by S Doyle
17
SABRINA
Pine’s Ranch
“Hey, you’re running late tonight. Something happen today at work?”
See? That sounded pleasant. Easy. I smiled at him and thought there was no way he could tell I had spent part of the day crying over him. I told myself it was best to get it out of my system before he came home. I literally put it on my day’s calendar. Two to three—crying jag. Three to four, ice and cucumber treatment to handle the swelling. Four to five, practice smiling and making chitchat in the mirror.
I watched Garrett take off his utility belt and set it down on the table in the foyer. If I’d been going to stay, I would get him a rack or something better to hold his belt and gun so it wasn’t just out there on the table like that.
But I wasn’t staying.
A few more days. A few more days with him and I would take every one of them.
“What in the hell is that?”
I flinched at his tone. He was glaring at the box on the kitchen counter like it was some kind of rabid beast. “Oh, check this out,” I said, clapping my hands. I flipped open the lid. “Ta-da! It’s a Kate Spade cat purse. See the ears and the eyes and whiskers on the front? I figured Romeo needed to be carried around in something more stylish, and besides, I needed my actual purse back.”
I thought it was adorable but he was still glaring at it like it was going to bite him. “You ordered that,” he bit out.
“Yes. From the website. Why are you behaving like this?”
“You had a fucking delivery person out here, Brin! Don’t you get that? You have some guy who has hacked your phone and emails who supposedly wants to hurt you. And you order something and have it shipped here! Here, where you’re supposed to be in hiding! What was whole damn point of you being here if you were going to let the world know?”
He was shouting and his face was a furious red. I couldn’t think. I started to stutter and then I started to think about what he’d said.
“Supposedly wants to hurt me? When did we go back to supposedly?”
“Oh, no,” he said, storming toward me. “You do not change the subject. How can I possibly think YOU think you’re in danger if you’re willing to tell everyone where you are?”
That wasn’t fair. I wasn’t doing that. But I realized now it was stupid of me to do it. The stalker had proven on many occasions he had access to my accounts over the Web. I had been careless and let my guard down.
“I…didn’t…think…I guess… It was just a stupid purse… I didn’t think.”
“You didn’t think or you know damn well this whole stalker thing has been a stunt from the beginning? I found your hoodie guy today. It’s Pete Wade’s son, Danny. You went to high school with him. He said he saw you and pointed at you because he realized who you were and then watched you take off running, but he didn’t know why.”
Stunt. He thought it was a stunt. I could actually feel myself shutting down. “Oh. That could have been it.”
“Yeah,” he snorted. “That could have been it.”
I was shaking. I could feel my lips trembling, and I knew I was going to cry and I didn’t want to do it front of him. I needed to leave but he wasn’t done yelling at me, and I had this idea that it would be rude to walk out on a conversation.
“What did you think was going to happen here, Brin?” He waved his hand in the air. There was an ugly smirk on his face I had never seen before. “I bring you to my home. You make me some brownies and cookies. Give me some good and regular sex and I’m going to change and be the man you’ve always wanted me to be? Some guy that worshipped at your feet? That loved you? Because that was never going to happen and you knew that from the beginning! I. Am. Broken.”
With his hand he slammed each word against his chest as he said it. I wanted to rub the pain away and tell him I was sorry he’d been hurt so badly. But I was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear that from me. And I was done listening to his awfulness. The more he talked, the more he would ruin what this week had meant to me and I didn’t want that. I wanted to the remember all the feelings right up until last night as being good and wonderful.
“Can I go now?” I asked.
“That’s it? You’re not going to say anything? Not going to at least try and convince me this wasn’t all some kind of setup?”
I shook my head. “I just want to get Romeo. I’ll come back for the rest of my stuff tomorrow while you’re at work. There is a lasagna in the oven, so you should take that out when the timer rings.”
I moved away from him while he stood there in the kitchen cursing to himself. I scooped up Romeo and his feeding supplies and then went to get my purse. My car keys were in the side pocket.
“Brin…wait.”
I didn’t stop moving. I had Romeo. I had his formula and nipples. I had my keys. I started toward the front door.
He stepped in front of me. “Brin…”
Then I felt it. A rage so clean, so powerful, I was surprised I didn’t levitate, my body was shaking so hard. “My name is Sabrina King. You can call me Ms. King. Because that’s all I am to you now, sheriff. Now get the fuck out of my way.”
I didn’t know what he’d been about to say, but it didn’t matter. He must have realized that, too, because he did as I asked and stepped out of my path.
I drove back to the ranch. Made sure all the doors and windows were locked. Got my gun back out from the storage unit, took Romeo, and went to bed.
And I stayed there for three days until Ronnie came and got me.
GARRETT
The Bar—A Week Later
Jack walked to where I was sitting at the bar. This time I didn’t have to ask; he just poured the whiskey and slid in front of me. I knocked it back in one shot and then pushed the glass in his direction again.
“You going to get drunk?”
“That’s the plan,” I said as I waited for him to pour the second glass. “But see that strapping young deputy sitting at the end of the bar? I’m paying him to drive me home. Out of my own pocket. Wouldn’t want you to think I was abusing taxpayer dollars.”
“Why is he sitting at the other end of the bar?” Jack asked as he pushed another drink in front of me. This time I just sipped it.
“Because I don’t want company.” That wasn’t true. I ached for company. Just not my deputy’s.
“If you were going to get shit drunk and brood, why didn’t you just stay home?”
“Because she’s there.”
“Hmm. Thought I heard Sabrina was back at The King’s Land. Her sisters and her sister’s fiancé were in here this week,” he said, explaining why he might have an idea of where she was.
God, just hearing her name hurt. Sabrina. What the fuck did I do? I took another swig of the whiskey. I had done the drink-at-home-to-oblivion thing most of the week. Working hungover had sucked. At least tomorrow I was off. But I hadn’t been able to take being in my home another minute.
“It still smells like her,” I admitted. “Fucking lasagna and brownies and the bed sheets… I’ve washed them twice but she’s there. She’s still fucking there.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
Jack shook his head. “Just trying to figure out what’s got you so upset when you dumped her.”
“I didn’t dump her,” I growled. I’d yelled at her. Called her a liar. Pushed her away because she was getting to me. Making me want things I told myself I couldn’t have.
That first night I’d spent angry at her for leaving and not fighting back. The second night I’d debated with myself if I should go get her back. That’s when I decided to get drunk instead.
By the third night the doubt started to creep in. Maybe I could have Brin as mine. Maybe I could let myself be the man who worshipped at her feet…who loved her.
But on the heels of that was the memory of what I’d said to her.
I cringed now even thinking about it.
“Not what her sister said. Ronnie, is it? I asked her
where Sabrina was. That I hadn’t seen her around, and she said she was at home getting over being dumped by you. Have to say she seemed pretty pissed at you when she said it. You might want to avoid The King’s Land for the foreseeable future. Especially tonight.”
“What’s tonight?”
“The big engagement party,” Jack said. “That’s why it’s dead in here.”
I looked around and it occurred to me that it was quiet. Not typical for a Friday night. I had completely forgot about the party. And then it occurred to me how stupid a party was.
It was like giving her stalker an open-ended invitation to come inside.
I had been driving by her house each night, back and forth, to make sure nobody was around. I had seen her sisters arrive. Clayton was Ronnie’s fiancé, and knowing he and the other two women were in the house with Brin made me okay with staying away.
Because, while I didn’t doubt Danny Wade’s story, once I had calmed down I was reminded of all the other shit that had happened to her. Finding Brin in fear with a gun clutched in her hands hadn’t been a stunt or dramatics. It had been real. All that crap I had shouted at her had just been that. Angry crap from a man clearly unable to deal with the fact that he was falling for a woman for the second time in his life and was shit scared about it.
Now she was going to be in a house filled with people, many of whom, assuming they were Ronnie and Clayton’s friends, she wouldn’t know. I couldn’t have that. I’d told her I had her back, and even though she hadn’t known it, I had still been watching out for her.
Why? I asked myself. Why? There was only one answer to that question.
“Shit.”
“Kicking yourself for letting her go?” Jack asked me.
“I’m not letting her go,” I said as I got off the stool. “She’s mine. She always has been. I’ve just been too much of an idiot to realize it. And now she’s gone ahead and put herself in danger and I can’t have that.”
Jack laughed. “You’re going to crash the party?”
“That’s the new plan. Deputy, you’re off duty. Turns out I’m not getting drunk, after all.”
He gave me a salute and I rushed out of the bar to my truck that was waiting outside.
I had no idea what I was going to say to win her back, but if I had to lock her in her room while she kicked and screamed at me, at least I would know she was safe.
Shit, she might even throw her shoes at me. Those pointy things would hurt. But it would still be worth it, as long as Brin was talking to me.
18
GARRETT
The King’s Land
Geezus, there was a line to get into the party. Just like there had been that night five years ago. I vividly recalled Betty nearly coming out of her skin with excitement that she was actually going to see The King’s Land and meet Sabrina, who had been on the covers of so many of those trashy gossip magazines.
The paparazzi loved the rich and the beautiful. And Sabrina was both.
But I remembered thinking how lucky I was to have someone like Betty. Cute, sweet. Someone who wasn’t gorgeous and ridiculously sexy hot. Someone who wouldn’t turn every man’s head when she walked by.
Because Sabrina was that kind of beautiful on the outside.
What hadn’t realized then was how beautiful she was on the inside. All I’d ever seen was the surface. Hell, that’s all anyone ever saw of her. Whether she was on TV or not, because that’s all she would let anyone see.
Except me.
Me, who she had trusted since she was a kid to protect her.
Me, who hurt her the worst.
When I got to the gate I was thankful they had at least hired security. Clayton would have thought of that, even without being aware of Sabrina’s situation. As I pulled up, I was asked to show a copy of my invitation. Instead I showed my badge, which I always kept in my wallet.
“Has a problem been reported, sheriff?” the guard asked me.
I shook my head. “No. I’m actually a friend of the family. Just wanted to stop in and see if they needed anything. You okay with that?”
He nodded and let me through, which meant that, while there was security, it wasn’t great. I pulled my truck up to where a person in an orange vest was directing traffic. It took another fifteen damn minutes to park. I was nearly out of my mind before I was jogging up the driveway to the steps of the grand mansion.
When I walked inside, people immediately turned their heads to look at me. I was ridiculously underdressed in jeans and a T-shit, but it’s not like a man dressed up to get shit-faced.
The people here, though, glittered and sparkled. Just like last time.
“Oh, no. You’re not doing this. You are NOT doing this. I’ve lived through one drama-filled engagement party and that was enough. I’m not doing this again.”
I turned to the person who was barreling down on me. It was Bea. She was a shorter version of Ronnie and equally stunning. She was wearing some designer black dress and pointing her finger at me.
“You need to leave,” she said.
“I need to find Brin. I have to talk to her.”
“You’ve said enough to her. You wrecked her! And I’m not giving you the opportunity to do any more damage.”
“You don’t understand,” I argued. “I was…I got.. I fucked up. Okay? I majorly fucked up, but I can fix this. I have to fix this. But none of that matters now. You have a house filled with people she doesn’t know and she’s got a stalker who has been harassing her. I need to make sure someone has eyes on her all night and those eyes are going to be mine.”
“Wait, a stalker? Is that why she keeps changing her phone number?”
“Yes. Who ever it is has been able to get into her email, hacked her phone. I can’t taking any chances he might use this party as a an excuse to get close.”
Bea bit her bottom lip. “Nobody tells me anything.”
“I kind of got the impression you two didn’t get along. Brin always said you didn’t like her.”
“Didn’t like her…ish. But that’s different when we’re talking about someone hurting my family. Here’s the deal. I’ll find Ronnie and tell her we need to keep our eyes on Brin, but you need to leave. Seeing you is only going to upset her.”
“Garrett Pine. You asshole!” I turned to see Ronnie coming at me from the ballroom. Clayton wrapped his arm around her waist and hauled her up against him before she could reach me.
I had the distinct feeling he’d protected me from getting my face slapped, not that I didn’t deserve that. Or worse.
“Let’s not assault the sheriff, shall we love? We promised this party was going to go smoothly.”
Bea narrowed her eyes at her older sister. “Did you know Sabrina was being stalked by some creeper?”
“Yes, but she only just told me how serious it was. After she changed her number again I wanted an explanation.”
“Nobody tells me anything,” Bea repeated.
“Not for nothing, but it was reported on TMZ,” I pointed out.
“Fan of tabloid TV, are you?” Bea asked. “Personally I never watch the stuff.”
“Well, Bea, maybe if you called your sisters—both your sisters—more, that wouldn’t be the case,” Ronnie said in that way mothers do to elicit guilt. I knew, because I had a mother who didn’t think I called enough.
“Can we focus on the real asshole here?” Bea asked. “That’s him. The guy who has been breaking our sister’s heart for, like, her entire life.”
“Please,” I urged them both. “I get it. You want to stake me to an anthill, and I will let you, but please let me just find Brin. I need see her to know she’s all right.”
Ronnie sighed. “She was in the ballroom last time I saw her.”
I raced in that direction and tried to see through the throng of people. It wasn’t like she would be hard to spot. She’d be the prettiest woman in the room.
“What’s going on?” This came from an attractive blonde who was wearing a very con
servative dress for a party like this.
“Madison,” Ronnie said to the woman. “Have you seen Sabrina?”
“Sure,” she said and took a sip of her champagne.
“Where?” I barked it loud enough that the woman flinched. Then she raised her eyebrows to suggest she wasn’t the type of woman who liked to be barked at. “Please.”
“She was over there talking to the drummer. Apparently they went to high school together.”
I looked in the direction she was pointing, but didn’t see anything. Then I raced up to where the band was set up. There was no drummer. It looked like they were getting ready to start again. I caught the attention of the lead singer and he came to the edge of the stage.
“What’s going on? We’re getting ready to start our second set.”
“Where is your drummer?”
“Man, it was messed up. He had a tire blowout on his way here.”
That didn’t make any sense. “So you’ve been without a drummer this whole time?”
“No, this kid, Danny, ran into us in town and said he could fill in. We took a shot, but he obviously flaked. Probably just wanted to crash the fancy digs. It’s cool. We can do this without a drummer.”
Every hair on my neck stood on edge. Danny. Stood in for the drummer. Sabrina was talking to the drummer. Someone she’d gone to high school with…
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
I started tearing through every room. I knew I was making a scene but I didn’t care. If it was Danny Wade, if he had been the one stalking Sabrina this whole time, then his only purpose in getting into the party would be to get her and get her out. There was no way he would have been able to get her out through the front door without them being seen. It only made sense he would take her around back.
I made my way to the kitchen, which was filled with staff hustling and bustling as they loaded trays of food.
“Did anyone see a young man and a woman in here? She’s tall, dark hair, gorgeous. He would have been thin. Young. About this height.” I raised my hand to what was my shoulder. Danny hadn’t been that big, and Brin was tall, but he still probably outweighed her by about fifty pounds.