Chapter Eight #2
Nick hoped so too, but he wasn’t holding his breath.
“Tyler comes across as a goofball, but there’s depth beneath that affable facade.
He’s starting to figure a lot of things out about himself, and I know the truth scares him.
I’ve been there.” Cash sounded so dejected and like he was putting the cart before the horse. That wouldn’t serve any of them well.
“So have I,” Nick replied. “We’ll figure this out. Let’s find out why he got arrested, and then you can call a good lawyer.”
“I’ll call an excellent lawyer,” Cash growled.
That’s my guy. Nick briefly wondered why he hadn’t spoken that thought out loud.
Maybe because navigating this new aspect of their relationship felt a little like tiptoeing through a minefield.
It might’ve helped if they’d had a deeper conversation before Nick sucked Cash off.
Nah. Nothing could make him regret pleasuring Cash in his favorite spot on the ranch.
He would turn the moment into his go-to place during meditations.
He’d feel the warm sun and breeze on his skin, the tug of fingers in his hair, and the expression of pure bliss on Cash’s face as he climaxed.
Nick would relive those moments anytime stress threatened to wreck his recovery.
“If Burke isn’t already there, I’m going to call him in,” Cash said.
Stressful times like now. He’d forgotten all about the sexy sheriff. He could handle this one of three ways: fixate on the almost date, play it cool during introductions, or stake his fucking claim. Nick’s lips quirked up as he settled on the right option.
“Don’t make me turn the car around.” Cash’s stern voice interrupted Nick from scrolling through his options on claim staking. It also sent a tingle down Nick’s spine that lingered in his balls.
“What did I do?” Nick asked. He couldn’t seem to wipe the smirk off his face, no matter how hard he tried.
“You are not going into the sheriff’s department and engaging in a pissing contest with Burke,” Cash replied, proving the mind reading went both ways.
“I agree it wouldn’t be appropriate today.”
“Not any day,” Cash countered.
Nick sighed. “My dick will stay in my pants.” There were other ways to get his point across.
Cash grunted but let it go as they pulled into town.
Nick didn’t like the tense set of his shoulders as he smoothly parallel parked the car down the street from the diner.
Owen was leaning against the front of the building and watching the road coming into town.
He probably didn’t expect them to arrive in Nick’s car, so he reluctantly let go of Cash’s hand to lower the window.
Nick stuck his arm out and waved to get Owen’s attention and retracted it once the younger man noticed them.
Nick rolled the window back up and covered the hand Cash had left on his thigh. “Hey.” Once Cash met his gaze, he said, “Do I have dry cum on my face?”
Cash growled low in his throat, but he inspected Nick’s face for evidence of their debauchery. “You’re good to go,” he said, right before Owen opened the door behind Nick.
“Sorry about that,” Owen said. “I was looking for Cash’s truck.” He sounded much calmer than Cash had described. Maybe knowing the boss had Tyler’s back was the assurance Owen needed to regain his composure.
“No problem,” Cash replied as he merged into traffic. To Nick’s surprise, Cash resettled his hand on Nick’s leg. “I grabbed the wrong keychain and didn’t want to waste time going back inside.”
“Appreciate you, boss,” Owen said. “Sorry I was so rattled when I called you. Probably couldn’t hear a word I said.”
“Not much beyond Tyler getting arrested,” Cash admitted. “And don’t apologize for caring about people, Owen.”
“Especially not your best friend,” Nick added. “Can you tell us now what happened?”
“Honestly,” Owen said, “I don’t really know anything more. We’d come to town for a bite to eat and to do some shopping. My mama’s birthday is coming up, and I wanted Hope to put together a goodie basket for her so I could get it shipped out.”
Brave man. Nick had heard all about Hope’s shenanigans and was looking forward to meeting her.
“Anyway,” Owen said, “Hope’s openness about sex and masturbation embarrasses Tyler a little, so we split up.”
Nick nearly choked on his saliva. Seemed Cash had left out some major details during story time.
“When I left her shop,” Owen continued, “Tyler was up against the truck in handcuffs with a deputy patting him down. I froze in complete shock, and that’s when Ty noticed me on the sidewalk.
He shook his head real subtle…like a signal.
When I still stood there like an idiot, he mouthed ‘Go’ at me.
The deputy was too busy to notice, so I turned and hightailed it out of there.
I ducked into an alley between businesses and called you. ”
“I’m glad you did,” Cash said. “Wish I knew what the hell they arrested him for, but I guess we’re about to find out.”
They arrived at the sheriff’s department a few minutes later, and Cash heaved a relieved sigh. “Good. Burke’s here.”
Nick swallowed his possessive snarl and forced his face to remain neutral.
Cash gave his leg an encouraging squeeze before retracting his hand.
They parked and made a beeline for the front door.
Nick recognized the impressive man talking to a deputy at the rear of the station.
As if he sensed Cash’s presence, Seth Burke looked their way.
He held up a hand to interrupt the deputy, said something to him, and immediately headed in their direction.
The photos and videos on the internet, though very impressive, didn’t do the man justice.
He was much taller in person, or maybe his white Stetson just made it seem so.
Burke’s movements were more an amble than a stride, but his posture and demeanor made it clear he was the man in charge.
It reminded Nick of Timothy Olyphant’s portrayal of Raylan Givens in Justified.
Burke’s eyes never left Cash as he moved through the station, and Nick fought the urge to whip his dick out and get a head start.
The tall sheriff stopped in front of the trio and seemed to notice Nick and Owen for the first time.
Cool gray eyes assessed and dismissed Owen before landing and lingering on Nick.
I’m your cockblocker, asshole. Burke briefly narrowed his eyes before forcing his attention back to Cash.
“I was just about to call you,” he said.
His voice was solemn and professional but not unkind.
Cash made quick introductions. He referred to Owen as a member of his crew and Nick as his friend.
Burke shook Owen’s hand first before extending the gesture to Nick.
Seizing the opportunity, Nick wrapped his hand around Burke’s in a bone-crunching grip that said back off!
He’s mine. Burke’s narrow-eyed gaze replied fuck up, and I’ll swoop in.
Once they understood each other, the two men broke the exchange and stepped back. The machismo made Cash sigh and roll his eyes, but Nick was relieved to see Owen smiling a little. Yeah, the rest of the ranch would definitely hear about this.
“Let’s head back to my office,” Burke said.
Cash turned to Owen and said, “Would you mind hanging out here for a few minutes? I have some things I’d like to say to Burke in private.”
Owen shrugged and took a seat.
“What about him?” Burke said, tipping his head at Nick.
“He’s with me,” Cash replied.
“I’m with him,” Nick echoed.
“Ah,” Burke said. “Got it.”
Good.
Burke turned to lead them to his office, and Nick leaned close to Cash. “See? No dick measuring involved.”
Cash nudged him with his elbow before following the good sheriff. Nick was extremely curious about what Cash wanted to say to Burke out of Owen’s earshot. Burke didn’t take long to get right to the point.
“Deputy Hines was walking down the sidewalk and noticed tools matching the description of stolen items in the bed of Tyler’s pickup truck.”
There was so much wrong with the statement that Nick opened his mouth to cut him off, but Cash reached over and squeezed his thigh. Burke’s eagle-eyed gaze noticed the gesture, which was the only reason Nick let it fly. Cash, it seemed, was not so inclined.
“Burke, you expect me to believe your deputy was just strolling by a Redemption Ridge pickup and looked inside the bed without provocation? And these stolen tools just happened to be out in the open for him to find? Don’t you find that odd?
I also want to know how the deputy knew they were stolen tools. Were they rare?”
“The items had the owner’s name written on them in black marker,” Burke replied calmly. “He’s a contractor and labeled his equipment for easy identification on crowded jobs. Hines phoned the station and confirmed the serial numbers were a match from the police report.”
That information sounded pretty damaging, but the seizure itself was sketchy. Nick wasn’t willing to be silent any longer. “A good attorney will have this thrown out,” he told Cash. “The deputy still needed just cause to search an open truck bed.”
Burke cocked his head to the side. “Just what is it you do, friend Nick?”
“FBI. Special Agent in Charge.”
“I see,” Burke replied, sounding unimpressed. “But I don’t agree. Items left out in the open are fair game.”
“He needed a search warrant,” Nick argued. “If they’d been inside a locked car, your deputy wouldn’t have been able to break the window to inspect the serial numbers. He would’ve had to get permission from Tyler or get a warrant to search.”
“They weren’t in a locked car. They were right out in the open for my deputy to spot.”
“You mean the deputy that had to leave the sidewalk and lean against the truck or even stand on tiptoes to see inside the bed?” Nick asked. “These are tall trucks, not low-riders. The whole situation sounds fishy. I like our chances with a judge.”
“Guess we’ll see,” Burke said, crossing his arms.
“I don’t want it to get that far,” Cash said sternly.
“You’re right,” Nick replied. “Let’s discuss this with the county prosecutor.”
“I don’t want to do that either,” Cash said. “Nick, I can prove Tyler didn’t steal those tools, thanks to your buddy at the Bureau.”
“How?” Nick and Burke said together.
Cash chuckled nervously and licked his lips. “When the first theft occurred months ago, Samuel Jeremiah from Salvation Anew went to the press and accused someone from my ranch.”
“That guy.” Burke’s irritated growl raised his standing with Nick but only slightly.
“My crew has had some unpleasant interactions with the group even before the incident at the pet-adoption event. Nick put me in touch with someone at the FBI who investigates cults, and he gave me some invaluable advice to protect myself and the crew.” Nick got the impression this was the part he didn’t want Owen to overhear.
“I installed tracking devices in every ranch truck, including my own, and can pinpoint exactly where the vehicles have been. I’ve also documented each reported theft and cross-referenced my vehicles’ locations during those incidents. ”
Burke exhaled slowly, and Nick could tell he was relieved. “Does your crew know about the devices?”
“They don’t. I worried they’d misunderstand my motives. I think in the long run it worked out better for them. You can’t accuse them of working around something they didn’t know existed.”
“What about personal vehicles?” Burke asked.
“Only Finley and Harry have their own vehicles, but neither has a record and aren’t as much of a target.”
“Did you bring any of this evidence with you? I’m willing to release Tyler into your custody without booking him while we investigate further.”
Cash shook his head. “Owen said Tyler got arrested but didn’t know what for, so I didn’t come prepared. If you can give me the theft dates, I can get you what you need?”
“This theft was back in May,” Burke said.
Nick snorted. “And you guys thought Tyler was just carting the stolen tools around in the back of his truck for over three months? Sounds like someone planted them.”
Burke scowled at Nick. “Are you accusing my deputy of planting evidence?”
“No, Sheriff, I’m not.” Nick’s gut told him the cult was behind this, but he’d love to know what made the deputy decide to look in the truck’s bed.
“Receiving stolen property is also a crime, Agent Scott. Surely, they teach you that at Quantico.”
Cash held up his hand before Nick could reply. “Enough.” His stern voice did funny things to Nick’s insides. Maybe Cash could raise his libido from the dead faster than he’d hoped. The cock whisperer. “How about I voluntarily share all the data I have? I can transfer everything to a flash drive.”
Burke pushed back his chair and said, “Let’s go.”
“Go?” Cash asked.
“I want to see the files and setup with my own eyes,” Burke said. “That way no one can suggest I gave Tyler a free pass because of our friendship.”
Nick knew the sheriff was correct, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Inspiration struck as Nick and Cash stood up too. “Do you mind giving Cash a ride to the ranch, Sheriff?”
“Of course not.”
Nick turned and met Cash’s curious gaze.
He wanted to accomplish two things with his suggestion.
First, Nick wanted to check the stores closest to the truck for security cameras, and then he wanted Burke to know he didn’t intimidate Nick in the least. “I’ll help Owen finish his errands, and we’ll meet you back at the ranch once you get Tyler out. ”
Cash knew he was up to something but didn’t push. “Okay.”
And because he was a petty bitch, Nick kissed Cash softly before leaving the sheriff’s office.