Something About a Sheriff (Wild West Book 2)

by Em Petrova

  “I want a lawyer,” Audrey screamed, getting to her feet. Jake lurched out of the chair too.

  Judd, Aiden and a man who could only be their cousin all laid hands on the weapons on their hips. Jake swayed, and Cecily realized he’d been drinking. Apparently it was a theme in this man’s life.

  She didn’t recall moving, but suddenly she pushed past Judd and slammed the heels of her hands into Jake’s chest. They stung from the blow, but she didn’t get an opportunity to hit him again, because Judd picked her up.

  He carried her several feet away and said in a cold voice, “Stay there.”

  Like she was his dog? Telling her in the bedroom to stay on her knees or not to move was one thing, but this was real life, not fantasy role-playing. Anger heated her cheeks and made her throat constrict.

  She dodged Judd and ran back to Jake, who rocked on his feet but didn’t fall. “Why did you rob me? Better yet, why try to destroy everything I worked for? You wanted to drive me out of Bracken. Why?”

  “Get. Back. To. The. Truck,” Judd said tightly.

  She barely registered his deep tone as she went after Jake again.

  “Dammit, Amaryllis. How did you get wind of this?” Aiden asked. “I’m gonna have to handcuff you, aren’t I? Let us handle this.” His voice, so like Judd’s, broke through Cecily’s haze of anger.

  She turned to look at the men. A streak of movement from the corner of her eye had her whirling to see Audrey taking off on foot.

  Wes nabbed Audrey and whipped her off her feet.

  “Lawyer!” Audrey screamed until the hairs on Cecily’s neck prickled, followed by a torrent of cuss words volleying from her mouth. She kicked at Wes’s shins, the blows affecting him as much as a fly’s kick.

  “Let me go!”

  “That’s enough!” A pudgy man in a plaid hunting jacket yelled. Everyone ignored him.

  “You will calm down and stand here like a lady or you will find yourself hog-tied on the ground,” Wes said in a slow, even tone.

  Judd faced Jake, legs braced wide and his arms folded over his chest as if he was about to shoot the breeze with the man. Cecily took a step in their direction, and Judd threw out an arm to barricade her.

  She glared up at him.

  “Stay outta this.”

  “Stay outta this?” Her voice was a lethal slice. “This man is responsible for all the trouble I’ve had with my spa!”

  She has a right to face the man about a crime committed against her,” Amaryllis defended.

  “Both of you, leave,” Judd and Aiden said together. The twin thing would be spooky if Cecily hadn’t been so furious.

  Jake wobbled and then sat down hard on the snow-covered bank. The sizzle of snowflakes hitting the flames seemed much louder to Cecily’s hearing. Everything was amplified—the darkness, the coldness in Judd’s tone. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

  The rest of the group of people gathered here was on their feet, clustered away from Audrey and Jake. The man in the hunting jacket, who must be Audrey’s father, hung somewhere in the middle as if torn whether to stay out of it or support his daughter.

  Judd slanted a hard stare at Cecily, but she planted her boots, held her ground.

  He sent her a look that said he’d deal with her later and she may not like it very much.

  “Where were you on the night of October the twenty-eighth?” Judd asked Jake.

  Jake looked up, hatred twisting his features. “Ask your momma.”

  A growl sounded from Aiden.

  “Now you’ve done it.” Wes’s tone was nothing but amused.

  “You will answer my questions seriously or you will be taken in under suspicion.”

  “I don’t know where I was on that date. Who can remember these things?” Jake snapped.

  “Miss Howard, where were you on that date?” Judd turned his attention to the woman Wes held.

  She jerked her face away. “Lawyer,” she said again, like a little girl demanding candy.

  “You can’t question her, Roshannon. You have nothing against her,” her father said.

  “I have hospital records that you took Audrey into the ER for a couple stitches on the same night as Cecily’s shop was broken into the first time. How did she receive a cut like that?”

  Cecily felt tears well—angry, cold tears. The icy wind braced her, and she glared at the woman who’d seemingly tricked her into believing she was a loyal client all these weeks. All those times Audrey had come in for services, had been so nice… Hell, she’d been Cecily’s very first paying customer!

  “This isn’t a court of law and we refuse to answer your questions!” Audrey struggled against Wes, who seemed bored as he restrained her.

  “You had all the reason in the world to want Cecily to close her spa. So you could get your daddy to build you one of your own on that piece of ground. Right, Audrey?” Judd continued.

  Cecily gasped at the information being tossed around. Audrey had wanted a day spa of her own, but Cecily had beat her to it. Every word the woman had uttered seemed twisted and darkened with an ulterior motive.

  “You scoped out my place and knew where everything was kept. You knew that door could be forced!”

  “You have nothing on me, Cecily,” Audrey spat.

  “When you didn’t keep me from opening my doors again, you got Jake in as your muscle.”

  “Maybe you have a career in law enforcement, Cecily,” Aiden said.

  Judd sent him a look that silenced him—for now. Aiden stood back with Amaryllis protectively in his arms, listening to the exchange.

  Cecily took a step toward Audrey, and she let out a piercing shriek. Wes dug his finger into his ear and shook it. “Damn, woman, you got a set of pipes on you. But if you’re smart, you’ll shut up.”

  “How did you know my passcode to open that lock?” Cecily demanded.

  “Don’t take another step closer to her.” Judd locked a hand on Cecily’s upper arm, holding her back. She wanted to curl around the heat of his touch, even as she wanted to shake free and tell him off for ordering her to stay out of something that completely concerned her. It was her livelihood—her life.

  “Lawyer,” Audrey muttered.

  “Wait—you were on the street that day. You walked behind me while I was keying in the code. You saw it and used it.”

  “Everybody knows you should shield people from seeing the numbers you enter.” It wasn’t an admission, but Audrey wasn’t saying much more right now.

  Judd used his chest to force Cecily back a few steps. “Go back to the truck and get inside.”

  She shook her head, and his dark gaze drilled into her for a heartbeat. Her submissive side, so new to this game, wanted to buckle under that stare, but she just couldn’t walk away. They weren’t in the bedroom right now.

  Judd issued a low growl and turned to nudge Jake with the toe of his boot. “Jake, get on your feet, you sorry piece of shit.”

  Jake slumped as if passed out. But the minute Judd reached for his arm to haul him to his feet, Jake swung. His fist glanced off Judd’s ear. Everything was a blur of firelight and snowflakes as Judd flipped Jake face down and rammed his knee into his back as he cuffed him.

  “I’m going to read your Miranda, and if you’re smart you’ll shut your goddamn mouth. You’re looking at assaulting an officer and public drunkenness even if you weren’t involved with the breaking and entering. But tell me, Jake, how did you cut that security camera line without detection of any other cameras on the street?”

  Cecily’s eyes flared wide. Security cameras?

  * * * * *

  Damn, now Judd had stuck his boot square in his mouth and Cecily was looking at him like she didn’t know him.

  As he hauled Jake up out of the valley to his waiting SUV, he tossed glances over his shoulder to ensure Cecily got out safely. She walked a few steps behind, not speaking, staring at her footing. Or trying to avoid looking at him?

  When he got her alone, he was goin
g to turn her over his knee for risking herself that way. Dammit.

  He didn’t blame her one bit for being angry. Not only had he failed to tell her about the security cameras, but he’d completely brushed her off when he’d come home to find her wearing an apron.

  All that warm, touchable skin begging for his hands. He’d stopped in to make sure she was safe for the night and barely kept himself from picking her up and carrying her to his bed. Stretching her out beneath him and doing all the things he wanted to her. But he’d been on a mission.

  Now he was in the doghouse and needed to dig himself out. But first, he needed to interrogate Audrey and Jake as an accomplice.

  Cecily was throwing him looks that he couldn’t read.

  He cuffed Jake securely in the back seat and Wes took Audrey. Cecily paused at the passenger’s door, looking toward another truck.

  “Wait—is that how you and Cecily got here?” Aiden asked Amaryllis.

  She nodded, a wide, unapologetic smile on her face.

  “Whose truck is that?” Aiden walked up to the back to look more closely at the plates in the darkness. “Is that our neighbor’s?”

  “I couldn’t get my truck started. I swear you’ve done something to the starter or keep disconnecting the battery,” Amaryllis shot back.

  “Would you wonder if I did? Jesus, woman, you’re pregnant and out speeding all over the countryside apprehending criminals when it isn’t even your case.”

  Judd turned away from the couple just as Aiden muttered, “I’m so spanking your ass for this.”

  Let them work it out themselves. Judd had his own mess to deal with in one little brunette staring at him as though zen was the furthest thing from her mind. Her eyes glittered in the darkness and her hands were balled at her sides.

  He closed the driver’s door to keep their “passenger” from overhearing and came around to Cecily. He caught her hands and enclosed her icy fists in his warm ones.

  Looking into her eyes, he said, “I’ll explain after we get him to the jail. I’m asking you to get in my vehicle.”

  He waited to see if she’d listen to him or if she walked out. Just like Cassie.

  “You’d better, Judd Roshannon. Though I don’t know what you can possibly do or say to make this right.”

  “Look, I should have told you about having a security camera installed on your premises.”

  To her surprise, she said, “I don’t care about that. If I’d known, I would have argued with you about paying for it myself. But it was only smart business, and you were protecting me.”

  He shook his head. “Then what is all this about?”

  “You think you can order me around out here? In the bedroom, yes. I’ll do whatever you ask, but not—”

  He gripped her upper arms, pulling her onto tiptoes, and slammed his mouth over hers. For a long minute, he took control, feeling her resistance fade away and tremors rise in its place.

  He let her heels touch the ground again. “Please get in,” he said quietly.

  She climbed into the passenger’s seat and didn’t look back at Jake once during their drive back to Bracken. She snorted. “The man actually said please. Better tell Echo you can teach an old dog new tricks,” she muttered.

  He hid his smile.

  Chapter Twelve

  By the time they reached the sheriff’s office, Jake started to sober up. Which meant he was pretty damn resistant when Judd tried to get him out of the SUV.

  “You’re not taking me to jail! You’ve got nothing on me! I didn’t do anything!” He tried to rip the cuffs off himself. Blood welled on his wrists, and Judd threw a look at Cecily.

  “Go on inside. Troyer’s in there.”

  She blinked at him but didn’t speak. Judd felt that silence to the marrow of his bones. The entire ride to the office, the ring in his pocket had been blazing hot, a reminder that he was in love with her and how bad he’d messed up. Giving her a reason not to trust him was the stupidest thing he’d ever done, and he had no excuses.

  Except he was a bossy fucker, and he liked being in charge. But that just sounded worse.

  The handcuffs were locked to a bar bolted to the floor, and Jake seemed determined to rip it out. With just enough alcohol in his system to give him the Superman complex, he was doing real damage to himself.

  “Stop! Don’t move again or I’ll have to knock you out for your own good.” Judd registered that Cecily had walked into the building. At least she was safe.

  A minute later, Troyer came out and peeked into the truck. “Hey, I know this ugly face. Drunk again, are ya, Jake, good buddy?”

  Jake let out a guttural growl.

  “Somethin’ like that plus a question about a little B&E. Help me get him out. The stupid fuck’s determined to rip his hands off at the wrists.” Blood trickled down his forearms and wet the cuffs of his jacket.

  Between him and Troyer, they wrestled the big guy out of the SUV and forced him to walk inside. When they entered, Judd spotted Cecily in the corner, doing something he couldn’t see. At that minute, Jake tried to round on him, and he squeezed a pressure point on his shoulder that made the guy howl.

  Cecily looked up and she and Judd locked gazes. Across the room, he could see she was upset. Her lips were swollen from working her teeth over them. His cock reacted with a brief jerk behind his fly before Jake forced his attention again when he tried to sit down on the floor.

  “Dammit, get up.” Judd wanted to kick the shit out of him for keeping him from Cecily.

  A second later, Wes entered with Audrey.

  “What the hell’re you looking at, bitch?” Audrey spat at Cecily.

  “Don’t speak to her or I’ll have you gagged,” Judd ordered the woman. Damn, this whole night was turning into a fucking mess. If only he’d drawn Cecily into his arms, untied those apron strings… He could have caught these two criminals at any time—they’d been hiding in plain sight, too cocky to believe they’d be found out. But Judd had only seen red once he discovered who was breaking in to the spa.

  He propelled Jake forward again. “Get your ass in the room.”

  After half an hour of fingerprints and mug shots—“It’s time for your photo shoot, Miss Howard”—Judd had both of them secured in cells. Troyer stood to the side, a toothpick twitching in the corner of his lips.

  “I’ll give them the instructions on using the toilets inside their cells, boss. You go on.”

  Judd grunted and turned to Wes. They bro-hugged. “Thanks for your help, man. I’ll be in touch.”

  “You know I’m always here for backup.” Wes turned and left through the fire exit door.

  Judd went into the front room where he’d left Cecily. When he entered, he expected to find her gone, having walked the few blocks to her apartment. Instead, she was carrying a small potted tree across the room.

  He stopped and glanced around. She had furniture moved and objects scattered. The clock was off the wall and lay on Birdie’s desk.

  Judd scratched his head. “What the hell’re you doin’?”

  Cecily turned her back on him and set the tree along one wall a few feet from a window. “Feng Shui. This place has terrible energy.”

  “Christ, woman. You believe in that hocus pocus about placement of objects?”

  She straightened, eyes flashing his way. “I do. It helped me improve my business. Right after my sister suggested I try it in my shop, I rearranged and people started pouring in.”

  The corner of his lips quirked. “Let’s go get a pizza. Take it back to my place.”

  “No thanks. I had a shake earlier while I was waiting for you to come home.” The snapping tone of her voice told him she wasn’t quite over his dismissal of her earlier. Who could blame her?

  “One of those gluten-free wheat shakes?”

  “That doesn’t make any sense at all. Do you hear yourself? If it’s gluten-free, it can’t have wheat, Judd. Besides, I don’t do gluten-free—well, not all the time. The shake was wheat germ.”


  “So, bird food. Suet.”

  “It’s called fiber. You could use a little.” She muttered something about being uptight.

  He shook his head and started wending his way around the shifted furniture—chairs sticking out in the middle of nowhere next to filing cabinets a woman of her size shouldn’t have even been able to budge. Birdie was going to flip out when she came in for her shift.

  Cecily plastered herself against a desk and threw him a look. “What are you doing?”

  “Coming after you. Don’t resist arrest, baby doll.”

  Was it his imagination or had her eyelids lowered at his words?

  Bolstered by the possibility, he continued toward her. A tendril of dark hair tumbled into her eye and she shook it back. The move shouldn’t give him a total hard-on, but he was aching. Each step he took toward her cramped his swollen dick.

  “Judd.”

  “Come home with me, Cecily. We have things to say to each other.”

  Her mouth popped open on a sigh.

  “You know, I’ll never get over seeing you shove a man who’s twice your weight. Thought I’d have a stroke there and then.”

  “You don’t think I’m capable of handling myself?”

  He reached for her, curling his fingers lightly around her upper arms and pulling her closer to look down into her eyes. “I can’t explain it fully, Cecily, but I want to wrap you up and put you in a safe place. Protect you, keep you happy always.”

  She searched his eyes. “That’s crazy.”

  He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “That’s love.”

  Her mouth worked for a second before words emitted. “You… love me?”

  He gave a single nod. “I do. In fact, I’m so in love with you, that I’ve thrown out all my beliefs about relationships and what they mean for me.”

  “I don’t understand.” Her voice was a whispered rasp.

  “After my ex cheated and swindled everything I had, I figured love wasn’t for me. I’d never find a good woman, a genuine one. And I definitely could never, ever show her that side of me that you’ve seen.” He lowered his voice until he was whispering too.