Page 19 of Claimed By the Deputies

“And what was your reply?” Tyler scratches his jaw. “I can’t remember the words, exactly, but it pissed him off pretty bad.”

“I told him I’d rather wait a few years and arrest him instead.”

Mitch laughs out loud. “That’s right. Old Vince Callaghan couldn’t believe the words coming out of your mouth.”

“It’s a shame he died of liver disease before I could keep my promise. His replacement is even worse.” I pull up his file from the system.

“Dexter Wright,” Mitch says, nodding. “Ruthless bastard. Although I’m not sure if he’s as smart as Vince was to evade the law the way his club was able to over the past decade. They’re nothing more than pawns in leather, riding expensive bikes to compensate for their tiny dicks. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Someone’s pulling their strings or using them for their drug distribution organization,” I conclude. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. But in order to get one of them to talk and cooperate, we need leverage.”

“We don’t have leverage,” Tyler points out.

“No. But we do have two active murder cases that I’m guessing they’re somehow involved, either directly or indirectly. Which reminds me, I’m heading down to the evidence room for Tanya’s box. You two handle your side of this bloody mess, and I’ll meet you back here later for a summary briefing. Time isn’t our friend these days.”

“Give Tassia my regards,” Mitch says, giving me a playful wink.

“Give her your regards yourself,” I shoot back. “I texted her earlier asking her to join us for dinner later. She said yes.”

Tyler chuckles. “And there you go, breaking your own word.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’re better off putting some distance between her and us.”

“It doesn’t mean I have to be a crappy host,” I reply, watching them exchange a humor-filled glance.

We all know I’m lying to myself.

I findTassia at her desk, huddled behind her computer. Her blonde hair is pulled into a loose bun on the top of her head, her blue eyes sparkling against the screen while her slender fingers tap away at the keyboard.

“Hey,” I say, then clear my throat.

Her gaze shoots up, and for a moment, I flash back to the way she looked at me the night before. Her naked curves. The slickness of her warm, wet folds as she opened up like a flower for me.

“Hey,” she replies, sitting back. “Heard you caught another murder this morning.”

“We did. Dina Kellogg.”

“Name doesn’t sound familiar.”

“You don’t hang around in those circles.”

“What circles?” she asks.

I search her face for something that could tell me just a little bit more about that wickedly fast and beautiful mind of hers. “Drug users,” I say. “We’re looking for a connection with the Tanya Burrow case, and so far, that’s all we’ve come up with.”

“I thought Frost Valley was a safe place,” Tassia sighs deeply. “Then again, judging by what I’ve been logging since I firststarted working here, said thought doesn’t make much sense anymore. Motorcycle gangs, drug dealing, gang violence, plenty of thefts and aggravated assault… but murder? That’s a whole new level.”

“It is, and Frost Valley isn’t used to any of it. It wasn’t like this before.”

“Before?”

“Years ago, before Mitch, Tyler, and I were deployed with the Rangers.”

“We’re talking about a couple of decades ago, Sheriff,” Tassia shakes her head. “A lot of things can change in the span of two years, let alone two decades.”

That sounded personal, and the tremor in her voice confirms it. Perhaps I should revisitherfile. I’ve got the required credentials to pull it up without drawing any attention. However, right now, I’ve got a more pressing task to deal with.

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