Free Atonement by Winter Austin

The General’s genes poured through.
    “When are you going to accept that you need help? You don’t have to live with whatever is eating away at your mind, Nic.”
    “You’re too old and too jaded to be that naïve, sister.” Nic about-faced and headed for her room.
    “And you’re too damn bullheaded. Just like Pop.”
    Skidding to a halt, Nic whipped around and rushed the counter. “Don’t ever”—she slammed her hands on the top—“compare me to that man.”
    The lone reaction she got out of her sister was raised eyebrows. Snarling, Nic vacated the kitchen. To hell with Cassy. If she wanted to waste her time around here, fine. Nic yanked a clean uniform out of the closet and quickly dressed. With her duty belt settled in place around her waist, she slipped into the bathroom to scrub her teeth. She’d grab something to eat at the diner or the bakery down the street from the department, if they didn’t turn her out for being a “trigger-happy killer.”
    She left the house without a backward glance at her sister and climbed into the Jeep. Sunglasses in place to ward off the rising sun, she turned to back out of the drive, catching a glimpse of Cassy in the living-room window. Gunning the engine, Nic sped around the turnabout and then rammed the shift into drive. Gravel spewed from under the tires as she left.
    To hell with her.
    • • •
    Con removed his sunglasses upon entering the sheriff’s department and hooked them by an earpiece in his front shirt pocket. Nic’s desk was unoccupied. Disappointment coiled through him, only to be quickly banished by relief. If she wasn’t here it made his pending conversation with Shane about her less awkward.
    On the other hand, Doug Walker’s desk was occupied. There was a bruise on the right side of Walker’s face.
    Satisfaction made Con grin; then it was gone. He headed straight for Shane’s office and, giving the door a quick rap, entered. “Hey.”
    “Con.” Shane rocked back in his chair. “Do I owe the pleasure of your visit as an explanation to what happened to my deputy last night?”
    “Partly.” Con nodded at the door. “May I?” Given the go-ahead, he closed it and took a chair across from the man he’d known since high school. Relaxed, Con interlocked his fingers and cradled his head. “My explanation for Deputy Walker: He was warned to behave in my mam’s place of business. He chose to ignore that warning, and I had to deal with him accordingly.”
    Shane’s mouth twitched. He sighed and bobbed his head. “Didn’t know Maura hired you to be her bouncer.”
    “Most customers know better. She gets the occasional unruly visitor who doesn’t care, and I deal with it. I’d rather it be me than dragging in your crew to break it up.”
    “Makes sense. What’s the other part?”
    After sending Nic home last night, Con spent the rest of his time in the Killdeer Pub mulling over what to do about her decline into a dark hole. His brief conversation with Cassy after she arrived confirmed what he feared: Nic was suffering from PTSD, and no one knew what was causing it. He still didn’t have a solid plan when he left the pub last night. He slept on it—if two hours of uninterrupted sleep laced with dreams of Nic counted—and decided it was time to let the cat out of the bag. At least to Shane. Throw the ball in her boss’s court and let him decide what to do next.
    But now that he sat here, Con wasn’t sure this was the best course, either.
    He scratched his head then dropped his hands in his lap. “Did Doug tell you why I had to bang some sense into him?”
    “Something about Rivers. He wasn’t too clear on that reason. Seems he and his cousin were drunk enough to ‘forget’ pieces of what happened.”
    That gave Con some wiggle room. He’d take this conversation as far as he could without ruining Nic’s career.
    “Doug was picking a fight he couldn’t win. Sounds like he’s none too happy that Deputy Rivers had to put a stop to