Page 58 of Claimed By the Deputies

“Last time you were here, you threatened to arrest all of us,” Dexter replies. “I take it you’re here to keep your promise? If so, I’d love to hear the charges.”

“No charges. I just want to talk.”

“After the way you spoke to my colleagues and me? Why would I give you the time of day?”

He’s either testing Lucas or he’s really itching for a fight. The former makes him rebellious, the latter makes him stupid. Thelaw is still on Lucas’s side. The air feels so thick it’s practically suffocating.

I look around at the other club members. Young men—mostly in their late twenties and thirties, though there are a few old-timers—partial to wearing all black—jeans, t-shirts, leather vests and boots. Piercings aplenty and a host of tattoos, some done by a talented artist, others clearly penned into the skin while in prison, judging by the poor lines and design.

All of them are carrying some sort of weapon.

“Because you’re still running an operation in my town, Dexter, and I’m still the fucking sheriff.” Lucas lets that sink in. “Do you want to have a civilized conversation here, or would you rather I drag you out in cuffs and have that conversation at the station? I’m told your lawyer charges something ridiculous by the hour. In this economy, every penny counts.”

Dexter laughs and crosses his arms. He’s not giving up easy, but he’s not resisting, either. Damn, he’s hard to read.

“What is this about, Sheriff?”

“Billy Jade.”

Not an inkling of surprise on the guy’s face. “Yeah, I heard. Happened under your roof, too. That’s gotta suck.”

“Do you know anything about it?”

“I know it takes a certain degree of audacity to pull something like that off.”

“You might’ve had a bone to pick with Jade. After all, he was one of your dealers,” Lucas replies.

Dexter shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Billy Jade was dealing for your club. We have text messages, phone calls. My colleague can confirm,” Lucas says, then gives me a nod.

“You guys need better code names for your product, Dexter. New York cheesecake? Really? That’s a little on the nose, pardon the pun,” I add with a wry smile.

“I’ve got enough to start calling your guys in for one-on-one interviews. But if you give me the name of who’s leading your drug operation—because I know you’re just stooges on Harleys for the guy—we might be able to work out a deal,” Lucas says.

Dexter looks at him, then at me. As soon as his cold, grey eyes begin searching my face, I feel a shiver run down my spine. “Who are you, again?”

“None of your concern,” Lucas cuts in.

“It is my fucking concern when you come into my bar and threaten me with jail time again,” Dexter snaps. He’s on edge. The mention of their code messages hit a sensitive spot.

“We just want the name of whoever is at the top of the pyramid,” I calmly reply. “We already know it was one of your guys who silenced Billy Jade before he could talk to the DA. We assume more bodies will drop. We could go right after Jade’s killer and offer him a better deal, or you could take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity and cooperate.”

Dexter measures me from head to toe, then snorts a bitter laugh. “You’ve got spunk, I’ll give you that. And brass balls to talk to me in that manner.”

Behind him, I can see one of the guys by the bar slowly reaching for his weapon. “You don’t want to do that,” I call out, drawing Lucas’s attention to him. “The entire sheriff’s department knows we’re here.”

“Don’t be stupid, Jake,” Lucas tells the guy. “You don’t want to make this worse than it already is.”

Dexter looks over his shoulder and growls at Jake. “Back down, you dumb fuck. I will strip that VP badge off your chest so fast you won’t even know what hit you.”

“Boss—”

“Tone it the fuck down!” Dexter snarls, then turns his focus back on us. “My apologies. We have no intention of drawing our weapons against law enforcement.”

Not today, anyway. Not during an official visit. Dexter is playing it smart, but the whole town knows how brutal they can be, how easy it is for them to kill people who get in their way. Lucas has been keeping a tight reign over Frost Valley, though, and even the Silver Stallions know there are lines that simply cannot be crossed.

A line will be crossed eventually though. It always is.

---