Deadly Obsession by Katie Reus Page A

two or three houses down, then loop back in case he runs.”
    He waited until Lilly had gotten out of the truck and was a few paces down the sidewalk before getting out. Keeping his weapon close to his side, he kept his pace casual as he crossed the street. Braden wasn’t wearing his uniform, but the chances of this guy knowing who he was were bigger than normal considering he was the sheriff.
    A chain link fence surrounded the front yard. As Braden neared the yard, the younger man took notice. He straightened and tossed his cigarette. There was a look in his eyes that said he knew Braden was a cop and he was going to run.
    Don’t run, don’t run. Braden repeated the words over in his head, but it was no use. Before he’d reached the edge of the fence, the kid turned and sprinted across the yard.
    Shit! He might not be guilty of murdering Mallory, but he was guilty of something. Braden tucked his gun into the back of his pants and took off. He grasped the top edge of the fence and propelled himself over. He jogged five days a week, but running outside in the middle of winter still sucked.
    Just as he rounded the side of the house, he saw the guy jumping the fence into the next yard. He glanced over his shoulder before shoving the back gate open.
    Braden’s leg muscles strained as he sprinted across the yard after him. As he followed him through the gate into another yard, Braden pulled his gun from his waistband. Slowing his pace, he edged along the side of the house. Once he reached the next street, he scanned the perimeter.
    His heart pounded wildly in his chest and he looked both ways. It wasn’t a dead end street so the kid could have gone anywhere. A blur of movement to his right caught his eye. The guy jumped from behind an oak tree and sprinted down the sidewalk.
    “Police! Freeze!” Braden shouted as he resumed the chase.
    As the guy neared the next intersection Lilly appeared from behind one of the houses, gun drawn. Her weapon was pointed directly at their suspect and by her steady grip, it was obvious she knew how to use it.
    “Don’t move!” she shouted with surprising force.
    The guy nearly tripped, then swiveled around. When he saw Braden with his gun drawn too, he held up his hands.
    “Keep your hands where I can see them!” Braden shouted.
    Out of the corner of his eyes, Braden could see Lilly closing in on the other side.
    The guy muttered something under his breath but kept his hands up. When Braden was within two feet of him, the kid lunged at him.
    Letting his shoulder drop, Braden ducked down and out of range of the poorly planned punch. Before the guy could regroup Braden swiped his ankles and flattened him against the sidewalk. He pressed his knee into the guy’s back.
    “You okay?” Lilly asked as he handcuffed him.
    He nodded, but kept his focus on their suspect. “Assault on a police officer. One more thing I can add to your list of crimes.”
    “I didn’t know you were a cop, man,” he muttered as Braden jerked him to his feet.
    After patting him down, Braden pulled a large bag of what looked like marijuana out of his back pocket. Then he pulled his wallet from the other pocket. He passed the wallet to Lilly and held the bag in front of the guy’s face. “This looks like more than one and a half ounces. That’s a class one felony.”
    “What the hell do you want with me?”
    “Why don’t you tell me about your relationship with Mallory Spinoza?”
    “Man, what did that bitch say? I broke up with her a month ago and she won’t leave me alone.”
    “This is your guy,” Lilly said, flashing the ID in the wallet.
    “Come on. You’re coming with us.” Braden wasn’t about to tell him about Mallory yet. He wanted him in their interrogation room and he wanted it on tape that Walker had been read his rights. And he really wanted his reaction when he told him Mallory was dead. In his gut Braden didn’t think this guy was solely responsible for the murders in the past year,