Slow and Steady 1

by J. H. Croix

“Again, Maclin. I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not the boss. I only know what my instructions from the Chief are. He doesn’t consult me on the assignments he hands out to other people.”

  “Maybe.” Maclin turned, studying me intently. “Let’s accept Harris did tell Taylor to take the files for fear of them going missing from the evidence room. Who in this station has motive to steal those files?”

  Dropping my chin, I raised my brows. “You think I have motive to want them. Why is that? I was there during the trial. My brother was the prosecutor. I already know all there is to know about this case. If I wanted to know anything else, I could just ask Tyson. Or my dad.”

  “Yes.” He smoothed out his tie, gaze remaining on mine. “I thought you might say that, but I’ve been around Cypress Creek for a little while now. I know you don’t go visit your father, and I highly doubt your brother would put his job in jeopardy to give you legally privileged information.”

  Rage tore through my gut, but this wasn’t the time. Shackling my anger, I took a slow breath before I spoke. “As far as I know, I’m not actually being accused of, or charged, with anything. If you keep following me, I will file for harassment against you. I’ve tolerated your borderline stalking me in the spirit of cooperation, but dragging my relationship with my father and whether I visit him or not into this is personal. It goes way beyond anything you can reasonably justify as requiring cooperation.”

  Maclin put his hands up, palms toward me. “You mentioned you could simply ask your father. I was only making an observation that you couldn’t, not if you don’t go see him.”

  “And whether or not I do is none of your business.” I was teetering on the edge of my control. I needed to rein it in, pronto. Easier said than done.

  Taking a breath, I glared at Maclin. “Let’s look at the facts. You found the files in Zach’s car. The Chief has given you an explanation. You dragged me in here after following me around for weeks for what? Speculation that if the Chief was correct about someone in the department wanting access to the files, that that person must’ve been me? That’s a stretch, Maclin. And you know it.”

  A vein in his temple throbbed, and his swallow was audible in the small room. I wasn’t the only one struggling to contain myself. Allowing that knowledge to calm me, I walked to the door. “Do you have any further questions for me?”

  “We’re done here,” Maclin practically snarled, crossing to the door himself and yanking it open. He stormed out. I took a minute to regain my composure, gulping in several deep breaths of air and raking my hands through my hair before I followed him out.

  Unfortunately, Maclin used the time to do the same thing. As I emerged from the interrogation room, he was standing at the end of the short hall opening up to the common area. The ass looked as smug and unshakable as ever, but I knew I’d rattled him. That was something.

  I brushed past him, fists at my sides and my eyes trained on a clock mounted on the opposite wall. But Maclin wasn’t having it.

  As I passed him, he cleared his throat. “One last thing, Lovett. Your precious friend Mr. Taylor is safe for now, but rest assured that I will find out what is going on in this station. No one is getting their hands on those files.”

  “Good for you,” I said, my jaw tight and teeth gritted.

  I started to walk away from him when he added. “Oh. Also, you don’t need to go back to the library to see your little girlfriend again either. She doesn’t need to be involved in all this.”

  Stopping in my tracks, Yates’s warning replayed in my mind. Almost exactly the same as Maclin’s, down to the assumption that Niki was my girlfriend, not just a friend, or the librarian, and the warning not to involve her.

  “What did you say?” Turning slowly to face him, my eyes narrowed and my muscles tensed. Wayne is behind all this.

  Damn. I wanted to drag him back into that interrogation room and get to the bottom of this bullshit. Maclin and Yates both knew what was going on with my father’s case. They were involved somehow. I knew it despite having no proof other than a similar warning.

  Maclin brushed an imaginary piece of lint from his suit and gave me a twisted, fake smile. “Just making a comment in passing. She seems like a nice girl, Lovett. Don’t drag her into things she doesn’t belong in.”

  Taking a step closer to him, a shiver of satisfaction ran through me when he shied back, nostrils flaring. “I’m not involving anyone in anything. Stay away from me.”

  Maclin opened his mouth but closed it again. He tried stepping back from me, but he was against the wall. Cornered, a glint of malice crept into his eyes as he spat out. “Just some friendly advice. Take it or leave it.”

  Walk away, Sonny. Getting into a fight over his thinly veiled threats wasn’t going to get me anywhere but suspended. Maybe even fired.

  Maclin and I stared each other down for another beat before I turned. Thank fuck the rational part of my brain won the battle in my mind for the moment. Returning to my office, I grabbed my keys and didn’t stop walking until I reached my truck, except to duck my head into Harris’s office to tell him I was taking the rest of the day off.

  Niki. Warnings from both Yates and Maclin about her told me I needed to protect her. By looking into this, she was already involved. Hell, I’d inadvertently gotten her involved that first day I walked into the public library. Wayne was following me even then.

  There was no fucking way I’d let them hurt an innocent woman on the assumption I cared about her. I wouldn’t put it past them. I might not have known precisely what was going on, but my father was in prison, and my family had been ripped apart by the trial they’d put him through. I wouldn’t allow Niki to become collateral damage.

  Barely sticking to the speed limit, I raced to the library. Thankfully, Niki was alone when I got there.

  She was sitting behind that big wooden desk of hers, her braided hair over one shoulder. She chewed on a pencil, staring intently at the screen.

  Smiling when she looked up to see me rushing toward her, her expression turned to concern and then to worry as I stopped in front of her. “Are you okay, Sonny? You don’t look so good,” she said by way of greeting.

  I didn’t feel so good, but I didn’t matter right now. “You need to come with me.”

  “Okay.” She frowned. “I’ll come meet you at the table in a minute, let me just—”

  “No, I don’t mean to do research here in the library. I mean, I need you to come with me. Can you lock up early?”

  Glancing at her watch, confusion was etched into her features when she lifted her eyes to mine. “I guess. I really shouldn’t unless it’s important. What’s going on?”

  “I’ll explain everything later, I promise. We just need to get out of here.”

  She pushed to her feet slowly, almost like she was in a daze. “Okay, fine. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Niki

  “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Sonny waited impatiently for me to lock up, his eyes darting all over the nearly empty parking lot and down the sidewalk. “There’s nothing there but trees. What’s going on?”

  “We’ll talk in the truck. I’m fine.” If he meant fine as in handsome as all hell, I could totally agree. Fine definitely didn’t describe his emotional state. I wouldn’t kid myself that I knew him well, but anyone would be able to see he was most definitely not fine. “How many locks does a library need, anyway?”

  “Well, there’s the deadbolt and the—” I trailed off, noticing his agitation. “Oh. You just need me to hurry. Right.”

  “Thanks,” he said. Staying close by my side, he led me down the stairs to his truck parked out front once I’d finished locking up. He opened the door, holding out his hand to help me in.

  A part of me wanted to take it, just to be able to touch him. But I knew that would be a mistake. I was attracted to him enough as it was, the last thing I needed was to touch him again. Seeing as looking at him fired me up, touching, no matter ho
w casual, wouldn’t help matters. There was also the plain fact that I didn’t actually need help getting into the truck.

  “I got it. Thanks.” I hopped in, reaching for the door, but Sonny was already closing it.

  He jogged around the front of the truck, his eyes still flitting around the lot. Sliding into the driver’s seat, his gaze finally met mine. “I’m sorry about all this. It must be freaking you out, but I’ll answer all your questions now.”

  “I’m not freaking out,” I fibbed. I was a little concerned, yes. Well, maybe more than a little concerned. Answers would help. “Did something happen?”

  “Nothing definitive,” he said, backing out of the parking space. Then he sighed. “I’m really sorry for getting you involved in this. I knew better. This is my fault. I take full responsibility.”

  “Back up there, cowboy.” Whoa. Where did that come from? Deciding to roll with my newfound confidence and ease, I turned in my seat to face him.

  His entire posture was rigid—shoulders tight, spine stiff, his jaw tight with a muscle ticking in his cheek.

  For a fleeting second, my breath caught. Nose as straight and strong as an arrow, high cheekbones. Wisps of dark hair curling only slightly at his ears.

  He’d been blessed in the looks department. Muscles flexed in his arms as he drove us out of the parking lot, the material of his shirt stretching just a little. His hands were tanned and strong, his veins barely perceptible blue lines that threaded from his hands into forearms defined with muscle and tendon.

  He glanced over at me, catching me in the act of nearly eating him up with my eyes. Heat crept onto my cheeks, but he didn’t mention it.

  “Okay. Backing up,” he agreed, nodding as he flicked his turn signal. “So the other day, that guy from Internal Affairs was at the library. You know the one I’m talking about?”

  “Of course.”

  “I think he’s corrupt.” Sonny turned onto Main Street, continuously checking the rearview mirror. “He’s running an investigation in town, but I think it may be a cover.”

  I was having the same thoughts about the man being up to something. I’d told Karen as much when I stayed over at her place, but hearing Sonny say the words sent a shudder through me. My life didn’t consist of this kind of thing.

  Corrupt government officials, cover-ups. I read about these things. I didn’t get involved in them. “Okay, what does that have to do with either of us?”

  He sighed, resting his elbow on his window as he drummed his fingers on his steering wheel. “A couple of months ago, I started wondering about my dad’s case.”

  “Makes sense.” If either of my parents were still alive and sitting in prison, I would also have been curious about their cases. Kids are genetically predisposed to thinking our parents are the best.

  Our heroes. At least, that was what it was like for me. I would’ve had a really hard time believing my parents had done anything heinous. I could only imagine it was the same for Sonny.

  Blowing out a breath, the corner of his mouth hitched up. “You’re one of the first people who thinks it does. Even my own brothers think I’m crazy to be looking into it.”

  “Maybe you are, but I can understand the urge,” I admitted. “Moving on, I already knew you were looking into your father’s case, but what does Internal Affairs want with you because of that? Also, where are we going?”

  “My place,” he answered without hesitating. “It’s safe there.”

  “Safe from what?” I asked, exasperation starting to set in. He promised answers, but they were taking a really long time.

  “Whoever may be after us.” He made a sudden turn, glimpsing into his mirror again before looking back at me. “I know it sounds vague, but I honestly don’t know everyone involved in this. The bottom line is that I think my father may be innocent. I started digging, as you know, and people don’t like it. I went to the address you found, the one for the small company where most of the money disappeared from. Get this, it’s the address of the cemetery.”

  “The cemetery?” I blurted out, eyebrows lifting. Like most people, I hated the cemetery. “As in, the Cypress Creek Cemetery?”

  “That’s the one. Yates, the groundskeeper, gave me this really weird warning before I left. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions directly, but then he told me to keep you out of this. The Internal Affairs guy gave me the same warning this morning.”

  A shiver ran down my spine at the mention of the creepy groundskeeper. Yates was the big reason I hardly ever visited my parents’ graves. The man was a massive creeper. “That’s why you think that Maclin guy is corrupt?”

  “Yeah,” he said, turning onto his street. “What are the chances he gives me the exact warning, using almost the same words, as the one guy who lives at the address where that company we know is involved with my father’s case is listed?”

  “Same words?”

  He nodded. “Yup, damn close. I think my father was the fall guy for whatever is going on in town.”

  There was so much to absorb. I couldn’t quite take in that anyone would warn Sonny to keep me out of this. All I’d done was look a few things up online, nothing anyone who knew where to look couldn’t do. “You don’t think your father was guilty at all?”

  It was the biggest trial our town had ever seen. All the evidence was recounted by every publication on a daily basis during the trial. I might’ve told Karen I didn’t think the man was all bad, but I also didn’t think he was completely innocent.

  “I’m not saying that. All I’m saying is there’s more behind what happened and what’s going on. I can feel it.”

  “I think there’s something fishy too, but Sonny—” How did I say this without sounding like a jerk? “Just because there may or may not be something else going on in town that overlaps with one address linked to your father’s case doesn’t mean he’s innocent.”

  “I know.” He came to a stop outside his house, shutting down the engine. Before he got out of the truck, he ran his hands through his hair and turned to face me for the first time since we’d gotten into the truck. “I’m not getting my hopes up. I just want answers. There are too many questions for me to walk away.”

  Allowing a smile to slip free, I nodded. “Then we don’t walk away.”

  “There is no we,” he said firmly, yanking at his door handle and hopping out of the truck. Indignation colored my cheeks. Geez. I knew he wasn’t interested in me in that way. What I meant was we in the research partner sense of the word.

  Before I could clarify, he opened the passenger door and offered me his help along with an apologetic grin. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. What I wanted to say is that you shouldn’t lump yourself in with me on this. You shouldn’t get involved more than you already are. It was really stupid of me to involve you, but I did. Now I just want to make sure you’re safe until all this is over.”

  I paused, letting him help me out of the truck because my knees suddenly felt shaky. “What do mean ‘keep me safe’?”

  Closing his fingers around mine, he looked into my eyes. Oh boy. I was right before—I never should have let him touch me. His skin was warm and smooth, his grip firm and his gaze unwavering. Electricity zapped through me, and my thoughts fuzzed out.

  Then he knocked my feet right out from under me. “I want you to stay with me until I know you’re safe.”

  “Stay here?” I stammered, feeling lightheaded. Sonny pulled me closer to him. Just an inch or two, presumably to steady me, but for a second it felt like reflex. Like he also couldn’t help but feel the same powerful physical pull I did. “With you? In your house?”

  Nodding, he placed a hand at my elbow and walked with me to his front door. Unlocking it quickly, he let us in and shut it behind us again. Then he put some much-needed distance between us. “Yes. I would like you to stay with me here. For your safety.”

  He tacked on the last part of his sentence after a brief pause. Almost like an afterthought. My mind spun and raced. I didn’t
know him. Not like, know him, know him. Could I stay with a man I barely knew?

  No. I couldn’t. Absolutely not. And yet—I thought back to staying the night at Karen’s, to that phone call and the terror that followed it. Maybe I could stay here. Karen would let me stay with her, sure.

  But if someone really was after me, I didn’t want them going to her apartment to find me. Truth be told, if they did, what could Karen and I do? Disarm them with wit and humor?

  “Where would I sleep?” I couldn’t believe I was even considering this, but I was.

  “You can have my bed,” he said, motioning down the hall. “You can go have a look at the room if you’d like. I have guestrooms too, but they don’t have beds in them.”

  My eyebrows jumped. “Your bed?”

  “Sure,” he answered, shoving his hands in his pockets and lifting his shoulders in a shrug. “It’s my fault you’re involved with this. Let me keep you safe, please?”

  Scrubbing my hands over my face, I tried to come to terms with what he was offering. “Even if I did move in here, I would still have to go to work.”

  Sonny cringed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. They know where you work. That’s where they keep coming to you. I’ll call your boss tomorrow myself, ask if you could use some of your vacation time.”

  Bristling, I folded my arms. I was quiet and introverted, but I was an independent woman, thank you very much. “Fine, I could use some time off, but I’m calling my boss myself.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sonny

  Niki: I talked to my boss. I’m off work for the time being. Sincerely, Niki.

  Rereading her text, I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been half expecting her to change her mind about asking for some time off. She clearly hadn’t appreciated my offer to talk to her boss. I supposed it might’ve been a bit high-handed. Yet, we were now on round three of those assholes stopping by the library to hound her. While I’d yet to get a handle on everything that lay behind what was going on, I didn’t want to worry about her while she was there.