Page 121 of Wild Card
That made a lot of sense. I could never be objective about Axel.
It’s certainly what Sheriff Haleshouldhave done. If he had, Dallas would have been locked up ages ago. But to be fair, if he’d made Dallas face the consequences of his actions sooner, he might not need to be locked up now.
“Well, speaking of difficult positions, I should head back to work.” I groaned. “I am not looking forward to it. At least Sheriff Fuckhead will be leaving soon after I arrive.”
Hunter pushed his shake aside and leaned forward. “Okay, so have you thought anymore about running for sheriff?”
“It’s all I think about,” I admitted. “Well, that and Axel.”
“And?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. There’s a guy in Lincoln who’s been doing a really good job. Expanded their ethics code, for one thing. We could use someone like that.”
“I’m looking at someone like that,” he said. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be worried. People here know and trust you. I think you’d win much easier than someone from another place, don’t you?”
“Possibly,” I said grudgingly.
“And if you gamble on this other guy, and Hale wins…”
I couldn’t keep working for Hale while he took bribes and twisted the law into his personal power trip. It wasn’t just about Dallas, though that was the thing nagging at me the most. I knew he was behind that damn hit-and-run, but what was the point of asking for a search warrant? Hale would just shut me down.
“The mayor agrees with you,” I said. “He’s told me as much.”
“I mean, you shouldn’t do something you really don’t want to do. But can you really walk away knowing a guy like Hale is in charge?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about quitting. I feel like staying is enabling him, but how can I leave? I’m the only one capable of standing up to him right now.”
“You’re going to do the right thing,” Hunter said. “Whatever you decide.”
If only someone else could decide for me.
We said our goodbyes on that cheerful note, and I headed back to the station. As soon as I got there, I could tell something was wrong.
Ava was standing in front of her desk, whispering frantically to Zach and jabbing a finger toward the sheriff’s closed door.
I strode up to them. “What’s going on?”
Ava turned to me, her usual smile nowhere to be seen. “Sheriff called in Deputy Parks. I didn’t like the look in his eye when he did it.”
Zach cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s probably just a performance evaluation or something.”
My stomach clenched with unease. “It’s too soon for that.”
Sheriff Hale wouldn’t punish Chloe for Dallas’s arrest, would he? I was the one who’d brought him in. I’d wanted to avoid this exact scenario.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Ava said. “I know you cops have instincts, but so do mama bears.”
“I just don’t know—” Zach started.
“I’m going in.”
I strode across the bull pen and stopped in front of the sheriff’s door. I considered knocking, but why give him a chance to pretend everything was fine if it wasn’t?
I threw open the door.
It took a minute to process the scene. Chloe was standing in front of the county map on the wall. The paper was actually wrinkled because she was pressing back against it.
Sheriff Hale stood in front of her, one hand on the wall by her head. Leaning in much too close. Murmuring words that I couldn’t make out but justknewwere toxic.
