“Sure am—ifit gets approved.” She pressed her lips together in some semblance of a smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
That it was Harper behind this might actually work to our benefit. She’d spent so much time at the resort when she’d been younger, surely she’d want to feature it. Maybe I was the wrong McKenzie brother to talk to her, and Levi would have more luck. “Does Levi know you’re here?”
Her stare hardened, smile dropping completely. “No idea. He’s not exactly on my speed dial.”
Well, shit. So much for that idea. I didn’t know what had gone down between her and my brother, but it was clear there was no love lost between them. Not exactly a shock when it was Levi I was talking about. But their…entanglement definitely didn’t bode well for securing a feature, which meant I needed to do everything to stack it in our favor.
“I’m working on taking care of this.”
A raised brow was her only reply as I stepped around her and away from the incessant yammering of Mabel. I needed a clear head for what I was about to do. Luna and I had only spat fire and ice at each other since she’d first shown up in town. And if I didn’t play my cards right, she could fuck up the one and only break the resort had had in years. I refused to let this woman prevent my family from getting what they needed.
Steeling my shoulders, I took a deep breath and prepared for battle.
Hands on my belt, I strode toward the too-beautiful-for-her-own-good woman who sat at the base of a huge tree, its trunk at least three times the width of her. She wore a pale gray sweatshirt and leggings that I knew firsthand would hug her shapely ass. Her dark hair was gathered off to the side in a thick, loose braid, with several smaller braids interspersed throughout and wisps of hair framing her face. It was infuriating, really, how gorgeous this pain in my ass was.
“Ms. Lancaster. Do you love handcuffs in general or just mine?”
A sparkle danced in her blue-hazel eyes as she looked up at me, her lips pursed. “Is that why you’re here? You gonna arrest me again, Sheriff?”
“If I have to.”
She jutted out her chin, her delicate features such a contrast to the firm set of her jaw. “Well, I’ve cleared my schedule, and I intend to be here all day, unless someone drags me away.”
“Is that so?” I asked in a low murmur, then squatted down so I wasn’t towering over her. “We just did this yesterday. Where’s the key?”
She sniffed, looking far too poised for someone who was sitting in the dirt and chained to a tree. “Must’ve lost it.”
“Mhmm.” I didn’t believe her for a second, especially since she’d given me the same line yesterday and then dug it out of some hidden pocket in her leggings. She was reckless, yes, but she wasn’t stupid. She had that key tucked somewhere safe on her person. I just needed to find it. Preferably soon, before we gave Harper any more fodder for an article than she already had. “Last chance.”
“You might as well do whatever you planned, because nothing will make me give up that key.”
With a sigh, I stood. “I didn’t want it to come to this.”
Without another word, I turned and headed back toward my patrol car. I was trusting Beck with the small bit of intel he’d given me before I’d left the resort and headed over here. Apparently, my little lawbreaker ate breakfast every morning in the diner—some crazy, new-age vegetarian, gluten-free, soy-free, flavor-free concoction no sane person would put anywhere near their mouths—but she hadn’t this morning. I was counting on her being hungry and caffeine-deprived for this next part to work.
“Are you getting a Taser?” Luna called after me, drawing the attention of not only nosy Mabel, but also a sharp-eyed Harper. “Or are you going for the pepper spray? Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. You’ll need bolt cutters to get me away from this tree! I’m doing this for the animals who can’t speak for themselves.”
My God, could the woman be any more dramatic? Or infuriating? She set my teeth on edge, and I had to beat down the part of me that wanted to punish her for misbehaving. With my hand on her bare ass.
“Sheriff, can you let the good people of Starlight Cove know what’s going on? Who chained Luna to the tree and just left her there to perish?”
“Mabel,” I snapped, what little patience I had long gone. “Go home.You’re not even reporting the facts. No one did this to her—she did it to herself.”
Mabel pressed the phone against the material of her sweatshirt and shot me a wink. “Nothing wrong with spicing up those facts a bit. Embellishing and whatnot. Gets me more views and likes, and that’s what it’s all about.”
I grunted in response but otherwise ignored her as I reached in and grabbed the bag holding a takeout container and the to-go cup full of the disgusting green concoction Beck had tricked me into trying. It tasted like weeds and ass, and if I never had it near my mouth again, it would be too soon.
Thankfully, Harper was quite a ways away, her back to me as she talked with the foreman while I carried my…bribe—I cringed at the thought—toward Luna. The last thing I needed was Harper writing this up in her article.
“Food delivery for the person breaking the law.” Mabel tsked, eyebrows raised. “Trying a new tack, Sheriff?”
“Mabel, if you’re not gone in two minutes, I’ll arrest you for trespassing along with Ms. Lancaster.”
She gasped and held a hand to her chest. “Youwouldn’t. What would your mother say?”
It was the same question I’d asked myself every day for nearly ten years. But in all that time, I’d gotten damn good at forcing it down and ignoring it, so I did it once again.
“Don’t push me.”
