Page 50 of Claimed By the Deputies

Lucas and the guys are out chasing down another lead, while I further study what we already have. Every time I come back to the board, I find something new.

“What’s your deal anyway?” Sherry asks. She sounds annoyed, though I’m not sure why. I try not to take it personally, assumingshe’s just one of the many people who still take issue with my criminal record.

“I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“You and Lucas. What’s your deal there?”

I stare at her for a second, maybe two. “Again, I’m not sure I understand.”

“Then let me tell you what I’m thinking?—”

“Please don’t,” I mutter, understanding the rapid decomposition of an already shoddy rapport between us.

“You were getting bored clerking in the evidence room, so you spread your legs to get into the bullpen,” Sherry replies with a dry smile. “That’s what the other deputies are saying, anyway.”

I snort out a sarcastic laugh. “Wow, you have me all figured out.”

“Don’t get your hopes up. Those three? They don’t do solo stuff for long. It’s why it never worked out between me and Lucas.”

My stomach drops. Lucas never told me he’d been with Sherry. Neither did Mitch or Tyler. Then again, I’m the last person to hold anybody’s past against them.

“Listen, I don’t know what this is about, but I assure you?—”

“Spare me,” she snaps, downright offended. “I see the way he looks at you. The way you fawn over him. I’m not dumb and I’m not blind. They’re going to want to screw you together, the three of them. Do yourself a favor and back off before it’s too late.”

“Before it’s too late?”

“I told Lucas no. He didn’t like it.”

“What are you saying?” I ask, my heart thudding, my mind in a darkening haze.

“It ended. Bitterly. He’s still not over me.”

I find myself staring at her, trying to figure out exactly what her angle is. “Sherry, let me make something clear before this conversation becomes unmanageable,” I calmly say. “Your history with Sheriff Riggs is not my concern, nor will it ever be. My work here is perfectly justified and carefully documented. And frankly, I’ve got way too much on my plate to deal with this mean girl bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you need me to write that down? Whatever your deal with Lucas is, or was, it’s your problem, not mine.” I offer her a fake smile. “Thank you for the file. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

It was better than a smack across her face, though my palm is still itching.

Sherry smiles nervously, crossing her bony arms and shaking her head. “You do you, girl. I just wanted to warn you. They ride together. You can’t get one without the others.”

Which is precisely what drew me to them in the first place, but Sherry doesn’t need to know that. Besides, judging from her demeanor alone, she’s still carrying a torch the size of Lady Liberty’s for Lucas, so whatever she has to say, it must be taken with a grain of salt.

“Thank you for the warning,” I bluntly reply.

“Then again, maybe I got it wrong,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me. “I’m starting to think they let you out of the evidence room as more of an act of mercy.”

I tilt my head, watching her. “Mercy?”

“Yeah,” she scoffs, adding, “you’re too big to be their type anyway.”

Shocked, I ask, “Did you just call me fat?”

“Your words, not mine.” She smirks, then sashays back to her desk. “I mean, look at me and look at you, honey. There’s no comparison.”

“What the hell is this? Sophomore year in high school all over again?” I mutter, my cheeks burning red as I turn away from her and struggle to focus on my whiteboard instead.

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