“Of course you do. I’m your friendly Uncle Ankles. I’m sure Nicholas must have told you all about me.” He advanced casually, and Emma backed toward the printer. “Didn’t he, Ms. Reid? I’ll bet Nicholas positively spilled his guts to your pretty face.”
“I don’t know anything,” she whispered. “Please leave. You’re trespassing.”
“Don’t you?” Ankles kept coming, and she moved back further, past the printer. “You’re here so late on a Saturday night. What could you be doing? Surely there isn’t so much news in this bump in the road that you’d need to work overtime. Or print out so much information.” He snatched a handful of papers and looked at them. “How fascinating,” he said. “This man you’re researching seems like a very dangerous person.”
Emma swallowed hard. “He is,” she whispered.
“Yes. He might even kill you, if he found out what you were doing here.”
Her throat went dry.
Ankles made a casual gesture, and Pinky strode toward her. “You know, Ms. Reid, I’d planned to simply shoot you and be done with it. I do still have Nicholas’ parents to use against him.” His eyes gleamed. “But now I’m afraid I’ll have to torture you first, to find out where you got all this…paper.” He threw the handful behind him. Sheets of paper seesawed through the air in a fluttering cloud. “Pinky.”
The man-mountain growled.
Emma dashed to the side, running past microfiche readers and weaving around filing cabinets. She managed to make it past Pinky—but the big man shoved a filing cabinet savagely. It fell toward her fast. She jumped, narrowly avoiding being crushed beneath it, and kept moving as fast as she could.
“Martello.”
Nick’s booming voice blanketed her like warm water. Both of the thugs froze, and she sprinted the rest of the way to join him at the far end of the room. “You were right,” she panted. “They followed me here.”
“Clever boy, Nicholas,” Ankles said dryly. “Well, I did want to keep my investment going for a while—but I suppose we’ll just have to kill you both. After we torture you, of course.”
Pinky pivoted and started toward them.
“I don’t think so,” Nick said. “You’re both under arrest.”
Ankles laughed. “Arrest? Nicholas, really. You’re just as guilty, and you know you’ll go down the moment you try to report me.” He grinned. “Even if I wasn’t going to kill you, arresting me is not an option. You’re a criminal.”
“You’re wrong,” Nick said. “I’m a pig. A flatfoot, a county mountie, out on donut patrol.”
“Excuse me?”
Nick leveled a chilling glare at him. “I’m a cop. And you’re breaking the law.”
Ankles sighed. “I’m so disappointed, Nicholas.”
Suddenly, Emma realized that Pinky was mere feet from her. She opened her mouth to shout a warning, and a huge hand clamped around her arm, yanking her back.
That was when she saw the gun in Ankles’ hand.
“Nick!” she screamed. “Run!”
He glanced at her, then at Martello. But he didn’t move. Frantic, she bucked and twisted in Pinky’s grasp, trying to jerk free and push Nick out of the way. Or jump in front of him. Anything.
The gun roared. Emma cried out and collapsed.
She barely realized that Pinky had released her. All the strength had run out of her, and she couldn’t even lift her head. They’d already tortured her beyond endurance. She’d give them any name they wanted, and beg them to send her with Nick.
“Do I have to shoot you too, or are you going to come quietly?”
That voice. It wasn’t Ankles.
Shivering all over, Emma raised her head slowly. Nick stood in front of her, alive and un-shot. Holding a gun of his own at Pinky, who’d lifted his hands in surrender.
And the bloody, motionless heap beside the printer was Ankles Martello.
“Nick!” Sobbing, she struggled to her feet. She wanted to go to him, hold him tight—but now probably wasn’t a good time, since he was in the middle of an arrest. “You have a gun, too.”
He smirked. “Of course I do. I’m a deputy.”
“Um.” She shivered and looked at Ankles. “Is he dead?”
“He threatened a law officer. Deadly force was authorized.” Nick cast a glance at her. “More importantly, he threatened the woman this law officer loves. And so did you…Kurtis.”
The big man flinched. “Don’t shoot.”
The warble of sirens rose from outside, and Nick gestured sharply. “Walk to the front door,” he said. “Keep your hands up.”
Pinky walked.
Emma followed them several steps behind, and hung back as Nick led the thug out to a small tangle of squad cars and uniformed men. Two of them ushered Pinky into the back of a car. It sank so low, she thought the front end would pop off the ground. But they managed to drive away with the big man.
Nick spent several minutes talking to a tall, uniformed man with a brown cowboy-style hat. She guessed that was the sheriff. Some of them started drifting inside to take care of the body, so she moved out of the way and sat on the bench near the Banner’s entrance. She was exhausted, still shaking—and so happy she could burst.
They’d done it.
Emma was nodding off when someone sat beside her and said, “Sorry about your big story.”
She shook herself and smiled at Nick. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve got a better one.”
“Yeah?”
“Way better.” She held her hands up, as if framing a headline. “Best Deputy in Covendale Nabs Crime Boss, Saves Reporter’s Life.”
“Is that what happened?” He drew her to him. “Because I’m pretty sure you saved mine.”
“We saved each other,” she said.
“That works for me.”
He kissed her with gentle, teasing slowness, until she burned with desire. “Hey,” she said breathlessly. “Know anybody with a hot tub?”
“I just happen to know a guy,” he said. “Emma…let’s go home.”
Nothing had ever sounded so good.
More books by Morgan Blaze
COWBOY’S PRIDE
Welcome to Covendale: Book 1
Available now from Amazon
SOLDIER’S CHOICE
Welcome to Covendale: Book 2
Available now from Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
About the Author
Morgan Blaze writes contemporary romance with a dash of heat. She enjoys summer storms, good coffee, and hanging out with family and friends.
Visit www.morganblaze.com for more books by Morgan Blaze, and to sign up for the newsletter—you’ll be notified when the latest monthly releases are available, and enjoy special early sales on brand new titles.
If you enjoyed Deputy’s Secret, please leave a review on Amazon and let everyone know what you think!
About the Welcome to Covendale Series
Small towns are the heart of America. Like every other small town, Covendale looks peaceful from the outside—but there are all sorts of things going on beneath the surface. Love and loss, friendships and rivalries, secrets and lies, long-time alliances and bitter feuds going back for generations. And most of all, passion.
Welcome to Covendale…the town right next door to yours. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in for an emotional ride you won’t forget.
Boring Copyright Information
Copyright © 2014 by Morgan Blaze
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author / publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Deputy’s Secret
> Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
More books by Morgan Blaze
Deputy's Secret (Welcome to Covendale Book 3) Page 11
