The blonde female officer strode around her car door, her gaze apologetic. “Turn around, Mr. Maxwell.”
Mariana and Tabi walked out onto the porch.
“What’s going on?” Mariana asked.
Raine stiffened. “False arrest, apparently.” He could take care of the sheriff in a heartbeat, but the curvy blonde officer was just doing her job. He cut a look at Evan.
Evan nodded. “I’ll take care of things here. Is there a lawyer you want me to call?”
“Yeah. Hit speed dial 3 on my phone. It’s inside.” Raine turned and allowed the officer to cuff him and lead him to her car. He looked over the top of it. “Mariana? Stay inside and safe until I get out and begin legal proceedings against this dumbass sheriff.” Then he sat in the backseat, his temper at bay since Evan had promised to stay and look after Mariana along with Tabi. Although the way the demoness was staring at the sheriff, she might go for the brain attack. At this point, Raine didn’t care.
The last thing he saw before the car sped away was Mariana’s pale face.
* * * *
This was unbelievable. Mariana stormed into her house and reached for Raine’s phone on the counter to speed dial # 3.
“Yo, bro. You get the deed done?” A male voice came over the line—one with a similar deep timbre to Raine.
“Um, this is Mariana Lopez and Raine Maxwell said to call this number?”
Quiet came across for a second. “Is Raine all right?”
“Healthy, yes. But he was just arrested and said to call you. Are you his lawyer?” She bit her lip.
“If he needs a lawyer, then I’m his lawyer,” the guy said. “Mariana, huh?”
She turned as Evan shut the front door and Tabi looked at her expectantly. “Yes.”
“Good. I’m actually, uh, close by and will take care of this.” The guy disengaged the call.
Mariana pulled the phone from her ear to stare at it. “Weird. Definitely weird.”
The door opened, and the sheriff walked inside.
“Get out of my house,” Mariana burst out, moving right for him. Her body was still tingling from the night she’d shared with Raine, and there was no way he should’ve been arrested.
Tabi stopped her by the arm. “Hold on. Let me kick him out. I haven’t had any fun lately.” The miniature blonde rocked back on her heels as if ready for a good fight.
Mariana paused. Oh, Tabi was tough, but she was half the size of the sheriff. “I can handle this.”
“I’ve got it.” Evan yanked the door open wider and reached for the sheriff.
“Wait,” Mariana ordered. “If you touch him, he’ll press charges. However, since he’s trespassing in my house—”
“Enough,” the sheriff grumbled, his eyes blazing. It was odd that both he and Raine had green eyes, but the greens couldn’t be any different. Raine’s eyes were a deep and true green, while the sheriff’s were slightly muddy and cloudy.
Mariana held up a hand. “Sheriff—”
“Buck Baker. Please call me Buck. Please.” The sheriff tapped a manilla file folder against one hand. “Tell your friends to leave and let me help you.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Tabi said, her voice sweet and her eyes glowering.
The sheriff looked down at the file folder. “You need to see this.”
Mariana frowned. “What is it?”
He moved into the living room and sat on the sofa.
