Vampire: A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella by Rebecca Zanetti (love letters to the dead .txt) 📕

Raine nodded. “Yep.”

“Interesting.” The sheriff sat back and placed his hands on his belly. “Let me get this straight. You were drugged, came to in the barn right after Miss Lopez was brought in, strongly shook off your hood, and then magically broke the cuffs binding you?”

Raine didn’t so much as twitch. “Yep.”

The sheriff swung his sharp gaze to her. “Have you thought this through?”

She blinked, heat swirling through her. “What do you mean?’

The sheriff’s smile wasn’t kind. “Are you believing this crap? You said that his cuffs were metal. How did he break them after being darted with so much sedative that he was knocked out for at least two, maybe three hours?”

She chewed on her bottom lip, her mind spinning. That was a good point. “I heard his cuffs break.” But how did he break silver cuffs? She couldn’t even get out of her zip ties, and he’d gotten her right out of them without a knife. She turned toward Raine. “Raine?”

He looked her way, his gaze veiled. “Please. The cuffs were weak.”

The sheriff motioned for a couple of deputies in the bullpen. “You know what I think?”

“I don’t care,” Raine replied lazily, when the tension from him was anything but calm.

Mariana looked back and forth between them, trying to reconcile her brain with her gut. A lot of the evening didn’t make sense, but why would Raine kidnap her?

The door opened, and two deputies walked in.

The sheriff remained in place. “I think you kidnapped Miss Lopez and then pretended to rescue her. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Raine snorted. “It’s Dr. Lopez, and I didn’t rescue her. She rescued herself and then a farmer older than this building rescued us both and drove us to town. Tell me, Sheriff. If I went to all the trouble to kidnap Mariana, why the hell would I just let her go?”

It was a good question. Mariana slowly turned her attention to the sheriff.

The sheriff stared at Raine. “Well, now. He did rescue you, Dr. Lopez, and now you have a shared experience. Has he offered to protect you yet?”

She shifted uneasily on the seat. “No.” Well, not really. Raine had said that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. That was kind of an offer of protection. This didn’t make any sense. Raine Maxwell was the hot alpha guy of all time. Even when they’d just walked through the bullpen, the two female officers had sighed. Loudly.

The sheriff scoffed. “I can see your mind working fast. Some of the most prolific serial killers in this world have been good-looking men.”

It was true, and it was slightly disconcerting that the lawman had read her so correctly. She turned back to him. Maybe he wasn’t as stupid as she’d thought, which made him lazy and bad at his job. “Raine didn’t carry me into that barn.” She knew his scent, which she wasn’t going to admit. Plus, if she’d been over his shoulder from the car to the barn, she would’ve known it was him. She couldn’t explain how.

“So his partner did,” the sheriff said. “Who’s your partner, Maxwell? Give it up now, and I’ll make sure the judge goes lightly on you.”

Raine’s jaw clenched. “I work alone, buddy. Always have and always will.” He turned that glittering green gaze on Mariana. “I didn’t kidnap you, and I think you know that. I’m not a game player, and I would never stretch anything out this long. You know that, too.”

Everything she knew about him proved that to be true. Although how well did she know him? He’d never really contributed in the group sessions, and she’d only just learned that he came from Montana. Also, he could’ve kidnapped her before now if he’d wanted. Even so, she had to be smart. “Have you ever been to Dallas?”

“No,” he said before turning to the sheriff. “I’ve had enough of this. Take down the report and then do your job.” He stood up and set a hand beneath Mariana’s arm to help her up.

The sheriff stood. “Oh. I wasn’t clear. You’re under arrest for the kidnapping and false imprisonment of Miss Mariana Lopez.” He smiled. “Excuse me. Dr. Mariana Lopez.”

* * * *

Raine’s head was about to blow off his shoulders. His temper had fully spiked, and he calculated how quickly he could decapitate the sheriff and both deputies. Oh, he wouldn’t do it, but it eased his anger to at least contemplate the matter. “I have lawyers who will descend on this town like buzzards on a body, Sheriff. You don’t have probable cause to arrest me, and if you do, I’ll take everything you have.” Where the hell was he going to find lawyers around here?

The sheriff paused. “I have enough on you with just the broken cuffs.”

Raine forced a smile, acutely aware of the threats in front and behind of Mariana. He had to get her out of there so he could breathe again. “No, you don’t. In addition, I have three cousins who work for national news organizations, and I’ll have them writing stories about small town corruption and your office within ten minutes. Try me. The campaign for your office will be over before one person goes to the voting booth.”

As a bluff, it wasn’t his best. By the paling of the sheriff’s plump face, he didn’t realize that.

The sheriff looked at Mariana, calculation in his eyes. “If you make a report against Mr. Maxwell, I’ll have probable cause to keep him for seventy-two hours. If there’s even a chance he kidnapped you, don’t you want him contained here so you’re safe?”

The woman waffled. Based on the indecision on her face, she really didn’t know what to believe, and Raine couldn’t exactly blame her.

He sighed. “Mariana? I did not kidnap you. Truth be told, I’m fucking embarrassed I was darted and kidnapped with a hood over my head, and if there was a way out of this without telling that truth, I’d find it.