Page 18 of Magnetic Temptations

“You remember that group that saved me from Julia?” I ask.

“Yes. How could I forget? What’s that got to do with Cotton and Laura?”

“I’ve got some things to share with you, brother.”

CHAPTER

TEN

MASON

“Do you remember me telling you about Mane?”

“Couldn’t forget even if I wanted to. She’s the reason you decided not to come home,” Maverick mumbles. “Not that with that cushy job you had before taking off that you’d be coming back to Trucktown anyhow. Especially now that you’ve started the process of reclaiming who you were.”

“I worked remote for a lot of years, Maverick,” I scold my younger brother. “I only had to go to Knoxville once a month for three days. No reason for you to be complaining, you saw my mug often enough.”

“Whatever. Is there a point you were getting to with Mane, big brother?”

“Yeah. Due to my relationship with her, I’ve been asked to join the Kings and I accepted. I can’t tell you a lot, but I can let you know that we get cases via email that we investigate. Last night, a report came across that Cotton is abusing Laura and she’s in need of a rescue.”

“Bullshit,” Maverick spits out.

“My thoughts exactly,” I add. “We think it may be a setup and were hoping you could contact him and on the down low scope things out for us. I don’t want Cotton getting hurt because we don’t proceed or do as anticipated.” Then a thought enters my head and I ask, “Are there any new deputies in town?”

“You mean horseface?” he snickers.

“So there is someone new on the force? Don’t you find that weird since Trucktown never hires any recruits outside of the residents?”

“It’s the talk of the town,” Maverick states. “He’s a fucking asshole. He’s been issuing tickets for every little thing. Even the obscure shit that honestly shouldn’t be on the books any longer is fair game. Mrs. Jones, who has had her vegetable stand since before we were born, got one for not having a permit or some shit.”

I whisper a few curses under my breath because only a dick would ticket an old lady who is a pillar of the town.

“I’m not sure if I should be telling you this or not, but he grew up with Julia.”

“The bitch that hounded, stalked, and terrorized you on top of any woman associated with you?” Maverick asks, his voice coming out as a growl.

“That’d be the one,” I acknowledge.

“Motherfucker,” he spits out. “He’s fucking dirty, Mason. We all know it but we can’t prove it.”

“That’s the impression we have too,” I convey. “We’ve started following his paper trail, but so far, nothing’s coming up that says he’s anything but law-abiding.”

“What can I do to help, Mase?”

“Just stay low, Mav. Check on Cotton from time to time and report anything to me that you find ominous,” I say with caution.

“Don’t worry about Cotton, I’ve got him. Will this bring you to town, big brother?”

“It may, Mav, but again, we have to be careful because this piece of shit wants to get to me. I have a feeling he blames me for Julia and her choices.”

“You’re not responsible for her being a psycho bitch,” Maverick says, sounding offended.

“Sane people understand that, Mav, but I don’t get the feeling he’s a well-adjusted individual. Promise me you won’t confront him.”

“Trust me, Mase, I have no plans on going anywhere near him.”

We talk a few more minutes about the family and he catches me up on the town gossip before we hang up, but not until he swears he’s on his way to visit Cotton. Candy Sue is going to be one pissed off lady.

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