“I hope he didn’t leave a body out for people to find or something,” Dexter murmured, obviously thinking the same thing I was.
We walked off the front porch and toward the car, and the sheriff seemed to really notice us all for the first time. He let Jude’s arm go, but Jude made no move to leave his side. In fact, he leaned his side against the car next to Sheriff Paul, obviously happy to stay put.
And yes, he was handcuffed.
“You’re gonna be in so much trouble with Josh!” Toby yelled to Jude from behind me.
“Sheriff,” I said in greeting.
The sheriff sighed. “Why is it that every time I see the Smith family, you seem to have acquired more people. You aren’t building some sort of doomsday compound, are you?”
“Nope!” Toby answered helpfully. “That was that lady who kidnapped Sebbie, but she’s dead.”
I looked at Jude, who was still grinning and leaning against the car. “Do I need to take care of this?” I asked him.
His mood changed immediately, and he stepped in front of the sheriff, blocking him from view. His eyes went a little flamy, and he growled for a moment. I tilted my head and Crow cawed from above.
“Jude, what the hell—” the sheriff started, but Jude backed him against the car, still standing in front of him to protect him.
The sheriff was probably confused as hell, and I was a little offended. I was only offering to help. I wouldn’t do anything without Jude’s permission. I knew the sheriff was his.
Luckily, our standoff was interrupted by Josh’s voice. “Jude! I swear to god! That’s it! I’m gonna take away your damn car if you can’t stop speeding!”
We all looked over; Josh and Wilder were heading our way, and Josh lookedmad.
“What idiotic thing did he do this time?” Josh asked the sheriff as they came up to our group, “because I say throw him in jail. Wait, no, nevermind—he’d probably enjoy that too much. Just ignore him for a week. I’msurehe was being an asshole, and I’m sorry he took up your time. And for goodness sake, Jude, stop crowding the sheriff and move over!”
Jude did indeed move over, still giving me a look. I raised my eyebrows at him. He knew me better than that.
Finally, Jude muttered. “I didn’t do anything.”
Wilder chimed in on that. “I doubt the sheriff put you in cuffs for no reason.”
Oddly enough, the sheriff got red in the face at that, and he grabbed his keys, reaching for Jude’s hands to take the cuffs off.
Jude smirked, and he was about to say something (probably snarky or suggestive) when Josh interrupted him. “Do NOT say a word.”
Jude wisely shut up, and the sheriff rolled his eyes. He’d probably been dealing with Jude’s awkward flirtations and innuendos for the entire ride here. I was rather surprised he hadn’t gagged him along with using the handcuffs.
“He isn’t under arrest,” the sheriff admitted. His attention then shifted to my side, and I realized he was looking at Sebbie. I had to suppress my own growl at that.
“Although since Sebbie is here, I would like to have a word with him, if that’s okay. I was actually over at his house earlier to check in.” the sheriff finished.
Sebbie must have felt me tense up, because he put a hand reassuringly on my arm. “That’s fine,” he answered.
Well, I supposed the sheriff was going to be pack at some point. Might as well get better acquainted with him.
“Why don’t we all head inside for coffee,” I finally said, turning and tugging Sebbie along with me. He could talk to the sheriff, but I would be there to make sure there was no trouble.
Jude might hate the idea, but wiping the sheriff’s memory was always a possibility. If it protected Sebbie and the pack, I’d do what I needed to.
Chapter 16
Sebbie
Alex,can I have Weird Things that Happen to Me for a thousand, please?
Although most of the weird things lately had involved the Smith brothers, so maybe they were actually the weird-luck magnets. I wouldn’t say bad luck, because me happening upon that house with those two guys wasn’t bad—supposedly I’d performed CPR and saved the one guy’s life. Still, it was weird luck. I was sure that was what the sheriff wanted to talk to me about, and I wasn’t sure why Corbin was all tense about it as we walked back to the house. Unless he was just upset about Jude showing up in cuffs.
