9. May not want to, but gotta
May not want to, but gotta
Wade
I can’t believe Paige pulled that petty bullshit. She knows better.
Stomping through the office, I sling open the door to the breakroom hard enough the knob bounces off the cinder block wall behind it.
Paige and Billy both startle from their coffees. Her jaw drops, and his gray bushy eyebrows climb towards his hat.
“Did you take away her meal before she had a chance to eat?” My arms cross my chest as I look down my nose at her.
“Who?” Paige blinks innocently up at me.
Fuck, she’s pissing me off.
I suck in a breath through my teeth and turn to Billy. “Can you please bring some food to the holding cell?”
He clears his throat with a brief look of relief. “Sure, boss.”
It’s an Oscar-worthy performance to keep my temper in check as he pushes to his feet and leaves.
“What the hell, Wade? Embarrassing me like that was rude.” Paige’s lower lip juts out while she picks her cup back up.
“You’re doing it to yourself. We have rules we have to follow. Starving inmates is a hella big no-no.” My jaw tics watching her go through her petulant motions.
Her eyes roll. “She’s hardly starving.”
The image of Elena pops up unbidden. I swear she was lying on her cot so I could look directly up her full thighs and over her flat belly to the curve of her breasts poking towards the ceiling. She’s thicker than her momma. And those tits would make the perfect handholds—
Jesus H. Christ.
That was a line of thought I didn’t expect to wander down.
“Doesn’t matter. Can’t withhold meals, no matter how much of a pain in the ass they’re being.” I throw a scowl down to emphasize it.
Paige’s head tilts as her gaze narrows. When she stands, she does it purposefully, wagging her hips in an exaggerated saunter.
It used to turn me on. Lately, not so much.
“What is so different about her?” Her voice drops before she pushes the door around, closing us off from anyone walking by. “You’re acting…funny.” She sidles up to me and places her palms on my chest.
I clasp her hands in mine. “Why? Because I’m still expecting you to do your job?”
Her lips purse, then flatten. “No. You’ve pulled away from the moment you saw her, and you act like you know her. How?”
Maybe it’s all of the old emotions that seeing Elena has brought up. Or the fact that I would give anything to see Maria just one more time.
Backing away, I let Paige’s arms fall. “It doesn’t matter.”
She’s being petty as shit. What claim does she have on me when she’s the one who’s married ?
But she chases me, reaching up to drape her hands behind my neck until she’s practically hanging off me. “I’ll come by tonight, and you can tell me all about it.” Her fingers walk down my collar, then she drops her palm and cups my nuts. Firmly. “See you later.”
With a wink, she turns and leaves.
God fucking hell on a stick.
She didn’t even seem bothered by the fact she didn’t take care of Elena.
I guess I’ll just have to make sure I do it.
“I really think she’s the key to opening up this walnut.” I lean back in the wooden chair across from the District Attorney.
He pushes his glasses up his nose and twists his mouth downward. “This evidence against her is pretty indisputable. There’s extensive video footage, and she was arrested on scene after the explosion trying to run down a woman.”
“Well—” I clear my throat, letting the legs of my seat hit the floor. “—she was actively trying to avoid hitting Libby, that’s why she plowed into the concrete barrier.”
I’ll admit, it’s pretty damning.
“Wade, why would I hold off for some mysterious bigger fish when I have her?” Pete looks over his rims with a wry expression. “For all we know, those two idiots that got killed in the grain silo this past winter were behind it all.”
“Nope, I’d wager a dollar that there’s someone bigger bankrolling all this shit.
They’re focused on Black Gulch, and they’re pulling strings all over.
This girl—” I gesture at the folder laid open on his desk.
“—is the first one that can start to put the pieces together. We’re talking tens, if not hundreds of thousands in cattle, damages, and more.
People have died, Pete. We need to find out who’s really at the root of this shit and yank their asses out. ”
His fingers steeple and press against his lips. “I get it. Okay, I’ll talk to her lawyer.” He flips the manilla cover closed, then slaps his palm over it. “This means you need to get her to spill it all , Wade. And what kind of flight risk is she if we need her to testify?”
The proof that she’s been living out of her car for the last few weeks was pretty obvious.
Blankets, pillows, and a pile of receipts made for a neon path to follow her footsteps.
“Fuck, I don’t know.” Does she have a house in Texas? I haven’t been able to find any records.
“Wait, you’re putting all this weight on her, but she could just fucking disappear tomorrow?” He shakes his head. “Nope. Find her a place that’ll keep an eye on her, or she’s going down to State.”
If she goes down to the big facility, I can’t protect her.
Damn it.
“I’ll find a way.”
Peter tilts his head, his jaw ticking. “She must be important for you to try so hard. You’re usually of the mindset to toss ‘em all in. We could still find whoever is orchestrating things without her getting off so light. What gives?”
I let out a long sigh and readjust my hat as I slump into the leather cushions. “She’s the kid of a family friend.”
“Hmm. Must be a close friend.” His phone interrupts his judging of me. “I have to take this. Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep digging.” Pushing myself up, I almost feel a little guilty for not sharing all of the information I have.
I want to find out for sure before I open up that can of worms.