Chapter 27
Johnson was angry. Great. Probably because of Valeria. Every time Hagan and Valeria crossed paths—Johnson would come after Hagan. Even with the FBI here, he was going to have his say. And whether she liked it or not—he was her boss. And she had to be alone with him.
But…she wasn’t truly alone with him. Not this time.
Sometimes, he just wasn’t reasonable where Valeria Braun was concerned.
She had never quite understood why. Valeria’s mom wasn’t much of a mother.
She had spent most of Valeria’s childhood drunk—Hagan remembered her own father fooling around with Valeria’s mother when Valeria had been around five and Hagan nine or so.
Then, Sheriff Johnson had been in the picture.
He hadn’t been the sheriff then. He and Valeria had always been close after that.
Valeria’s brother worked as the desk clerk at the station for the night shift. He was smarmy and disgusting and Johnson treated him like he was a little prince.
Now, she’d made a mistake. She’d thought slipping behind her desk would protect her a bit. But…he had followed her this time.
He was really angry.
Johnson couldn’t do anything to her here. Not now. Not with…Dr. Talley and her two teammates right there. Johnson wouldn’t go against two young, strong-armed men like Dr. Ward and Dr. Knight. He just wouldn’t. They were too much of a direct threat.
Hagan was going to get out there where the agents were. She was going to finish this case, break her lease at her complex, and she was going to quit. No notice to this son-of-a-bitch. She was just going to pack up her cat and go. Get out of this town forever.
She had one place she could go; she could stay there for a little while, if she had to. If not…she had some money. She’d buy a van or something—live out of it, until she could get settled somewhere else.
All she knew was that she couldn’t handle Helery County any longer.
She just couldn’t.
Hagan started for the door.
She couldn’t get around him. Hagan had been in this position before. Johnson liked trapping her in the hallway. He liked having control. And he liked making her afraid.
Well, Hagan wasn’t about to show the sheriff how good he was at that. It would just feed into his perversions. “Let me through.”
His hand wrapped around her arm, and he almost yanked her closer. He was a lot bigger than she was. No denying that. But she had come up against big men who hated her before. And it was always going to be a part of the job. Her small size was a disadvantage.
And the sheriff liked to use it against her. “Get your hands off me, Johnson.”
“And if I don’t? Forget who the boss is around here? Too big for your britches, Lindhour. You always have been.” He still had her wrist trapped. And he was caressing it again. “But they sure do fit you well through the ass. I have noticed.”
Hagan fought the urge to puke. Like she did every time he put his filthy hands on her. He liked to do that, too. And she hadn’t found a way yet to make him stop it. Her stomach tightened. “Hands off.”
She tried to twist away. It didn’t happen. She fought the urge to cry out. Dr. Talley was in the other room. And she didn’t want the trouble Johnson would cause. Not…yet.
“Remember something, Lindhour. I am the one in charge here, no matter how many favors you call in. You screw with me again—and you won’t like what happens next. You leave Valeria alone. I know you have it out for that girl, and she doesn’t deserve it.”
“I don’t have anything for Valeria. She just has a bad attitude and always has. Get your hands off me.”
He had pulled her right into his chest. The beer gut he tried to hide beneath what she thought was a man-girdle was pressed against the bottom of her breasts.
She could smell him and it made her want to gag.
He smelled like…sweat and soured laundry.
He always smelled like that. It was a scent that had followed her into her nightmares. “Is that a threat, Sheriff?”
She was not going to let him know that he scared her. She just wasn’t going to let him see that. No matter what.
“Boss?” a voice came from behind them. They both jerked around.
It was Dumbass Damien again. Of course it was.
He didn’t stray too far from the man he worshiped.
He disgusted her. He liked being next to the one he thought had the most power.
He’d probably been waiting in Johnson’s car like a good boy, until he’d needed to go potty or something.
Still, the sheriff didn’t like to do things to her when someone else could see.
Hagan jerked her arm away and turned. “I’m here to do my job. You might want to try it sometime. There is a killer in Helery County, in case you’ve missed it.”
He jerked, like he was going to come at her physically. She fought flinching back. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
The only thing that probably stopped him was the security cameras everywhere—cameras she had purchased over a year ago and installed—and they could hear the FBI agents talking in the room next door.
No. He wasn’t going to do anything where people could see.
He was a coward, after all. And a bully.
Hagan had no idea what to do to stop him.
How much longer could she do this?
The sheriff left. And she turned. Toward the back door of her office.
There was someone standing there—Hagan almost screamed before she recognized her.
Dr. Talley was standing there. And she had obviously heard—and seen—everything. Johnson stormed out, Damien following him like a dog. Damien turned back and looked at her, shaking his head at her like she’d done something wrong.
Hagan waited, pulled in a deep breath before turning toward Dr. Talley. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“We’re going to talk. I’m a really good listener. Because whatever that was—he has no right to put his hands on you ever. How often does he do that?”
“Every chance he gets.” Hagan didn’t even know where to begin. She watched Johnson’s SUV pull out of the parking spot in front of her building. She didn’t breathe again until she knew he was gone, and she could still see Dr. Ward and Dr. Knight watching from the sidewalk.
He was gone. And the words just came pouring out.