Kathleen was used to people not making any trouble.
Being a Sheriff in a small town does that to you.
The biggest trouble she had was a man running away from her to close the gates for his cows.
Life was simple.
And then came the stranger claiming that he was trying to find his missing cousin.
"Yeah, Dean. Kind of the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though."
The smiles, the cocky comments and the laid back attitude made her blind thourds his other side.
"Identity theft? You're impersonating an officer."
Why didn't miss-rule-book report him? Hell if she knew.
He looked honest, emotions were blossoming in his eyes.
And yet she felt like he was manipulating her. All the way. Letting hew know thing on his terms.
Her experience with men told her this was natural as breathing to him.
"I, uh—I cuffed him to my car"
Meaning they were stuck here, with a bunch of psychos. Who she's never heard of until now. Who were they?
And even more important...why did she feel stupid for not listening to a criminal?
"How did you get out of the cuffs?"
He turned to her, smiling...something was deep in his eyes. A shadow fell on his face for a moment. Kathleen witnessed the cocky, smiling illusion fade away.
"Oh, I know a trick or two."
She heard in his voice that he wasn't telling the entire story. Not by a long shot.
"Yeah. Dude, they're just people."
"And they jumped you? Must be gettin' a little rusty there, kiddo."
What does that mean?
Just people?
What did he expect? Vampires?
"What about the dad?"
She saw in his eyes that he already knew the truth.
He knew all along.
Both mysterious men knew she would throw away her badge and at a given opportunity kill for revenge.
"Shot. Trying to escape."
There was something new in the eyes of the criminal.
A strange respect. Even weirder, she felt proud that she earned that respect.
"When we were young, I pretty much pulled him from a fire. And ever since then, I've felt responsible for him."
A older sibling to older sibling understanding. Hurt to protect, kill to avenge.
Two of a kind.
"So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna wanna talk to you. I suggest that you're both long gone by then."
She watched them vanish in the dark of the night.
Her brother was dead, she betrayed everything she believed in, she killed a man in cold blood, released two possible criminals free...
And didn't feel a drop of guilt.