Hiding From The Sheriff (A Southern Kind of Love Book 1)

by Palmer Jones

Releasing her shirt, Cameron straightened and locked eyes with Addie. For a brief second, he didn’t school his features. The raw intensity in his gaze solidified that she wasn’t going anywhere.

  “I’m not your girlfriend.” She said the words easier this time. “I’m going to stay here. With Cameron.”

  The breath rushed out of Cameron.

  “Excuse me?” Brian stopped brushing the dirt from his pants. He took a step, eyes trained on Cameron.

  “I think that’s enough,” Sheriff Dempsey said and laid a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “It’s time for you to go. You already gave your statement that the car reported as stolen was a mix-up, and that will be submitted when the judge hears the case.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without Addie. She’s mine. Go grab your things. We’re leaving.”

  “No, Brian.” She stared up at Cameron. “I’m not leaving with you. I have to stay here. I want to stay here.” She leaned to the side. Brian’s mouth hung open. Maybe the jerk heard her that time. “I don’t want to be someone’s girlfriend when they left me in a jail cell instead of interrupting their ski vacation to come help sort everything out. I already told you I didn’t want to be with you. All you see me as is a prop, a girlfriend when it’s convenient, or you need me for some red carpet appearance. I want more in a relationship.”

  Playing that role used to be enough. Now, she wanted someone to finally see the real Addie and like her.

  “I figured you were just upset. You know, your monthly thing.”

  Oh…no. She crossed her arms and stared him down. “Last time I checked, being pissed off you left me in jail and didn’t answer your phone wasn’t a diagnosed PMS symptom.”

  “You’ve never gotten mad at me before, what was I supposed to think?”

  She threw her hands up. “That you screwed up? That I finally got fed up with how self-centered you are.”

  “Baby, you just don’t understand the real world. I had some serious networking to do on that ski trip.” Brian adjusted his shirt. “You were fine to wait a little bit. Patience is a virtue.”

  A murderous look fell over Cameron’s face. He turned to face Brian.

  Addie held onto his arm. She didn’t want Brian’s murder on her hands. “Leave, Brian, before this gets worse.”

  “Mr. Wellston?” Sheriff Dempsey pointed at the rental car. “I think it’s time to go.”

  “What about my car they impounded in Florida?”

  Sheriff Dempsey escorted him to the black Mercedes rental. “You’ll be able to claim your car after the trial.”

  “Fine. But I want you out of my condo by this weekend, Addie.”

  “She won’t be released for another week,” Cameron said.

  “I don’t care. If her stuff isn’t gone by Saturday, I’m tossing it in the garbage.”

  Addie wanted him out of her life anyway. “Fine. Plan on Trevor coming by. He’ll get everything.”

  “Good. I have a few words to say to him.”

  “Oh, and plan on Grayson being there, too.” She crossed her arms, enjoying Brian’s stunned look. Playing the “Grayson card” was like playing an Ace in poker. A-Class celebrity who recently finished filming his latest assassin movie. He’d help Trevor if she asked him.

  Brian stalked the rest of the way to the car and climbed in. He revved the engine, again and again, like a teenager at a drag race. It was a dumb exhibition of maleness.

  Cameron snatched her tight to his chest, blocking her, when Brian whipped his car around, flinging gravel in all directions. Rocks pelted around her, pinging off the Sheriff’s car and the front porch and hitting her in the ankle and legs.

  Sheriff Dempsey spoke into his radio in a calm, steady voice. “Dewey.”

  It crackled in return. “Yes.”

  “Black Mercedes. Headed west out of town. Check his speed.” His eyes caught Addie’s. “Do it the second those front tires cross into the construction zone.”

  “Why, Sheriff, it’s not like you to have a mean streak,” Dewey replied, ending it with a laugh.

  Cameron eased up from around her. “You okay?” He brushed his thumb down her cheek.

  “You lied.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “For me. You lied.”

  He held her tight, lowering his voice. “I’ve never had a reason to lie before.”

  Sheriff Dempsey paused next to them. “Addie, you do know you are free to stay somewhere else? What Cameron said is not in the release papers. We trust that you won’t leave.”

  “I know. I read the papers. I love staying with you and your wife.”

  He smiled in a way so like Cameron’s that it caught her off guard for a moment. “We enjoy having you.” He disappeared inside the house in a couple of long steps.

  She looked back at Cameron. He skimmed a hand down her back. “You know we shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Too bad.” She rose on her toes and pressed her lips to Cameron’s for a quick kiss. “Because I plan on staying right here and doing this a lot for the next week.”

  15

  Fifteen minutes before anyone would miss her.

  At a quarter till seven, the sun had begun to set, but Addie hoped Cameron wouldn’t head to his parents’ house yet. Mrs. Dempsey had readily agreed to let her drive her car into town without any real explanation of why she needed it. Even after Addie fessed up about the suspended driver’s license situation, she’d only laughed.

  How such a laidback woman could have produced Cameron was one of those mysteries of the universe. Sheriff Dempsey even seemed less rigid than Cameron did most of the time. The job was serious. Addie would never doubt that, but Cameron didn’t have to act uptight all the time.

  Except when he kissed her. That serious focus made her toes curl.

  Addie received the message that he didn’t want to push this thing between them loud and clear last night when he’d stepped away from her when she tried for an extra-long goodnight kiss. After the drama with Brian, her blood hummed for a good, old-fashioned teenage make-out session to take her mind off of it.

  For a man to want her, computer-geek Addie, for the first time.

  Instead, Cameron had kissed her like any respectable first date and said goodnight. That left her with a computer she couldn’t use for White Rabbit and a lot of pent up energy. Describing the feeling as frustrating didn’t even scratch the surface.

  She turned onto Jefferson Street, the main road through town, and passed by the Sheriff’s office. She only had a handful of days left in town. At Cameron’s pace, she might get to second base. She wanted the freaking home run. No regrets.

  She needed that perfect situation, alone, where no chance existed that anyone would find out. Their relationship needed to stay low key. Out of the spotlight of the town’s gossip. Otherwise, he might pull away completely.

  She pulled the sedan into the parking lot next to the library. She’d have to figure out how to seduce her sheriff another time. Right now, she had to find out the thief’s next move. And she had an idea.

  Her hacking activities had fallen into two categories: action and avoidance.

  She’d been active in searching through any networked security camera in town. If she did decide to change jobs, security consultant would be her best bet. There wasn’t a network in the town she hadn’t accessed.

  That led her to the avoidance of her own job with White Rabbit. She didn’t even log on the server today. Miss Alice had bombarded her with messages last time. She’d get to it…but not right now. Her energy and concentration stayed solely on Cameron’s case.

  The security camera from the corner of the courthouse had captured more images of the mysterious man than any other place. She looked back and forth at the angle of the camera. It sat just to the left of the parking lot. Not enough to get an I.D. on any car he might use, but he’d passed by that courthouse camera almost every night someone in the town had reported a theft.

  But there was that one camera that if pushed a little to the right would
capture most of the parking lot—

  “Hey.”

  Addie whirled around, her hand flying to her throat. She closed off her expression before annoyance replaced the shock. Dexter. That guy that Mrs. Dempsey’s friend wanted her to go on a date with. His long, black trench coat reminded her of a vampire. So did his pale face and sallow eyes.

  She never understood the teenage girl obsession with vampires.

  She felt her body step away before she’d stopped herself. Retreating might look strange.

  “Hey.” She changed direction, pretending to ignore him and hoping the library was empty.

  “They just closed.”

  She wrinkled her nose and stared straight ahead. Crap. There went her cover story. For someone who based their entire life on Hollywood and having a massive cover story, she had turned into shit in being prepared while staying in Statem.

  “I was headed to grab a burger. You wanna come.” He smiled in a way that made goosebumps rise over her arms. “I’d love the company. Gets a little tiring sitting with Ruth every night.”

  “I’m sure it does.”

  “And you only have the Sheriff’s wife to talk to. I can imagine that’s pretty boring.” He took a slow step her direction.

  “Look, you seem like a nice guy….”

  The congenial look disappeared. His blank expression turned her stomach queasy. She glanced around.

  Alone.

  In an empty parking lot at dusk.

  With a guy that could be hiding any weapon in the world under that ugly, long coat. It didn’t help that she tracked down criminals for a living. Her mind had plenty of material to use in her imagination.

  “It’s just, I, well…” Her brain scrambled for a reason. She notched her chin up a little. “I don’t want to give people the wrong impression since I have a boyfriend. It’s a new relationship, and everyone knows that small towns talk.”

  “New relationship? Ruth thought you were dating that cop. She said your boyfriend came to town yesterday and made a big scene. You’ve only been here less than two weeks, not much time to start something new. Who are you seeing?”

  “Addie?”

  She whirled around. The easy way Cameron said her name didn’t match the stern look in his eyes. He’d changed out of his uniform and into a blue and violet plaid button-down shirt tucked into dark jeans.

  He covered the distance between them at an easy gait, his cowboy boots echoing off the building walls surrounding the parking lot. She didn’t have to wonder what he was thinking as soon as his eyes landed on his mom’s car and narrowed.

  He would kill her for this. He’d already told her not to drive. Several times. Too bad he didn’t look in the mood to use those handcuffs for something more recreational.

  “Hey, honey.” She slid her hand around his waist. His body jerked from the contact, but he kept his eyes trained on Dexter.

  Dexter’s stare intensified. His gray eyes amped up the eerie quality that made her want to run. She eyed his jacket and tan combat boots. She could outrun him. That thought comforted her. Instead of running, she leaned into Cameron, glad he’d arrived when he did.

  The muscle in Cameron’s jaw clenched under his five o’clock shadow. “What are you up to now?”

  Addie didn’t miss the way Cameron phrased his question. She did seem to find herself in trouble with him around.

  “I’d thought to go to the library, but Dexter was nice enough to inform me that it was closed.”

  “It’s almost seven. They closed at six.”

  Addie squeezed his side. “So, I’ve been told.”

  Dexter crossed his arms. “I asked Addie out to dinner with me. Thought I could help her get over her recent break-up.”

  Cameron’s body tensed even more. Dexter couldn’t have noticed it, but Addie felt it. Every muscle turned rock hard. She laid a hand on his chest, her fingers rubbing over the soft flannel.

  “I told him that I’d started seeing someone.”

  “Oh.” Cameron’s eyes widened. Yeah. She knew he wouldn’t appreciate that. Keeping things “low-key” vanished with that statement.

  Dexter crossed his arms. “Are you two together?”

  “We, well…” He looked down at Addie.

  Dang. Could the man not pretend to be her boyfriend to give her an easy excuse?

  Apparently not since he seemed…panicked?

  Fine. Cameron didn’t have to pretend to be her boyfriend. She could face Dexter one-on-one and tell him she wasn’t interested. She dropped her arm from around Cameron’s waist, but he snatched her hand at the last moment before she stepped away.

  “It’s pretty new,” he said in a robotic voice. No way Dexter actually believed him. “I didn’t want to let the entire town know.”

  Dexter’s lips quirked to the side in a humorless smile. “Small town gossip. Yeah. Ruth told me all about that last girlfriend, Jennifer.”

  Addie looked down at the rutted, gravel parking log. Jennifer was his ex-fiancé, and.…

  That was it. She still didn’t know about Jennifer.

  After another utterly awkward pause, Dexter scoffed. “I guess Addie wasn’t included in the loop on that juicy bit of gossip. Ruth said it was quite a scene when she dumped you in the middle of the diner.”

  She snapped her gaze to his. That was it. He could slither back under whatever rock he came from. She took a step. “Look here, you—”

  Cameron’s heavy hands landed on her shoulders, abruptly ending her next word. He yanked her back to his chest. “I hope you enjoy your dinner.” He slowly rubbed up and down her arms before he added, “Alone.”

  Dexter shrugged, but his eyes darkened. Addie didn’t care if he was offended. Who was he to stick his nose into their not-real relationship?

  “See you around.” Dexter winked at Addie. This time, Cameron’s chest rumbled with one of his deep growls. At least he was aiming that temper toward someone else for a change.

  Cameron didn’t release her, even after Dexter disappeared down the street into the diner.

  She twisted to face him. “Tell me about Jennifer.”

  “I’m not discussing Jennifer with you. Besides, you’re not going to swing this back around to me. What were you doing here alone with him?”

  “I think I deserve to know about Jennifer. Even the creepy guy knows about it. All I’ve heard is that you’re ‘better off without her’ and ‘she was your fiancé,’ and now I hear that she dumped you in public.” She didn’t want the gossip from all the people in Statem. She wanted the truth from him.

  “I’m not talking about Jennifer. She’s gone. It’s over. Nothing else to know. Now, explain to me why you were standing in an empty parking lot with Dexter O’Brady.”

  “I told you, I was going to the library.”

  “You were going to the library? I’m not stupid, Addie. You wouldn’t come into town to go to the library.”

  “Hey, girls like me go to libraries. I’m not dumb. I do care about things beyond my hair and nails.”

  He tilted her chin up. “Let’s settle something right here. I will never insinuate that you are not the smartest person in the room. I thought that when you were fifteen and nothing has changed. Except, now, I’m allowed to kiss you.”

  How would he have known? She was invisible back then. “You didn’t even know I existed at fifteen.”

  “Yes, I did.” He ran a finger down her cheek, leaving a trail of heat. “You were so damn kissable in those big glasses. You walked around with this look about you like you knew something everyone else in the room didn’t. And you probably did since you were surrounded by a bunch of teenage football players. A few of them took notice, too. I knocked a guy out for saying something inappropriate about you.”

  She swallowed, her mouth feeling dry. “You…you did?” His revelation kicked her back a step. He’d liked her? She’d spent hours dreaming about him, hoping he noticed her that summer, and he had?

  He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“You were jail bait with me already eighteen. Better yet, touching you was a death sentence if I even considered it with the way Trevor protected you, but don’t say I didn’t notice. The only time I got up enough courage to talk to you was that week before I left.” He nodded, his voice softened a touch. “Now, tell me, why did you come to town? For real this time.”

  She glanced up at the security camera. “The thief shows up on the cameras around this part of the town more than any other.”

  “You’ve still been working the case?”

  “Yes.” She waited for him to scold her, but he didn’t. Good. The quicker she got the case figured out, the faster she could get back to bringing down Sunflower.

  “You could have waited for me. I’d have come with you.”

  She lifted a shoulder, hoping it wasn’t a big deal to him. “I didn’t think about waiting. I thought I could try and move the camera to the right.” She pointed to the one she’d noticed. “I wanted to see how high it was. Figure out if I needed a ladder—”

  “How many cameras have you accessed, Addie?”

  “I’ve found nine systems. Most were useless, but that one”—she pointed to the courthouse camera—“catches him. It’s a shot in the dark that he’s using this parking lot.”

  He pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. That simple, sweet move made her want more than their short time together. He’d be a great boyfriend. As soon as he stopped trying to arrest her.

  “Why are you so determined to solve this? Most people don’t go running toward the danger.”

  Addie swallowed, her face growing warmer.

  His shoulders drooped. “You’re hiding something again.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “I can tell.”

  She pressed her lips together. After years of keeping her job a secret, had she finally found someone she could have faith enough to confide in?

  “You don’t trust me, do you?”

  “It’s not exactly that.” She took a deep breath. “There’s a legal issue.”

  Her chest tightened. She did trust him. The confidentiality clause with White Rabbit included a monetary penalty and being kicked out of the organization. The idea of getting kicked out hurt more than losing the money.