Emily gripped the steering wheel harder and kept quiet. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss just like me. If she was going to play this game of arresting me, then I wasn't going to make it easy for her.
We arrived at the police station and Emily took me into the basement jail where there were four cells lined up in a row. Only one other guy was down there, patrolling his cell back and forth. He was obviously still drunk. The Sheriff produced a key from her pocket and unlocked the farthest cell to the right. She proceeded to undue my handcuffs and pushed me inside the cell before locking me in.
I put my arms through the bars and rested against them. “You're going to miss me, Sheriff,” I said with a big grin.
Emily approached the jail cell until our noses almost touched. I could almost taste her mouth again. My whole body tensed up. “You can't have this,” she whispered and walked away, swaying her hips back and forth. My eyes were glued to that hot piece of ass until she was out of sight.
I resigned to the small bench that was supposed to be used for sleeping. The guy in the cell next to me kept pacing back and forth, talking to himself about mayonnaise on hot dogs. “What's your name?” I asked him.
The man stopped in his tracks and looked up. “Name's Ronnie,” he said in a perfectly normal voice. He gazed back down at the floor and started doing his laps again.
Making conversation was the easiest way to pass the time while in lockup. “I'm Caleb, what're you in for?” Even if your cell-mate was a little crazy.
Ronnie kept shaking his head and kicking his left foot. “No mayonnaise on hot dogs.”
Not going to get much out of him. I lay back on the cement bench and closed my eyes. Steps down the stairs woke me up only moments later. I sat up to see Officer Johnson come in. “Glad to see you back here, Johnson. Guess you wised up and took our advice.” Johnson was our inside guy at the police station. When he told us that he was going to quit because of the new sheriff, we told him to get back there or start digging your own grave.
“I didn't really have a choice, did I?” he replied. In his hands was a bottle of Jack Daniels. He slipped the bottle through the bars and into my hands. “Something to hold you over.”
“Much appreciated.” I unscrewed the top and took a swig. The alcohol burned so good. “Do they have anything on me, Johnson?”
“Just grasping at straws. The new Sheriff thinks she's hot shit. Has no idea how this town works.”
“Keep me posted and keep the booze flowing.”
Johnson nodded and left. I walked over to the edge of my cell and passed the bottle to Ronnie. “Take a drink, Ronnie, it might calm you down.”
Ronnie grasped the bottle with two hands and tipped it until the liquid poured into his mouth. He wiped his chin with his sleeve and handed the bottle back. “Mayonnaise tastes good.”
I took another sip. “It sure does, Ronnie.”
Chapter Twelve
Emily
I went to my office to relax and collect myself. Caleb was so fucking frustrating. He was totally right about the kiss though—it was out of this world. My ankles were still shaking just thinking about it. But I had more important things to consider, like how to make this murder stick. I went over the Black Widow and Death Merchants files to see if I had missed anything.
Moore knocked on the door and walked in. “We got the results back from the lab.”
I shut the files. “Did they find a match on that partial thumb print?”
Moore shook his head and handed me the results. No Match. I waved away Moore and tapped my forehead with a pen for ideas. My only option left was to poke holes in his alibi. Caleb said that he was at The Stinky Goat all night. Let's see what I could find there.
I pulled into the dirt lot of the Stinky Goat. It was only three in the afternoon—a little too early for drinking but the parking lot was full. This town seemed to be different than most. I walked in to find every seat filled and a haze of cigarette smoke. Didn't people have jobs? The place was beyond a shit hole, broken peanut shells covered the floor like carpet. Every step made a crunch beneath my feet. Must be the only bar in town.
I approached a couple sitting in a booth and asked if they knew Caleb Taylor. They shook their heads and I moved on. After a lot of blank stares, I went looking for the owner.
The guy behind the bar was large and looming with a face of granite. His mutton-chops didn't really match the little bit of facial hair on his chin. I squeezed my way into the bar and waved him over. “I'm looking for the owner.”
He wiped his hands with a cloth and flung it over his shoulder. “You found him.”
“You know a Caleb Taylor?”
The owner grunted and nodded, taking an empty glass and filling it with beer from the tap.
“Was he here the night before last?”
He handed me the glass of beer and I declined. The froth looked delicious but I was on on duty. “Yeah he was here along with the rest of the Black Widow MC. They were drinking and fucking all night.”
I smiled and laughed. He was obviously in with the motorcycle club. I grabbed the glass of beer and downed it. I was royally fucked.
I returned to the station with nothing. I could only hold Caleb for forty-eight hours and my time was running out. I had nothing to pin the murder on him and I knew that his MC was responsible. I went back to my office and pounded my head against the desk. Mendoza's card with his phone number was still sitting on the edge.
I grabbed it and dialed his number. Hopefully he had some advice on how to deal with this situation.
“Hello?” a groggy voice answered.
“Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. It's Emily White.”
He cleared his throat. “Nah it's fine. What can I do for you?”
I took a deep breath and explained the whole situation—the impending MC war, the murder of Garcia, and my arrest of Caleb Taylor.
“These ain't the streets of LA, Sheriff White. You don't just go and arrest one of the Presidents. The MC's rule this town. You need to learn to work with them.”
“I refuse to believe that the police have no power in this town.”
“The MC's control public opinion. If they want the town to turn on the cops then that's what will happen. Most of the folks might be scared of the bikers but they damn sure respect them.”
My head was spinning. How could all this be true? “What am I supposed to do, Mendoza?”
“It's simple, let Caleb go and forget this business about the murder. You'll never find the evidence to take them down, they're too smart and they've been playing this game a lot longer than you.”
I thanked Mendoza for the advice and hung up. I didn't want to believe him but I knew he was right. The more I pushed the MC's the harder they'd push back. If I kept going on this warpath, I'd have too many enemies to deal with. Better to make some unholy alliances and do a little bit of good.
But I still had more than twenty-four hours to keep Caleb. Better let that arrogant bastard rot for a little while longer. His kiss still lingered on my lips. I traced my mouth with my fingertips, remembering how good it was. Caleb was such an asshole.
Chapter Thirteen
Caleb
Ronnie was beginning to drive me fucking insane. I couldn't take anymore of him preaching about mayonnaise and hot dogs. I thought giving him some liquor would relax him but it only made it worse. He kept pissing himself and the puddle of urine was leaking over into my cell. If only I could break out of here and strangle the life out of him. I'd love to see the light leave his eyes.
Officer Johnson came down and ruined my fantasy of murdering Ronnie. “Time to let you go, crazy man.” Johnson fumbled around for the keys and unlocked the cell. “Shit Ronnie, did you have to piss yourself so much.”
“What the fuck is wrong with that guy?” I asked.
Johnson led Ronnie out of the cell. “Found this guy wandering down Main Street, exposing himself to anyone who passed by. Definitely has a few screws loose. He's in the hands of
the doctors at Sacks County Hospital now.”
Ronnie turned to me with horror in his eyes. “Mayonnaise...hot dogs.” And that was the last I ever saw of him. Thank fucking God.
“Hey Johnson, I need to make a phone call.”
Johnson crammed his hands into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. “Here, don't let the Sheriff see you with this.” He passed the phone through the bars.
I dialed the only number I knew by heart—the MC. A deep grunt answered the phone. Could only be Big Mike. “Hey Mike, can you get Claire for me?” Big Mike grunted again.
“Hey fella, how's it going in there?”
“Just fucking peachy, Claire.”
“Oh come on, Caleb, can't be that bad. It's not like you're in prison.”
I sat down on the bench and lifted my feet off the wet floor. “Well your not ankle-deep in piss right now.”
“What if I was cleaning the bathrooms here?”
The MC bathroom was utterly disgusting. I've seen the most terrifying shit shows ever. No way in fucking hell I'd ever clean those. “Claire, where's the lawyer?”
“Somewhere on a private island, drinking martinis. He told us not to worry. They'll have to release you tomorrow morning since they got nothing on you.”
Fucking lawyers. “I'll need someone to pick me up.”
“Don't worry, I'll be there, hun.”
I ended the call and hid the phone under the pillow. The stench of piss was getting to me. It was almost like Sheriff White was torturing me for fun now. I'd have to show her who ran things in this town. She'd be on her knees soon enough, begging for my big cock.
Now that I had the jail to myself, I unzipped my pants and pulled out my long shaft. It felt like a century since the last time I had a chance to jerk off. I closed my eyes and pictured Emily's lips wrapped around me. It only took a few strokes until I came all over the floor.
I cleaned my hands off in the sink and stared at my reflection in the broken mirror. Damn, that bitch would be a good fuck. I just needed one night between her legs. Then I could move on and forget her forever.
Chapter Fourteen
Emily
His strong arms were wrapped around me, holding my naked form tight. His lips were just a whisper away from my ear. “I'll always love you, Emily.” My heart swelled and I looked up to his face. His eyes were dark with desire, his mouth set firmly shut. I reached up and kissed him, taking all his breath into me. I wanted to stay in his protective arms forever where nobody could hurt me. Where everything was simple.
We floated up into the air, spinning, embracing, becoming one.
My eyes burst open, my face lay against the desk with my arms folded around me. I lifted my head and a puddle of drool lay in the middle of the Black Widow MC file. Very classy, White. I wiped the dried drool from my mouth and checked the clock: four in the morning. No point in going home now. I had to release Caleb in a few hours. Then I could go home and get some proper sleep.
My plan for taking down the Black Widow MC had failed. Mendoza had told me that I needed to work with the MCs but every fiber in my being was telling me that it was wrong. But maybe he was right? They were the bad guys and it was my job to take them down but this town and the MCs were intertwined. They couldn't survive without each other. If I was going to make it as Sheriff, I needed to relax a little. My personal crusade for justice would have to be put aside. For now, my job was to keep this town alive.
I walked through the empty police station and realized that we didn't have any officers working the night shift. The county must not have the budget for the night shift so the officers must be on call in case of an emergency. But the police station wasn't completely empty, there was still somebody down in the jail.
I turned on the lights as I headed downstairs. My legs moved with a mind of their own. I didn't know what I was doing in the jail but deep down I really knew.
“Time to be released, Sheriff?” Caleb stood at the bars of his cell with his back turned. His leather cut was a little intimidating. A giant black widow spider with the red hourglass was on the back with the words Sacks County MC stitched underneath. I don't think I'd ever come to understand their whole culture. I just figured they were a bunch of bikers that liked to cause trouble. But they were so much more.
“Not time yet, Caleb.” I walked over and the overwhelming odor of urine hit me in the face. “What the hell is that smell?” I asked, pinching my nose.
Caleb turned around and he had a red bandanna wrapped around his nose and mouth. He was either ready to rob a train or work in the coal mines. “Take a look in the cell next to mine.”
I glanced over and almost threw up. A mess of pee was everywhere and was slowly invading Caleb's cell. “Let me get you out of here. We can talk upstairs before I release you.”
Caleb unwrapped the bandanna from his head and stuffed it in his back pocket. “Your not going to make it long in this town, Sheriff.”
I unlocked the cell and let Caleb out. A tinge of fear set in that he could kill me right now in the middle of a police station. Leave my body on the piss-stained cement and get away with murder again. I didn't know what this man was capable of and I needed to be on alert just in case. “You don't know anything about me.”
I led him up the stairs, Caleb following far behind. I looked behind to catch Caleb admiring my ass. He didn't even try to hide it, he just winked and continued watching. We made it to my office and I closed the door behind him. I was reminded of our first encounter and his promise to help me prevent the MC war—all lies.
“You should really decorate this place. Liven it up a little. The jail downstairs is almost better.” Caleb smirked as he sat down.
“I can put you right back if that's what you want,” I replied, teasing him with my keys.
Caleb leaned back and put his feet up on my desk. My eye twitched. “I'm fine right here.” This guy really knew how to get under my skin.
As much as I hated saying it, it needed to be done. “I want to work with you and the Black Widow MC.”
Caleb smiled. “Didn't we already have this conversation?”
I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “And last time you lied to me. But this time I'm willing to do anything to keep the peace, even if that means crossing some lines. We need to trust each other.”
“I'm glad you're finally wising up.”
My blood was beginning to seethe with rage. Seeing him suffer in that urine-soaked jail for a few more hours wasn't a bad way to spend the morning. “So help me out here, how can I prevent more deaths?”
Caleb held me in his gaze, reading my eyes, studying my soul. My heart was beating faster. The way he looked at me was like an animal hunting his prey. “With Garcia gone, The Death Merchants have no order. The Blacks will move in and try to clean up whatever is left. The Black Widow MC is going to sit out until the fighting is over.”
I watched his eyes closely, looking for any tells that would betray his truth. “And I'm just supposed to believe everything you just said?”
Caleb cracked his knuckles and glanced down at my chest. “You mentioned something about trust. You're going to have to make a leap of faith, Sheriff.”
“Okay so if what you said is really happening, how can I stop the Blacks from destroying the Mexicans?”
Caleb grinned and stood up, walking past me, glancing out the window. “You can't, Sheriff. All you'll do is get in the way and innocent cops will die.”
He might be right but I didn't want to just give up. My job was to protect and serve. How was I supposed to let all those people die and do nothing? I stood up and grabbed Caleb's arm. His muscles flexed, breaking my grasp on him. “I need your help, Caleb. Help me prevent more deaths. There has to be a way.”
Caleb faced me and his dark eyes stared deeply into mine. I couldn't look away from his gaze. My heart beat like a hammer in my chest, the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. I remembered the kiss from before that had awakened feelings
from deep down.
Caleb reached out and took my hand in his. The sudden shock of electricity excited me. Caleb pulled me towards him, and I fell against his chest. His heart was beating as hard as mine. I looked up at him and wished it—kiss me.
I closed my eyes and parted my lips, accepting his firm mouth against mine. Every inch of me lit up with burning fire. His lips moved with mine as our heads swayed side to side. His rough hands were all over me, moving from my back to my hair. He deftly took my ponytail out until my mane of hair was released. I whipped it back and forth as Caleb watched in awe.
“You have the most beautiful hair,” he whispered.
Mason: A Black Widow MC Romance Page 21
