mason?”

The front door opened, revealing Skeeter in the doorway. “Because whoever did this is watching him like a hawk. I can guaran-damn-tee you that they’ll want to see his reaction when he watches that video. That’s why they haven’t called in the order to kill you. They’re plannin’ on time-stamping the damn thing and sending it moments after it happens.”

“Skeeter! I can’t let him think I’m dead!”

“If we don’t follow through, they’re liable to kill him and be done with it. Whoever orchestrated this is a sick son-of-a-bitch, J.R. Simmons or not.”

Jed pulled out his phone and grimaced. “Merv texted. He just heard from our contact at the sheriff’s department. Apparently, Deveraux just arrived. Simmons Jr. is talking with him in his office now.” He looked up, his face grim. “We should be hearing any time now.”

“What?” I asked. “Why would you expect to hear now? Do they have someone in the sheriff’s office?”

Both men gave me a sorrowful look, then as if on cue, a cell phone rang. Skeeter picked it up off the kitchen table and nodded to Jed.

Jed sent a text while Skeeter answered in a gruff voice that didn’t sound like his own. “Yeah?” He was silent for several seconds. “Got it.” He tapped the screen, then put the phone on the table. “They’re waiting for the video.”

Jed looked at me. “We need to sniff out who’s behind this, particularly if it’s not one of the known players.”

“We have to send Deveraux a video that convinces him you’re dead,” Skeeter added.

My breath came in quick pants. “I’m not doing it.”

Skeeter moved across the room and knelt in front of me. The softness I saw there surprised me. “You know, we don’t have to do this. The fact that we got the call minutes after your boyfriend walked into Simmons’ office wasn’t for nothin’. I’ll have my men take care of him, and we don’t have to send a thing to Deveraux.”

It dawned on me what he was insinuating.

“No! Joe would never do this!”

Skeeter’s face hardened, the softness slipping off like melted wax. “The evidence is stacked against him. He had you arrested.”

I violently shook my head. “No. He still loves me. He would sooner die himself than order my murder.”

“Rose,” Jed said softly. “You know he’s following his father’s orders.”

“No!” I stood. “He didn’t do this. Maybe if you two pulled your heads out of your behinds, you’d see that whoever is doing this wants to hurt him too!”

A stunned look crossed both of their faces.

“Yeah, that’s right. Joe taught me that the obvious answer isn’t always the right one.” I pointed my finger at Jed. “You text Merv right now and tell him to find out who else is in the sheriff’s office.” When he hesitated, I raised my voice. “Right now!”

“Do it,” Skeeter barked.

Jed started texting, and Skeeter stood and began to pace. “We have to send a video, Rose, especially if there’s any doubt about who did it.”

“No. I’ll send Mason a text from my phone telling him that I’ve escaped and I’m okay, but he’s in grave danger. I can tell him to act horrified. Joe too.”

“Whoever is watching will expect to hear the sounds of your murder,” Skeeter said bluntly.