25. Char
CHAR
“Nielson.”
His deputy at the door dipped into the room and beckoned him with his name.
“What is it? Do I need to answer more questions?”
The sheriff held his finger up to me before he heaved himself out of his chair.
He led with that gut, with his shoulders rolled back and his chest puffed out as he slipped out of the room.
I wasn’t sure if I needed to stay in character, so I kept my frown plastered on.
I shifted on my ass, rocking side to side as the harsh metal of its form put the lower half of my body to sleep.
I practically leapt to my feet when the door cracked open, though.
“Sheriff? Is everything all right?” I asked.
But it was just another officer. “Can I get you anything?”
I shook my head softly. “I don’t think so, no.”
She nodded. “All right. I’ll be just outside if you need something.”
I took a step forward before she managed to disappear. “Is Sheriff Nielson coming back anytime soon?”
“Sorry ’bout that,” he said as he slipped around his officer and back into the room.
I searched his face for any sign of answers. “Everything okay?”
He nodded as he sat back down. “Yep.”
“Like I said,” the female deputy said as she inched out of the room, “I’ll be just outside at the desk if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” I said mindlessly as I sat back down.
I waited on bated breath for the sheriff to say something.
Anything, really. My gaze volleyed between him and the clock, counting down the minutes until he said something.
I kept cycling through tears as they crested my eyes.
Was that bitch still watching us? I didn’t have a clue, so I played it as safely as I could.
But once we turned over in half an hour, I grew restless.
“Nielson,” I said softly.
All he did was shake his head, though.
“Sheriff?”
We both stood at the beckoning of the voice at the door.
“Come in,” Nielson said as he shot me a wary look.
I wiped at the fresh tears cascading down my cheeks as another deputy poked his head in. “Just wanted to make sure the interview was over?”
Nielson nodded. “Yep. You’re good.”
I piped up quickly. “Does that mean I’m free to go?”
Then from out of nowhere, shadows cloaked that deputy.
Sheriff Nielson grinned as the door got tossed open, and in strolled Deac.
His head held itself high as Rat came in behind him, standing upright and proud for the first time since Bait’s death.
My heart came alive at the look of them.
No longer in handcuffs. No longer behind bars.
“Oh my God,” I said breathlessly as I launched myself at Deacon.
“There’s my little one,” he murmured as he wrapped me up in his big, strong embrace.
“Yeah, yeah,” Rat said as he flopped into my chair, “we get it. You missed one another for a whole?—”
“Can it,” Deac and I said in unison.
I had to admit, it got me to chuckle. It felt like ages since I smiled last, and being there in Deac’s arms? Feeling his warmth. Pressing my cheek against the beat of his heart? There was nothing better.
Especially when he chuckled.
“God, you have such a nice laugh,” I whispered.
He stroked his hand against my hair. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
I picked my head up and looked up at him. “Why? What’s going on?”
“The less you know, the better,” Rat murmured.
I peered over at him. “Seriously, what’s going on?”
Deac gripped my chin and tilted my stare back up to him. “Do you trust us?”
I blinked. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything,” Rat said.
I took a small step back. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
Deac nodded. “And you can’t come with us this time.”
My heart sank into my toes. My entire world came crashing to a halt. I wasn’t going with them? Why not? Where were they going? What the fuck was happening?
I wanted to continue helping.
“You guys need to get a move on if this is gonna work,” Sheriff Nielson said as he came up behind me.
“Deacon, please. Just take me home first,” I said as the word slipped effortlessly from my tongue. “That should be easy enough, right?”
He dipped his lips down, capturing mine in the softest kiss imaginable.
This brutal man with knuckles covered in scars and a body covered in tattoos, kissed me as if I were the most delicate petal on the most beautiful flower he ever picked from a meadow.
I melted against him. I let his muscles catch me as I molded to his broad form.
His arms cloaked me as his tongue teased the slit of my lips.
I parted them for him, making way for a tongue I wanted to taste.
“Ahem,” Nielson said.
Deac placed his forehead against mine. “Be a good girl for me, okay?”
Tears crested my eyes. “I want to help. Please, let me keep helping.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You’ve helped enough, little one. Let us do what we do best now.”
I didn’t even know what the fuck that meant, but I pulled away.
I knew that if I stood there, if I kept kissing him and feeling his warmth, I’d never let him go.
I turned my back to them. I couldn’t even look them in the eyes as they left the room.
And it wasn’t until Rat and Deac disappeared back out into the hallway that Sheriff Nielson came back up to my side.
“Do you trust us?” he asked.
I scoffed. “Does it matter?”
He walked in front of me as I listened to their bootfalls echo down the hallway. Walking away from me. Moving closer to danger while leaving me behind.
Would there ever be anyone who didn’t leave me behind?
“This part of the plan has to be compartmentalized,” Nielson said as he placed his hands on my shoulders. “Two of my deputies are with them, so they’re safe, and everything is going as it should. But just in case things get crazy again, the less you know?—”
I waved my hand dismissively in the air. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I got it.”
That didn’t mean I had to like it, though.
“Miss Char?”
The female deputy’s voice tugged my gaze toward her. “Yeah?”
She clasped her hands behind her back. “Can I take you anywhere? You’re free to go, so I can get you wherever you’d like to be.”
“Even the clubhouse,” Nielson muttered in my ear.
I shook my head, though. If the guys didn’t want me to be around for this part of the plan, then I sure as fuck wasn’t going to try and insert myself this time around. I mean, look at what inserting myself had gotten me in the first place!
“My apartment is fine,” I murmured.
I heard Nielson’s thick brows furrow. “Are you sure?”
I nodded mindlessly. “Yep. Positive. My own bed sounds quite delightful right about now.”
I was in a daze as the sheriff and his deputy led me out to her cruiser. She helped me in, and while I was thankful for the hand that she offered, my mind was elsewhere.
“You hungry?” the deputy asked as she backed us out of the parking lot.
I just shook my head, though.
I didn’t have the energy to talk any longer.
So she let me out in the alley. God, it felt like a fucking lifetime since I’d been back at my place.
My feet padded against the concrete ground before I ascended the wrought iron steps.
The mangled sign taped up to the side door was somehow still wafting in the sandy breeze, and I found myself no longer missing work.
My shoulders slumped as I shoved my way into my apartment.
I closed the door behind me with my back, feeling it lurch closed before I threw all of the locks into place.
No one was getting the jump on me. No one took me by surprise any longer.
And as I dragged ass to the fridge, I managed to find a lone soda in the back.
I sat on my couch, mindlessly sipping the Dr. Pepper and staring blankly at the wall. I wondered about my boys.
I wondered which of them we’d have to bury after this plan of theirs went up in fucking smoke.