Meg finally let herself look at him.
He watched her silently, through hooded eyes, waiting.
Meg cleared her throat. “I, um, came to report a crime. But I want to keep it secret. I only want you to know.”
A dark brow shot upward. “Excuse me?”
Meg closed her eyes. She squeezed the bridge of her nose to relieve the tension building behind her eyes. “Curtis stole about ten grand from my purse. In cash. I need it back. I want you to help me.”
He studied her for a long moment without speaking. Meg kept her gaze lowered, unable to look him in the eyes.
“Why don’t you just file a police report?”
She shook her head. “No. I can’t do that. I don’t know who might apprehend him. It has to be you. You’re the only one I know won’t hurt him.”
He stared at her for another long moment. “And what is it you want me to do with him when/if I catch him?” Though his expression remained unreadable, a hint of wariness entered his eyes.
He thought she wanted him to commit a crime. God, did he think that poorly of her? But he had a good question. What did she want Zach to do with Curtis? She had no idea.
“Bring him to me when you catch him,” she said. “I want to talk to him. If you do this for me, I promise to tell you my real name and anything else you want to know.”
Something flashed in his eyes, then was gone, too fast for her to decipher. He leaned back in the chair, studying her in silence, his expression impassive. He was good at hiding his emotions when he wanted. But if she watched his eyes, sometimes she was able to catch a glimpse of what he was feeling.
“You’ll tell me your real name.” He didn’t sound like he believed her.
“Yes.” She lowered her gaze so he couldn’t tell she was lying.
“And how will I know it’s your real name and not another alias?”
Meg cringed. She should have thought this through a little better. Zach was too astute. He probably knew she was lying to him now. She couldn’t fool him.
She realized she couldn’t do this. He would just keep interrogating her until he made her tell him everything.
She bolted to her feet. “Never mind. I’ll find him by myself.”
She got as far as the door before he stopped her, his hand flying out to press against the door to keep her from opening it.
“It’s a deal,” he said. “I’ll find Curtis. And when I do, you’ll tell me who you really are. And anything else I want to know.”
Heat swept into her cheeks. Meg jerked her head in a quick nod. “Okay. Thank you.”
He pulled the door open and stood back. Meg darted past him out into the hallway before he could stop her. When she made it outside, she gulped in air.
He’d agreed. She couldn’t believe he’d agreed. The breath whooshed out of her lungs. What had she just done? She knew in her gut Zach would expect her to honor her end of the deal if he caught Curtis. Oh God.
Stopping next to her Jeep, Meg drew in several deep breaths. She searched through her purse for her keys. Finding the keyless remote at last, she pushed the button that unlocked the Jeep.
Someone came through the doors of the building behind her, but Meg didn’t turn around to see who it was. She was too worried about what she’d just done. Had she made a mistake coming here? What if Zach didn’t honor his part of the deal? What if he beat Curtis up and tossed him, bruised and bloody, into a jail cell?
No, Zach wouldn’t do that.
“Do you want to know something interesting?” a deep voice said near her ear.
The keys flew from Meg’s hand as she spun around. Zach stood behind her, eyeing her with those astute gray eyes. She swallowed hard, stepping back until she came up against the Jeep.
“What?”
“Deputy Bailey was just here, right before you. You’ll never guess what he told me.”
“He’s alive? Good. I was a little worried for him.” She’d been afraid Larry would kill him. Apparently the young deputy had gotten away.
Zach raised a dark brow. “Really? You want to know what he told me?”
Meg hesitated. “What?”
Zach stepped closer, his gaze never leaving her face. “He said you offered him ten grand to let you go, that your husband was rich, and that he would meet you and Bailey at Wal-Mart where your husband would bring the money.”
Meg gasped softly, her eyes growing wide, her heart pounding. She could see how bad this looked. She’d just reported ten grand stolen. And now the deputy was claiming she’d promised him ten grand to free her. Shit!
“He’s lying.”
“Is he?” Zach’s gaze pierced hers, assessing. “What possible reason would he have to risk his job and take you out of the jail unless you offered to pay him to do it?”
“I don’t know. But he’s lying.” Her legs trembled. She leaned back against the Jeep for support.
Zach eyed her another long moment, then he stepped back, giving her a little space. The breath she’d been holding rushed out of her lungs.
He bent to retrieve her keys from the pavement. He held them out to her.
Meg hesitated, then reached for her keys. She half-expected him to lift them out of her reach, so she was surprised when he dropped the keys into her palm without hesitation.
He continued to scrutinize her, the expression in those knowing eyes making her uncomfortable.
“One of you is certainly lying,” he said. “The question is, who?”
Meg turned her back to him, reaching for the door handle on the Jeep. She opened the car door and climbed into the vehicle. “Your deputy is lying.”
His hand snaked out, his fingers curling around the door frame, preventing her from closing the door.
“And so are you.”
Meg’s heart stopped. She needed to get away from him. She reached over to uncurl his fingers from around the door frame, pulling back until she dislodged his hand from her vehicle, surprised when he let go without a fight.
“Just don’t hurt Curtis when you catch him, okay? Now, please, I have to go.”
He started to step away from the Jeep, then reached out and grabbed the door frame again. He leaned back against the door and looked down at her. His position prevented her from closing the door. Or escaping.
She was stuck inside the car, between him and the door. She couldn’t go anywhere until he moved aside.
Meg gasped. Her heart stuttered. “What...?”
He leaned down, the force of his gaze preventing her from looking away. “Is your husband alive? Do you know where he is? Did you offer my deputy money to let you go?”
“No! I told you Deputy Bailey was lying! And I don’t know where Evan is.”
Her eyes swam with tears. Her throat seized up. Meg jerked her gaze away. She wished she knew where Evan was. Not knowing whether he was dead or alive was killing her. If Larry had gotten to him…
Zach studied her for a long moment. He bent down, his face close to hers, forcing her to meet his gaze. “If I find out you’ve been playing me for a fool, I’m not going to be very happy.”
Meg jerked her gaze from his, turning her face away. “Please, just leave me alone,” she whispered.
A tic came on hard and her hand jerked, once, twice. “Alone, alone, alone!”
Her face heating, she glanced back up at him, surprised to see what looked like regret in his eyes.
He groaned softly. “Dammit Kim. Or whoever the hell you are. Why won’t you just talk to me?”
Meg yanked her gaze away, her heart hammering wildly. “I can’t.” She wasn’t looking forward to his reaction when he found out the truth about her. If she was lucky, he’d never find out. She sure as hell wasn’t ready to tell him right now. And she had no intention of telling him after he delivered Curtis.
After a long silence, he spoke quietly. “By the way, I thought you might like to know I got the results of your blood work back today.”
She nodded, relieved by the change of subjec
t. “And what did you find out?”
“That you were telling the truth for once. It was negative.”
That you were telling the truth for once. Was he trying to piss her off?
She jammed the key in the ignition and started the car.
“I told you so.”
Zach nodded. “Yes, you did. But I’d already come to that conclusion before you told me about your Tourette’s.”
He had? Why hadn’t he said something? Why had he let her think he believed she was on drugs?
Zach stepped back and closed her door, his gaze never leaving her. She rammed the car into reverse, screeching backwards out of the parking lot. Meg glanced in her rearview mirror as she sped out onto the main road. Zach stood in the parking lot, staring after her, an indecipherable look on his face.
She hoped he found Curtis soon. The longer Curtis was at large, the closer Larry’s goons came to catching him.
And Curtis was the only one left who could help her take Larry down.
* * *
The moment Kim’s Jeep disappeared down the road, Zach strode to his patrol car. He would catch the bastard who’d stolen from her. The sooner he went out to search for the guy, the sooner he’d find him. If Zach discovered that Curtis had harmed her in any way, he vowed he’d make Curtis pay. What he didn’t understand was why Meg was protecting the guy. Why didn’t she want anyone to know? What was she hiding? Why did Curtis mean so much to her?
Zach backed out of the parking lot and headed out onto the main road. He was eager for the truth. So he’d find Curtis. He’d do what she wanted. Then he’d get some real answers from her.
At lunchtime, after a frustrating two hours with no success, he pulled into the drive-through at Burger King and ordered a Whopper meal. To Zach’s amazement, just as he finished placing his order, the skinny punk, Curtis, strolled out of Burger King with a large soda container in his hand. Zach did a double take to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
At that exact moment, Curtis lifted his head and his gaze met Zach’s. Recognition crossed his features. Zach leapt from the vehicle with his gun drawn and shouted, “Down on the ground, now!”
Curtis dropped to his knees, then protested loudly when Zach knocked the soda container from his hand and pushed him down onto the pavement.
“Hey, I only had one sip of that!”
Zach was disappointed that Curtis didn’t struggle, because he wanted to beat the shit out of the guy.
“Put your hands behind your back.”
He cuffed Curtis and hauled him to his feet. Zach marched him over to the patrol car.
“You have the right to remain silent.”
“Yeah yeah yeah,” Curtis grumbled. “I’ve heard it all before. I can’t believe you dumped out my drink, dude!”
Zach shoved him against the car and searched him.
“Do you know why you’re being arrested?” Zach asked. He pulled out the man’s wallet, opened it, and searched the contents. Withdrawing a wad of cash, Zach dangled the money in front of Curtis’s face.
“I didn’t think she’d turn me in, but I guess I was wrong.”
“Stealing is a crime, you know.” Zach couldn’t confirm what, if any, of the money was Curtis’s.
“How much of this money is Kim’s?” he asked, holding up the wad of cash. “I’m guessing all of it.”
Curtis grumbled something unintelligible, then shrugged. Zach placed the cash on the hood of his car. Next he removed Curtis’s driver’s license.
“Curtis Gardner,” Zach read aloud. “Looks like you grew your hair out since this photo was taken and you forgot to shave for a while. Oh wait…looks like this license is expired.”
“It is?” Curtis groaned. “Dude, I thought it was good for another year. But I wasn’t driving a car and it’s not a crime to have an expired license if you don’t drive.”
Zach ignored Curtis as he continued to search him, not surprised when the other pocket of his jeans revealed a plastic bag full of marijuana.
“What have we here?” Zach murmured when he removed the drugs. “Looks like you were either planning to get high, or you were heading out to sell the stuff. Which is it? Possession of this much dope is a felony. Does Kim know about this?” The deal he’d made with Kim had not mentioned what to do if Curtis had drugs on him. Zach wasn’t letting this guy off no matter what he’d agreed to with Kim. He had no choice but to arrest Curtis.
“Yeah, she knows,” Curtis grumbled. “That’s why I left. We got in a fight about it last night.”
Zach considered Curtis’s words for a moment. He was glad Kim had confronted Curtis about the drugs. He hadn’t wanted to believe she condoned drug use, but the way she’d acted had made him wonder.
“How long have you known Kim?” he asked, figuring Curtis would confirm his belief that she’d just met him a few days ago when she’d hitched a ride with him.
Curtis snorted. “How long do you think, dude? Ever since I was born.”
Taking that mocking response as a joke, Zach shoved Curtis into the backseat of the patrol car. He had heard enough out of this guy. He grabbed the items off the car and stuffed them into an evidence bag.
Zach slid behind the wheel. Since his car blocked the drive-thru, and they’d attracted a crowd of onlookers, he pulled the car forward and paid for his lunch.
Though his first instinct was to take Curtis immediately down to the jail and lock him up, Zach decided to head out to Kim’s first. She’d said to bring Curtis to her, which he would do, but only because he wanted to see her reaction when she discovered the perpetrator had been caught. Then he’d take Curtis to the jail and book him.
He wondered how she would respond when he asked her to fulfill her end of the bargain.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Meg was weeding her perennial garden and glanced up at the sound of a car in the drive. She was not surprised to see the sheriff’s cruiser pull up in front of her house. She wondered if he’d found Curtis. Rising, she brushed the dirt from her hand and turned to meet Zach. Weeding with one hand took twice as long, but she refused to let the cast stop her from doing what she normally did.
The driver’s door swung open. Zach stepped out and came toward her, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Meg’s heart leapt into overdrive, hammering nervously.
“I caught your boyfriend.” He motioned to the car. “He had a wad of cash on him. Almost ten grand.” He lifted his hand to show her a plastic bag with money in it.
Meg turned to look in the backseat of the car. Her boyfriend? Curtis sat there, staring out at her with a sheepish look on his face. It didn’t look like Zach had beat him, but she wanted to be sure.
“You didn’t hurt him, did you?” She returned her attention to Zach. “None of that police brutality you used on me?”
Disbelief flickered across his face. “Excuse me?” Zach narrowed his gaze on her. A muscle clenched in his jaw. “I thought you’d be happy I caught him.”
“I am. Now can you let him go?”
His jaw hardened. His eyes flashed with disbelief. “You want to just let him go after he was caught red-handed with stolen cash that obviously belongs to you?”
“Let him go,” Meg said again. “I’m not pressing charges.”
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Zach turned away from her. He stared off into the trees, then spun back around. “Why are you protecting him?”
“I’m not protecting him, I just don’t want to press any charges. Please, let him go. We had a deal.”
His gaze bored into hers. Beneath the anger, she saw a flicker of hurt. Meg tried to ignore it, but it left a painful ache in her chest.
Zach shook his head. “Can’t do that. He had a stash of marijuana on him. I don’t suppose you knew your boyfriend was a drug dealer, did you?”
Why did he keep calling Curtis her boyfriend? Her face grew hot. Because she’d never corrected him.
“He’s not a drug dealer. He’s a drug user. There’s a big differenc
e.” Meg knew she was making excuses for Curtis’s drug addiction, but she wasn’t about to let Zach insult him when Zach didn’t know a thing about him. It wasn’t right to judge someone you didn’t know.
“He just has a hard time facing reality, but you can’t blame him, not after what he’s been through and what he still struggles with every single day. And he’s not my boyfriend.” How could he even think Curtis was her boyfriend when Zach was the only man she couldn’t get out of her head?
“Well, I hate to disappoint you.” Zach’s expression hardened. “But possession of drugs—especially as much as he had on him—is a felony, and he’s going down.”
Meg wanted to smack him. Hard. Why was he being such a jerk? She glared at him. “Why can’t you just let him go? He didn’t hurt anyone.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her. “Give me one good reason why I should release him.” He knew he had all the power here. Meg didn’t like him when he was being an arrogant cop like this. This wasn’t the man she’d come to care about over the past few days. She wanted to wipe that gloating look off his face. Knock him down a notch or two. Make him human again. She wanted the Zach she’d come to know to return. Him, she’d liked. This man, not so much.
She stepped toward him, her gaze never leaving his. “He doesn’t belong in jail! He needs counseling, drug rehab, not bars around him. Locking him up isn’t going to help him at all.”
“That’s for the court to decide,” Zach said, “not me. I’m taking him down to the jail to book him.” He spun on his heel and strode for the patrol car.
“I’ll just come down and bail him out,” she retorted. And she would, too. Damn him. Just to show him she could.
He spun back around, his eyes glittering with anger. “And you think that will teach him a lesson if you bail him out every time he gets in trouble? Why does this guy mean so much to you? You think just because he gave you a ride home that you owe him forever?”
Meg couldn’t hold his gaze any longer. She studied the grass beneath her feet, then the hostas and evergreen shrubs lining the house behind Zach. Then the front of his shirt. “I really don’t like you when you’re acting like this,” she whispered, staring at his chest.
Deceived (Unlikely Heroes Book 3) Page 16