Page 40 of Wrangled
He’s quiet for a moment as he lets those words sink in.
“And let’s be honest, there is no way he hasn’t read my file. He knows more than most about what happened to me.”
He flinches, and a conflicted feeling wars in my chest.
“Yes, I can only assume you read it too. I’m sure it wasn’t a happy read, but trust me, it was far harder to experience it. Knowing all this, the first time I return home after serving my time, I’m treated like dirt. That’s a lot of hate aimed my way from a man I don’t know from Adam. Unless he had some kind of hidden relationship with my father, which I find unlikely because Officer Asshole was away for most of my teenage years, I’m stumped as to why he would not only act that way toward me but also mess with a crime scene to implicate me. If we can even call it a crime scene anymore. Something tells me if I were the one who had died, he’d have stood over me and smiled with glee.”
He hisses at my words but doesn’t deny them. Something moves again behind his eyes before he narrows them. Anger, only it’s not aimed at me. Interesting. Maybe the sheriff has realized there are endless shades of gray between those black-and-white bookends of his.
“He’s been suspended pending a full investigation, along with Hollis. I cannot say for sure how this will turn out, but I can’t have men and women at my back who I can’t trust, and after the stunt they pulled…” His voice trails off as the door opens behind me. I keep my eyes on Shepard, who carefully blanks his expression as I feel Riggs move up beside me.
“Calliope, everything okay?”
I look up at him and sigh. Riggs looks like he wants to peel the skin from Shepard’s bones. “I’m good. The sheriff just came to check on me and to let me know he’s put a couple of officers on suspension.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re taking this seriously, Sheriff…”
After a beat, Shepard holds his hand out for Riggs to shake. “Shepard. And you are?”
Riggs shakes his hand, his eye twinkling with amusement as he looks down on me. I have a feeling Shepard is squeezing it far harder than needed.
“Who am I, Sheriff? Oh, that’s easy. I’m hers.”
Chapter Thirteen
The tension between the two became so palpable, I swear it felt like a third person standing beside me.
In the end, I threw up my hands, spun on my heel, and left them to swing their dicks around. I stomped into the house, muttering about giant penises and peeing in circles, when I felt that familiar tingle once more.
“Jesus, what now?”
I turn to head back out the front door, but experience a tug in my gut to go the other way. Frowning, I let the feeling guide me as the tingle intensifies, like hail hitting my skin during an ice storm.
I shove the back door open and run down the steps, looking out across the land. I can’t see anything, but now that my feet are touching the soil, I can feel footsteps as if someone were walking over my grave. Closing my eyes, I tap into the land. To some degree, it works, but I’m too new at this to do it without practicing. I might not be able to pinpoint exactly where the issue is, but I can sense which direction it’s coming from. I turntoward it. Before I can take off, Riggs and Shepard bear down on me. Dammit.
“Calliope? Everything okay?” Riggs asks first, jogging over to me.
I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant, and apparently doing a really shit job.
“I feel like someone’s out there watching me.”
This makes Shepard go alert. He pulls his gun and stalks down the steps, heading out farther before stopping and listening. He turns slowly, trying to spot what might have spooked me. After a few minutes, he turns back to me with an anxious question in his eyes. I can still feel the presence at the edge of my property, but I can’t tell them that.
I play dumb. “I guess I got spooked, that’s all.”
“Not surprising after last night,” Shepard says as he puts his gun away.
“You’re gonna be alright out here? I can do a drive by, make sure things are fine if you need.” He’s talking to me but looking at Riggs, his eyes focused on the gang tattoos he’s found hidden amongst the others.
The threat is apparent in his voice. Though I sense it’s only out of worry for me, I don’t take kindly to his interference.
“We’ll be fine, but thanks for your concern. Anyway, I still have things to do before I crash. I’ll walk you out, Sheriff.”
He looks like he wants to say more, but with a frustrated huff, he nods and moves to follow me as I turn and head back inside. I walk through the house to the front door that swings open at my approach. I roll my eyes and give the house a mental nudge. The last thing I want is Shepard thinking something is off about this place. Having the sheriff drop in all the damn time will really put a kink in my plans.
I hurry outside, jog down the steps, and walk over to the cruiser, opening the door and ushering him to climb inside with a flourish.
“Why, Miss Hart, if I didn’t know better, I’d worry you were trying to get rid of me.”
