Keller County Cops Book Seven: Code of Vengeance

by Melanie Atkins

  "And now he's dead." What irony. Mindy tilted her head before delivering her next question. "So... is it merely a coincidence that you witnessed his murder?"

  "That's enough, Ms. Ravens." Blaylock shoved her microphone out of Keegan's face and stepped between them, his broad body vibrating with anger. "I'm in charge of the Woodward investigation, and I have no comment. Neither does Ms. Riley, who did indeed witness Woodward's murder. She had nothing to do with it, however. I can assure you of that."

  "And you know this how, Sheriff?" She lifted the microphone to his face. "Do you have solid evidence, or did she seduce you into letting her get away with murder?"

  "Oh, my God." Keegan gaped at her. "I did not seduce him."

  "You're reaching, Ms. Ravens," Sheriff Blaylock said in a grim tone. His eyes blazed with fury. "Keegan is a witness in my investigation. Nothing more."

  "Then why is she here with you today, sir, inside your home with her car hidden in your garage? I mean, assuming you two are alone together." She shoved the microphone back at him. "Am I right? Or is someone else in there with you?"

  "No comment." He shoved it away. "That's all I'm going to say. Now, we're going back inside, and you and your flunky are going to get the hell off my front porch. Got that?"

  "And if we don't?" Mindy couldn't resist taunting him. He was such a beautiful hunk of man, the polar opposite of flabby Henry Maillet. She loved an angry good-looking man.

  He pinned her in place with a razor-sharp glare. "I'll get on the phone to dispatch and have you both thrown off my property. Won't take my deputies long to get here, that I can promise you. Now... please go before I'm forced to use such drastic measures."

  "Fine, Sheriff. We'll go." She attempted to suppress the smile that stretched across her face, but she didn't succeed. This story was just too damned juicy. She backed away without argument. Hell, I have enough for more than one newscast if I drag this out. Maillet has to back off now. "Be sure to watch WHBZ's six o'clock report, okay?"

  "Wouldn't miss it," he snapped, urging Keegan back inside and shutting the door.

  So filled with glee she could hardly stand it, Mindy turned to Bob. "Let's hurry and get back to the station. I have a story to edit."

  "Phil is gonna shit his pants." He followed her down the steps.

  She grinned at him. "I don't give a damn what the news director or the station manager think. This is the story I've been waiting for. Isn't it delicious?"

  "You think it's good enough to get Maillet off your back?"

  "I know it is," she said, her heart lifting.

  He shook his head. "Saving yourself at the expense of the people of Keller County. I thought you were better than that, Mindy."

  "Screw you, Bob. Just... screw you."

  *****

  "I'm so sorry," Keegan said the minute Rick closed the door in the reporter's face. Tears welled in her eyes. "If I'd had any idea she'd follow me here, I never would've come."

  "You couldn't have known she saw you, or that she and her cameraman followed you."

  "I know." She made a fist. "It's just that... damn that woman. The election is right around the corner, and this is going to hurt you."

  "Probably so." He ran a hand through his tousled hair. He looked like a worried little boy.

  She longed to wrap her arms around him and hug him tight, but instead took a deep breath and met his eyes. "I just don't... can you stop her from putting the story on the air?"

  "I don't see how." He stalked over to the window, lifted one of the slats in the faux Venetian blinds, and peeked outside. "But hell, at least they're gone now."

  "That bitch will ruin your career."

  "Maybe she will, and maybe she won't." He let the slat fall back into place and turned to face her. "I won't be sheriff anymore if I lose the election, but I've been in this line of work all my life. I'm sure I can find another job in law enforcement."

  "Here in Keller County?"

  "Absolutely not." He met her eyes. "Maillet wouldn't want me here, and I sure as hell don't want to work for him. He's not qualified to be sheriff, and seeing him destroy this department--"

  "The department you've worked so hard to clean up." A hollow space opened up in her heart. "Where will you go?"

  "Don't know. Depends on who wants me."

  I want you. The truth slammed into Keegan like an overloaded freight. She did want him, in the worst way. Only... she was a witness in a murder investigation, and she'd already compromised his position and probably sabotaged his re-election. He'd never want her now.

  Too choked up to say anything, she turned away and brought a hand to her mouth.

  "Keegan?" He walked over and touched her arm. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing." The heat of his thick fingers burned her. She drew in a shaky breath and pulled away. "Please... I just hope you can forgive me one day."

  "Forgive you for what?" He drew his brows together.

  A tear escaped her eye, and she brushed it away. "For undermining your campaign. I never meant to hurt you. I just--"

  "Keegan, don't," he said, pulling her into his arms.

  She gasped at the sensation and pushed her face into his broad chest. His warm, masculine scent enveloped her. Unable to keep her hands to herself, she wrapped them around his lean waist and hung on tight. A sense of rightness surrounded her.

  He squeezed her to him and groaned. Then abruptly, he let her go.

  "Rick?" Stunned by his sudden withdrawal, she stumbled.

  He caught her arm and steadied her. A look of remorse flashed over his face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to overstep. I only thought--"

  "It's... it's okay," she said, grief rising up within her. "I know we shouldn't. It's just been so long since I've had a hug, since anybody's cared enough to... to touch me, that I--"

  "God, Keegan." He raised his hand to her cheek and hooked a lock of hair behind her ear. The gentle contact made her shiver. He edged closer. "Aw, hell. You know what? Fuck 'em."

  "What? Who? I don't--" She gaped at him.

  He quirked his mouth. "Whoever says we shouldn't do this."

  Then he kissed her.

  Not just a little kiss either, a tentative brush of lips, but a full-on, mouth-lips-tongue assault that took her breath away and would have dropped her to her knees if he hadn't wrapped his good arm all the way around her and pulled her flush against him. The evidence of his arousal dug into her hip. He was hot and hard and all man. Keegan couldn't stop the desperate moan that escaped her lips. She'd never been kissed like this. Not even by the guy who'd asked her to marry him when she was only twenty.

  "You take my breath away, Keegan Riley," Rick whispered when he finally released her. "Why in hell did you have to be at the crime scene when Woodward was murdered?"

  "Because I wanted revenge for Jenny," she croaked, the gravity of what they'd just done making her weak in the knees. She held on to his rock hard biceps for support. He was her anchor, but for how long? She gulped. "What... what are we going to do now?"

  "Well, for one thing, you shouldn't ever tell anyone else what you just said to me."

  "I don't know if I could've killed him, but I sure wanted to." She ducked her head. "I wanted him to die for what he did to my sister. For leaving Haley without a mom."

  "Maybe, but you're not a murderer," he rasped. "I refuse to believe you would've followed through. No matter how much you wanted Woodward to die, I can't believe you would've killed him in cold blood. It's just not in you."

  "You don't know what I'm capable of doing." She looked up at him, and pain sliced through her. "You do realize that, don't you? We barely know each other."

  "I know you can handle a gun and a knife, and that you can probably kick my ass from here to tomorrow after talking all of those martial arts classes. That doesn't mean you'd ever use any of those skills to kill someone."

  "All I know is that fate intervened to save me. Twice now."

  "You don't know how thankful I am that it did."

&nb
sp; "I'm still a witness in Dirk's case. I saw that man kill him, and now you and I just--"

  "We have surveillance video from that night. If we can ID Dirk's assailant well enough from that, we won't need your testimony. You'll be home free."

  "Still..." She pulled back a little further and gnawed her lip. "Mindy Ravens knows I was there that night. She's already connected the dots and broadcast the truth to WHBZ's entire viewing area. That's the whole Gulf Coast, and New Orleans, too. And after she airs the story about us being here alone together today, just you and me inside your house--"

  "That means we're already tainted," he said gruffly, pulling her back against him. "So kiss me again, Keegan. Please. What does it matter now? Like the song says, might as well give 'em something to talk about."

  "Oh, Rick," she moaned. She longed to stop herself from doing as he asked, but she was unable to pull away. He smelled too damned good, even with the lingering medicinal scent mixing with his cologne. Her hungry body melted into his, her soft curves meeting his thick muscles, and she couldn't make herself let go of him if she tried. He was older than any man she'd ever dated, yet what did age really matter? She ached for him. So without giving their age difference another thought, she gave in and lifted her face to his.

  This kiss was even more thorough than the first. So hot and deep, she shuddered. Then he moved his hands to the buttons of her blouse and undid the first one.

  "I want you, Keegan," he murmured, dropped hot kisses along her neck as he revealed more and more of her bare skin and her black lace bra. Thank goodness she'd worn a nice one today. The incredible heat of his mouth burned her, and she shivered. He grinned and sucked on the tender skin just above her collarbone. "You're so damned beautiful."

  "Are you... are you sure we should do this?" she whispered, her whole body sparking like a live wire. She pulled down the collar of his tight-fitting tee shirt and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the slice of skin now revealed. Then she slid her lips along the rough stubble beneath his chin that enticed her to lick her way back up to his mouth. With shaky hands, she lifted the hem of his shirt. "I mean, what about your shoulder?"

  "I'll survive." He pulled back with a hungry smile and looked into her eyes. "Come on, Keegan. I've wanted you since the day we met, but you were off limits. Now, after Mindy's interference, all bets are off. So what's to stop us?"

  "Nothing, if you don't think I'll hurt you, but I want to do the right thing." She swallowed, hard. The taste of him still lingered on her tongue, and her body hungered for him.

  He grasped her fingers with his good hand and tugged her toward the dark hallway. "Then come with me and let's make love. You'll have to be on top, but that should work okay."

  "I know it will, but your campaign--"

  "It's okay." He dropped her fingers, cupped her chin, and kissed her softly. "Trust me."

  "I-I do trust you." She flashed him a tiny, cautious smile.

  He matched it with a luminescent grin that lit up his entire face. "Then come to bed with me and let me show you how much I want you. What you do to me."

  "I can see what I do to you." She dropped her gaze to his bulging crotch. Her face heated.

  He smirked. "Yeah? Well, you can touch me again if you want."

  "I can?" She bit her lip and peeked up at him. She'd been so embarrassed when she'd had to tuck him into his pants at the hospital. Absolutely mortified. Now, however... oh, how she longed to press her hand to that taut bulge, to cup him and make him gasp. Instead, she took his hand and let a shy smile steal over her mouth. "Then by all means, Rick. Take me to bed."

  *****

  "Henry Maillet."

  "Yes, this is Mindy." The man's obsequious tone, even when answering the phone, made her stomach roil. She longed to end the call and throw her phone across the room, and yet she knew better than to hang up before filling him in on the latest development. "Be sure to watch our six o'clock news broadcast."

  "Why? Are you airing a story about Blaylock?"

  "Yes and no." Her gut ached just thinking about it. "It's more about Keegan Riley, but the sheriff is involved."

  "How, pray tell?"

  "Well, today while I was sitting on Keegan's front porch waiting for her to come home so I could hit her up for an interview--" Mindy broke off, drew in a deep breath, and then went on to tell him about Paul following Keegan to Blaylock's house and Keegan hiding her car in the sheriff's garage.

  Maillet guffawed. "Hot damn, girl. That's priceless. I knew those two were gettin' it on, just didn't have any way to prove it 'til now."

  "There's more." She went on to explain about knocking on the door and talking to both Keegan and Blaylock. "She forked over the best info -- against Blaylock's wishes, I might add -- and gave me enough for a juicy story. It's still mostly speculation, but it ought to do the trick."

  "You'd better believe it will. A report about him carrying on with a witness in a homicide investigation is exactly what I wanted. Hell, it's more than enough to smear his reputation." Maillet again chortled with glee. "You say you plan to air it this evening at six?"

  "Yes." Unfortunately. Mindy blew out a frustrated sigh. She hated dirtying up a good man, but she'd sell her soul to keep Maillet from telling the world about her stripper past. She'd spent two long years masquerading as Cherry Delight at a little dive over in Biloxi to make enough money to put herself through college, and that decision had come back to bite her in the ass yet again. She'd hated herself for years for stooping to that level, and yet she'd eventually made peace with it. Until now, thanks to Henry fucking Maillet. He'd brought all that self-loathing back to the surface, and now she hated herself more than she ever had.

  He complimented her on a job well done. "And hey, if you're not busy once you get off the air tonight, why don't you drop by my place? I'd love to thank you in person... if you know what I mean, Cherry. I've got a hard on just thinking about that story airing."

  "Don't ever call me that," she snapped, sickened by his addressing her by that disgusting name. Her flesh crawled. "I mean it, damn it."

  "Fine." He put up both hands. "But will you come over?"

  "Of course not." No way in hell. Fury ripped through her. "I have an early call tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep. One of our anchors is going on vacation, and I'm filling in for him on the early morning newscast."

  "I see." He paused. "Well, in that case, I'll be happy to come see you."

  "I've already told you no." She gritted her teeth. "I need my beauty rest, meaning I need a full night's sleep, not a booty call. Please understand."

  "Oh, believe me... I do," he snapped, his glee switching to irritation in record time.

  She sucked in a fortifying breath. "I'm sorry, Mr. Maillet, but I need to go. My producer's beeping in."

  "That's probably not all he's doing."

  "Excuse me?" Had he really just said that? She leaned back in her chair and let her mouth fall open. He was such a total dirt bag.

  He laughed, and his self-deprecating tone didn't fool her one bit. "Never mind, honey."

  "I'm not carrying on with Phil or anyone else here at the station. I'm not seeing anyone at all right now."

  "And yet you won't spend a little time with me," he growled. "I know what you did on the side when you worked at the strip joint, so that really doesn't make any sense."

  "You don't know a damned thing about me," she snapped, unable to contain her fury a moment longer. "You have no idea what I did between sets. I might have flirted with the customers to please my boss, but I never prostituted myself."

  "Bullshit. Every girl at that place moonlights on her back. It's part of their contract."

  "Wasn't part of mine. You can ask Coleman."

  "Oh, believe me, honey. I will."

  "Do whatever the hell you have to do. Once this story airs, I'm done." She hung up and turned off her phone before he could demand she do something else to further his campaign. He could call and text her all he wanted, but until she was off the
air tonight, she wasn't going to even look at her cell phone.

  She brushed away a tear. Damn. If only she could find a way to bring him down and help Sheriff Blaylock's soon-to-be-sullied reputation in the process.

  She tossed her phone onto the desk and covered her face with both hands.

  Think, Mindy. For God's Sake. You have to find a way.

  *****

  Rick opened his eyes and stared up at the bedroom ceiling. Once he and Keegan had finished making love, she'd draped herself across his chest like a human blanket, all warm, soft skin and lush curves. He hadn't been with a woman in what seemed like forever, and having her sink onto him had been like coming home. He hadn't known her for very long, but the connection between them sizzled like lightning. His breathing had finally slowed, but his heart still whump-thumped like crazy. Best. Sex. Ever.

  She stirred, tightened her hold on him, and pressed herself closer to his sated body.

  "You okay?" he murmured, raising his good hand and sifting his fingers through her silky hair. He still had the sling on his other arm, and his shoulder ached. Not too much, but enough to remind him he'd been shot. If only he could roll her over and sink into her again.

  Keegan grazed her thumb along his ribs. "Oh, yeah. I'm good."

  "You certainly are." He couldn't stop the wide smile that spread over his face.

  She laughed. "You're not so bad yourself, you know."

  "Maybe not, but I am out of practice."

  "You could've fooled me." She grinned, planted her forearms on his ribcage, and kissed him soundly. "I like the way you move, Sheriff, sling and all."

  "Glad to know it." He ran his hand up and down her back. Her smooth skin was now damp with sweat. He tugged the sheet over both of them so they wouldn't get too cool. "Do you like adventure between the sheets? Or do you prefer to keep things kind of vanilla?"

  "Ooh... adventure, definitely. Once you get well." She cupped his cheek and ran her thumb beneath his eye. "It's a little early in our relationship -- if that's what we're doing here --but I've been thinking that since you're the sheriff, at least for now, you might try slapping the cuffs on me again. I mean, I've been a bad girl, and I could probably use an attitude adjustment."