Beneath Blackwater River by Leslie Wolfe (love story books to read txt) 📕

for sharing.” She noticed his shoulders tensing up, his jawline hardening. Out of all things, Sheriff Logan had decided to turn defensive. “Is this about Scott?”

“Yes,” she replied quickly, glad she’d asked the right question.

“What’s he done now, to gain himself FBI attention?”

“He beat his pregnant wife to within an inch of her life, at least three times in the past year,” she said, feeling a knot in her throat as she spoke. “She’s been trying to communicate with you, but failed. She’s been—”

“Why did she fail? I’m there every day,” he reacted, pacing angrily back and forth in front of his SUV.

“It’s a long story and your roast will get dry,” she said, trying to ease the crackling static in the air between them, but he glared at her, not smiling, not saying a word. “I’ll get to the bottom of that before the end of the week. In short, someone on staff has been rerouting your mail as they see fit.”

“And turned her in to her husband?” He slapped his hands against the sides of his legs and looked at the starry sky above them. “One of my cops did that?”

“I’ll—yes, and I promise you it’s in the works to find out who. Just, please give me a few days to wrap this up the right way. There are many risks to consider and manage in domestic abuse cases involving cops.”

He nodded.

“How far do you think he’ll take things?” Kay asked. “If cornered?”

Turning to face her, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “Scott? The man’s an unexploded powder keg with an unpredictable fuse.”

“Copy that,” she replied. Now it was her turn to grimace. All Logan had done was confirm her worst fears, and seed new ones on top. From the little time she’d spent with Scott, she knew the man was intent on something, she didn’t know what, but he wasn’t derelict of duty by accident. He was too controlling for that, too driven, too intense. Maybe if she peeled the layers off that rotted onion, she’d find out what had motivated him to throw away a career as the only detective on staff with the sheriff’s office in Mount Chester to be speed-trapping tourists all year long. “I’ll keep you posted, sir,” she said, then reached for her keys inside her jacket pocket. When she took her hand out, she was holding the keys and the evidence pouch with the DNA sample she’d taken from Shelley.

“Not so fast, Dr. Sharp,” Sheriff Logan said, his tone biting as the cold wind. “I’d like to know if you really work for me, or was that just pretend?”

She stared at him wide-eyed.

“Are you here on assignment from the FBI?” he asked again, raising his tone enough to tell her he was furious. “It’s a fair question, don’t you think?”

She almost smiled, but managed to contain it, knowing the explosive effect her grin might have on the sheriff. “I promise you this FBI thing is temporary, and it will conclude in a couple of days. I work for you, ever since you made me the offer and I took it.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me about Scott?” His pitch was high, denoting rising frustration. “I figure either you didn’t trust me, and you first interrogated me by the book before disclosing your agenda, or you were never one of mine to begin with.”

“I just got the case assigned last night, sir,” she explained. “And yes, I interrogated you, and I apologize, but I have a battered woman who swears she sent letters directly to you, only to have her husband bring them back home with him the next day and use them as an excuse for another round of beatings.” As she talked, emotion filled her voice, seeding a slight tremble in her pitch. She forced a breath of cold air into her lungs, steeling herself.

He clapped his hands slowly, calmly, a hint of a smile coloring his eyes. “I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Once your FBI assignment is over, and you rid me of that piece of scum, I’d be happy if you stayed.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she replied, still holding her keys and the DNA sample and looking him straight in the eye.

He grinned. “What’s that?” he asked.

“A DNA sample from Rose Harrelson’s mother,” she replied. “I’ll drop it off at the morgue on my way home.”

“I can drop that for you,” he offered, and she accepted with a smile and a nod of gratitude. He scratched his buzz cut hair, as if trying to remember something he had to do. “You should probably know, Scott called in to say he needed a couple of days off, citing family issues.”

Staring at him as he climbed into his SUV and drove off, her worried thoughts went to Nicole. Good thing she was safe at her house with Jacob. Scott must be out looking for her and wouldn’t settle until he found her and made her pay for running away.

It was time to muzzle that animal.

39Stakeout

You’ll never see me again.

Don’t come find me.

Scott stared at the handwritten note, rage pulsating though his veins.

“The hell I won’t,” he muttered, stepping on broken things and torn clothing to put together a small duffel bag with things he needed on long stakeouts. “And trailing that fed twenty-four-seven? Motherfucker.”

As if he didn’t know what Kay Sharp was up to… nothing good. Why Triple-Dollar-Sign wanted her followed instead of taken out as soon as possible was a question he hadn’t had the chance to ask. The man had never been so curt with him before, and he wasn’t the type of man Scott wanted for an enemy.

Duffel bag in hand, he stopped in the middle of the hallway, trying to decide. Should he go after Nicole and drag her sorry ass back where she belonged? She had one hell of a mess to clean up while he was gone. Or should he do as he’d been told and hang