It was no surprise to see my father standing in the middle of the bullpen looking as if he had a right to be there.
I walked right up to him and didn’t waste time.
“What are you doing here?” I asked stiffly.
“I’m here to tell you to talk to your grandmother,” he said. “All the hotels around here are sold out, and your mother’s not well enough in her health to continue to drive all over the country looking for one.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well, maybe you should’ve thought about that before you drove all the way here. Or, maybe when Grans told you that someone was living in the house, you should’ve listened.”
“We have nowhere else to go, Gabriel,” he said, trying to pull the pity card on me.
Well, he’d taken my pity card and set it on fire.
I didn’t feel shit for that man anymore.
Nor the man’s wife.
I didn’t even claim them as my parents.
The one and only hope that I had left when it came to the two of them flew the fucking coop when they’d given my dog away.
I just couldn’t deal with them and their stupid selfishness anymore.
“I don’t quite care,” I admitted. “But I have to go to work, so maybe you should go look in fuckin’ Montana or something. Something far, far away from where Grans and I are at.”
I didn’t bother to stop and look back to see if my words had struck home or not.
Instead, I walked back through the maze of hallways to the back parking lot.
But before I could even make it through the door to the hallways, Sammy was there at my side, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
Before I could walk away from him, he slid between me and the door to stop my forward movement.
“And you expect me to be okay with you dating my sister when you treat your own family like that?” Sammy asked, arms crossed over his chest now.
It wasn’t me that came to my defense, though.
It was Sierra.
I had seen her walk out of the back hallway just as the words had left Sammy’s mouth, but I hadn’t thought she was close enough to hear what was going on between her brother and me.
“I know that you know nothing about Malachi, his family, or me,” Sierra said softly. “But, in case you were curious, you remember that dog that I got from the shelter a few years ago?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “They were supposed to watch that dog while Malachi was deployed. Guess what? They didn’t. They gave him to a shelter instead. All the while lying to Malachi saying that he was ‘doing great’ and ‘loving life’ in Florida.”
Sammy’s eyes flicked to me briefly.
“And, just sayin’, but I’m really fucking irritated with you right now. I think you need to step the fuck back and get out of Malachi’s face before I make you,” Sierra seethed.
Sammy stepped back, giving me the space that I desperately needed.
“You have no right to judge him. You only have about half a minute worth of conversation that you overheard. You don’t know that that man and woman came to my house yesterday and all but demanded that I be kicked out so that they could move in. For a couple of weeks at that,” Sierra continued. “But, could that be because you’re mad at me over your stupid friend and I breaking up? Did you ever stop and think that there was a reason for that?”
Sierra patted me on the hand then and said, “I’m late for work. I had to come by and make a police report because those stupid fuckers are trying to dick me around.”
I frowned hard at her and followed her, leaving her gaping brother behind.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I followed her out.
She pulled out her phone and showed me the text that she’d gotten this morning.
Unknown number: we’re no longer funding your new ride. Sorry.
“What exactly does that mean?” I asked curiously.
“That means that, according to the insurance adjuster that called me this morning, that they’re saying that they were ‘coerced’ to file the report. And that I was blackmailing them,” I said. “They’ve escalated the ‘proceedings’ to a different department and that I can check with them on Monday once all the information has been gone over on their end.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” I admitted. “I wonder if it was because I talked to that adjuster the other day.”
“I have no idea.” She sighed, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. “This was really the last thing I needed.” She pointed at the car that she was driving. “And then I got a call from them today, the ones that dropped that off to me, that I would either have to pay the bill in full—and since this has been going on for as long as it has, the bill is now sitting at about seven hundred dollars—or they’d come and pick it up, and then they’d be sending the bill for me to pay or they’d start proceedings with their own lawyer.”
My hands clenched into fists.
“I called the number that the parents had originally given me and they blocked me.” She kicked at the grass underneath her feet. “And so I came up here to press charges against that stupid asshole kid. I can’t believe they talked me out of doing it, then tried this.”
She was lucky that the police had been involved at all. Luckily she hadn’t just let him go and then he did all of this.
“So I go up there, right? I talk to the traffic guy involved and found out that the ticket had been dropped that they issued. Apparently he needed ‘proof of ID.’ So When they showed up with it later that day to get the ticket dropped, they thought nothing of it. But I know for a fucking fact that at the time of that accident, that kid didn’t have an ID. He straight up told me that he didn’t. But the paperwork that officer in there just showed me says that he has a hardship that was issued for his job. A job that he doesn’t even fucking have.” She gritted her teeth and growled. “He told me that he didn’t work because his dad and mom wanted him to focus on his studies. How the absolute hells bells is he able to get a hardship, that requires you to have a job, then?”
I didn’t know, but I’d be definitely finding out.
“Go to work, honey,” I said, tucking her hair around the shell of her ear. “I have some time this morning. I’ll look into it.”
She gave me an appreciative look before saying, “Thank you. I’m just… urrrrghhh.”
She finished her sentence off with a small groaning scream, bemoaning her annoyance.
I pulled her into my arms and laughed into her hair as she cuddled herself into my embrace.
“I know. Go to work.” I paused. “Want to catch dinner?”
She looked over my shoulder. “You don’t have to put on a show for my brother and dad. Or Luke for that matter. They can’t hear what we’re saying. I know that you probably don’t really want to take me to dinner.”
I looked over my shoulder, only just now realizing that I had not only the people she listed off, but also my father’s, attention pinned on us.
“I didn’t even know that they were staring,” I admitted, turning back to her and catching the back of her elbow to help lead her to her car.
She gave me an incredulous look. “You’re always more than aware of your surroundings.”
I was.
Which made this even worse.
“I seriously didn’t know,” I promised as I narrowed my eyes. “So will we be getting dinner?”
She tilted her head slightly. “Sure.”
I opened her car door and helped her inside.
She gave me a thankful smile and fell into it with a tired sigh. “Thanks, Malachi. I really appreciate it. This morning was shitty.”
I winked at her and closed the door, not going inside until she drove all the way out of the parking lot.
Once she was gone, I ignored everyone and walked to the traffic division’s offices, smiling wide for the second time that day when I saw Luca.
“Luca,” I said, clapping him on the back.
Luca didn’t remember me.
<
br /> At least, he hadn’t when I’d come back. But we were working on rebuilding our relationship.
Even though we grew up together, it worked out well, because the man that came home from that hell hole wasn’t the same that had gone into it.
The man that had loved Luca like a brother wasn’t the same fucking person, and never would be again.
“Malachi,” he said as he held out his hand for me to shake. “How’s it going?”
I gestured toward the officer she’d mentioned speaking with. “Captain Morgan busy?”
Luca looked toward the captain’s office.
“Doesn’t look like it, but I don’t make it a point to talk to him if I can help it,” Luca teased.
“I fucking heard that,” Captain Morgan called. “And no, I’m not fucking busy. What the fuck do you want?”
I clapped Luca on the shoulder and went into the captain’s office. He was always a pleasure to deal with. He’d become even worse when the new mayor took over, and the woman that he refused to admit that he loved left along with her mayor brother.
“My girl was just in here,” I said. “You got a few minutes to talk about what happened that day? I showed up on scene a bit after all the drama started, but I didn’t have much time to hear anything before I was told I wasn’t needed.”
An hour later I found myself at the DMV talking to a lovely woman named Juniper.
“Juniper,” I said honestly. “That’s an interesting name.”
Juniper sighed. “My parents are flower children. They love ‘interesting’ names. You should hear all my sisters’ names.” She groaned. “Mine is the most normal of the seven of us.” She tilted her head. “How can I help you, Officer?”
I explained about the kid who had his hardship but not a job, and the timing issue, following it up with a smile.
The woman leaned into the counter as she stared at me curiously.
“I’m not sure that I can see a time on when it happened. A date, sure. But not an exact time.” She pushed off the counter and started typing away on the computer—an ancient device that looked like it’d seen better days—in front of her.
I waited patiently as she squinted at the screen—whether it be because she needed glasses or because the screen was just a piece of shit—and bit her lip.
Normally, I would’ve found the move attractive.
Juniper was a short, petite brunette with curly hair that went all the way down to her ass.
But nothing about her did it for me anymore. Not when my mind was all bungled up with a cute brown-haired girl with her equally brown eyes.
I’d never been attracted to brunettes. It wasn’t because I didn’t like the color, but because the brown of their hair reminded me of my shitty, selfish mother. And I for sure didn’t want to date a woman that reminded me of my mother.
But Sierra was different.
We may not be dating for real, but as we spent more and more time together, I slowly began to realize that she was beginning to mean more to me than any real relationship I’d ever had.
“Oh, here’s the job.” She paused. “He has to update this every three months, by the way, per county regulations. It says here that he works at a ‘C4C Cattle Ranch?’”
I made a note about it in my phone then waited for her to find more.
“As for the time, I don’t see anything on here.” She stopped as she thought about something. “If you know the date and time, you can talk to our security guard. That system was actually updated last month due to a problem we had with a couple of men. A shooting. Do you remember hearing about it?”
I did, actually.
From what I remembered, the shooting had occurred over a spot in line. A person had needed to go to the bathroom, and when that person was done, said person had tried to return to the place in line. Only, another member of the line hadn’t liked that very much so he’d asked that person to go to the end of the line. Things escalated from there, and one had shot the other.
“I’ll go check with him.” I nodded my head in thanks. “Thank you for your help.” I paused before I was too far away and turned back. “This particular kid was from rich as hell parents. Like, they bought him a brand-new truck, so that ‘economic need’ for a ‘job’ isn’t something that he qualifies for. Who, exactly, follows this up to make sure what they’re saying is the truth?”
She rattled off more information, ending with ‘talk to my boss in the corner office’ and pointed next to the security officer’s door.
I nodded my thanks again and went to do just that, but found a note saying that she was out to lunch and would be back in an hour.
My next stop was the security officer’s office.
I held out my hand when I recognized the man.
“Officer Waggoner,” I said. “When did you start working here?”
Officer Waggoner had retired from the KPD last month. I’d attended his retirement ceremony.
“Right after that shooting happened,” he said. “I was one of the first responding officers, and the lovely lady in the corner office offered me a job that I couldn’t refuse. What can I do for you?”
It was about ten minutes later that I had what I was searching for. Time-stamped proof that the kid didn’t have his license at the time of the accident. The little shit. And the shit’s shithead parents.
With my information in hand, I went back to the station and handed that information over to Captain Morgan to do with as he pleased.
His fucking eyes gleamed as he read over what I had.
“C4C Ranch isn’t really a ranch,” Morgan said as he read over what I gave him. “It’s a high-end slaughterhouse where it’s rumored that they don’t treat their animals right. The only reason that I know that is I see them as I go home. My neighbors complain about them a lot. Their cows getting out of the fence because they’re fucking hungry and moving onto their fields. Things like that. I’ll look into this.”
I nodded once. “You have any problem with me going to talk to the family?”
He narrowed his eyes. “No, but what should you be doing today?”
I grinned. “I’m scheduled to be on patrol today, actually. In the same area where I was at to talk to Juniper at the DMV. And, conveniently, in the same area that one ‘Adrian Mastings’ lives.”
Captain Morgan sighed. “Just know that I don’t care. You might want to bring it up with your own sergeant.”
“It’s been cleared,” I lied.
It hadn’t.
But my own sergeant didn’t need to know. At least not yet. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. And, it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.
At least, that was what I always discovered, anyway.
CHAPTER 13
Do you think that doing alcohol is cool?
-Coffee Cup
SIERRA
Gabriel,
Two days ago, I got in my first wreck.
I was driving down Main Street when a trash truck backed out of the grocery store parking lot and slammed right into me.
It was raining, so the impact not only jolted me sideways—the damn man came out fast—but it also made me slide into a ditch.
Though there was help at my door fast, they couldn’t get me out because of how the water was flowing through the ditch I was in, and how badly mangled my car door was.
My dad was one of the first ones on scene, and oh, my God. You should’ve seen his face.
Anyway, everything turned out fine.
Other than getting wet and having to go home to change, I still made it to school on time, even if it was in my dad’s police cruiser.
Hope that your day is going better than mine,
Sierra
• • •
“Where we going today?”
I opened my eyes to find Malachi once again in the seat next to my bed.
He looked like he’d been there awhile.
A half-filled cup of coffee was in his hands resting on the bed next to my fac
e. And he was reading a paper. Who even read the paper anymore?
Damn, I was such a deep sleeper.
“The insurance adjuster was supposed to call me today about my car,” I admitted as I wiped my face and looked at the clock. It was after nine in the morning. Wow. “Though, she was supposed to call at eight.”
“She did call,” he said. “I answered it. Talked to her. They’re totaling out your car after a little heart-to-heart on my part. They were going to try to repair the airbag instead of just giving you a new car. I told them that wasn’t going to work for me. They’re cutting you a check for the car today and will have it to you by noon tomorrow.” He paused. “And I also talked to them about a few things that I learned from my reconnaissance yesterday when it comes to that kid. One, starting out with the kid not having a license. I even had a buddy of mine fax them a few things. Two, was the fact that they were jerking around a pregnant lady that needed that money that they tried to rip out from under her. With the insurance agency that the Mastings were using being so small, I was able to wait while they verified everything right then and there. Looks more like they’re going to drop that kid and his family from the insurance than they’re going to defend them at this point.”
My mouth fell open.
“Really?” I asked in surprise. “But what if they don’t give me enough to get a new car?”
“You let me handle that.” He said as he dropped his feet onto the ground and leaned forward, making my heart skip a beat. I knew, logically, that he wasn’t trying to come on to me and make me feel as excited as I was feeling, but still, it was hard to convince my body to act logically at this point. “But I’ll go with you to the dealership today. We can go look at new cars. Actually, if my opinion matters here, I’m suggesting you get a truck.”
I sat up and walked to the bathroom, and like always, he followed me.
Only after I’d finished doing my business, though.
“Why?” I asked. “I need the check to get the car. I can’t get the car without the check. Seems counterproductive to go look right now.”
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