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Back This Side of Night Save as PDF
Chapters (110)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY J. TODD SCOTT
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. PROLOGUE
  6. I
  7. II
  8. PART ONE
  9. ONE
  10. TWO
  11. THREE
  12. FOUR
  13. FIVE
  14. SIX
  15. SEVEN
  16. EIGHT
  17. NINE
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. PART TWO
  22. THIRTEEN
  23. FOURTEEN
  24. FIFTEEN
  25. SIXTEEN
  26. SEVENTEEN
  27. EIGHTEEN
  28. NINETEEN
  29. TWENTY
  30. TWENTY-ONE
  31. TWENTY-TWO
  32. TWENTY-THREE
  33. TWENTY-FOUR
  34. TWENTY-FIVE
  35. TWENTY-SIX
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. PART THREE
  50. FORTY
  51. FORTY-ONE
  52. FORTY-TWO
  53. FORTY-THREE
  54. FORTY-FOUR
  55. FORTY-FIVE
  56. FORTY-SIX
  57. FORTY-SEVEN
  58. FORTY-EIGHT
  59. FORTY-NINE
  60. FIFTY
  61. FIFTY-ONE
  62. FIFTY-TWO
  63. FIFTY-THREE
  64. FIFTY-FOUR
  65. FIFTY-FIVE
  66. FIFTY-SIX
  67. FIFTY-SEVEN
  68. FIFTY-EIGHT
  69. FIFTY-NINE
  70. SIXTY
  71. SIXTY-ONE
  72. PART FOUR
  73. SIXTY-TWO
  74. SIXTY-THREE
  75. SIXTY-FOUR
  76. SIXTY-FIVE
  77. SIXTY-SIX
  78. SIXTY-SEVEN
  79. SIXTY-EIGHT
  80. SIXTY-NINE
  81. SEVENTY
  82. SEVENTY-ONE
  83. SEVENTY-TWO
  84. SEVENTY-THREE
  85. SEVENTY-FOUR
  86. SEVENTY-FIVE
  87. SEVENTY-SIX
  88. SEVENTY-SEVEN
  89. SEVENTY-EIGHT
  90. SEVENTY-NINE
  91. EIGHTY
  92. EIGHTY-ONE
  93. EIGHTY-TWO
  94. EIGHTY-THREE
  95. EIGHTY-FOUR
  96. EPILOGUE
  97. I
  98. II
  99. III
  100. IV
  101. V
  102. VI
  103. VII
  104. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  105. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  106. Excerpt from LOST RIVER
  107. LITTLE PARIS
  108. DILLON
  109. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  110. What’s next onyour reading list?

“That’s bullshit, Sheriff Cherry. Every day that goes by and he’s still here means it’s already been decided. What are you going to do, let him stay with Amé? Have Danny help her keep an eye on him?” Chris’s expression told her that’s exactly what he’d intended to do. “People will talk, Chris. Someone will find out.” She held Jack tighter. “Someone could come for him, the way they came for you.”

Chris bent down and rubbed Rocky’s ears. The dog had moved from his spot on the floor to stand next to Chris, as if sensing their tension. “No one here knows who he is. Not yet, anyway. He’s an old man. And with that young girl . . .”

“Don’t be foolish. He’s not just any old man, and that poor girl, whoever she is, needs to be out of the middle of this.”

Chris started again, quieter. “So I turn him over to Garrison and the DEA, what then? What if they can’t prove he’s really Fox Uno? I have no idea what happens to him, but I have a damn good idea of what happens to Amé’s family.”

“Yes, if he’s telling the truth. And that’s a big if. Seems to me that if he’s here looking for help, he can barely take care of himself.”

“Danny said about the same thing. But if I believe he’s Fox Uno, I’ve got to believe all of it, everything he says. The threats, the risks. Otherwise, I am a fool. Besides, it’s not just what I believe, it’s what Amé believes.”

“She’s not the sheriff, Chris, you are.”

“Okay, so this isn’t about being the sheriff, it’s about . . .”

She stopped him. “Friends, family, loyalty. I get it. And if that’s how you need to look at it, then maybe you can also convince yourself there’s no right or wrong answer, either, only what you need to do. That’s what Ben would say . . . That’s what you want to hear.”

“Yeah, I know. Damn, I wish Ben were here.” Chris shrugged. “Sure doesn’t make me feel any better about it, though.”

Mel tried a smile for him. “And that’s good. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. And that’s why I want to believe that whatever you decide, in the end, it was the right thing all along. The only thing.”