My heart is starting to thunder and I can no longer feel my fingers.
“Deputy!” Sheriff Kelly reprimands. “You will remove your hand from your firearm and contain yourself! I told you we are here in an unofficial capacity only.”
I call bullshit.
The sheriff is bluffing. Otherwise, he would have come alone instead of bringing backup. I don’t blame him though. Not even I know how my mountain men will react now that the cat’s out of the bag.
I’m alive.
And I’ve been right under the sheriff’s nose the entire time.
That’s got to sting.
I think we all take a collective breath when the nervous deputy finally drops his hand and straightens. Khalil is angled just enough for me to see his profile and the smirk on his lips as he winks at the deputy.
My leg shoots out under the table, and I kick him in the shin. Grunting, he peers down at me over his shoulder and lifts a brow at my glare.
Don’t taunt the trigger-happy police, fool.
Hearing my silent plea, he nods and schools his expression.
While all the men posture and dick measure, my mind starts turning over solutions. I hate myself the moment I think of my uncle. Marston George may be a piece of shit, but he’s always been remarkably good at manipulating everyone around him—including me.
How would he spin and twist the truth into his favor?
How would he leverage the emotions, weaknesses, and temperaments of everyone in the room to get what he wanted?
The sheriff doesn’twantto believe that his precious boys betrayed his trust. Hewantsto be absolved of letting his personal relationship with them get in the way of his duty. Hewantsto redeem himself by saving me—whether I want it or not.
My mountain men don’t want to let me go. They want to protect and love me—to find a way for the four of us to live in seclusion and harmony until the end of our days, and I…
I just want to survive the day unscathed.
What Idon’twant is another person’s blood on my hands.
Suddenly, the answer seems so obvious as I soak in all the testosterone and rage.
Thankfully, my guys remain silent once the sheriff unleashes his tirade of disappointment, anger, and betrayal on them. They stand like statues while he demands an explanation for their deception before launching into yet another chiding before my mountain men can even think to respond.
“Ugghhhhhh,” I unintentionally groan out loud once I’ve had enough of listening to the sheriff rant like a wounded lover who caught his boys in bed with another sheriff.
I mean any other cop would have arrested them already, right? So why is he acting like their biggest crime washurting his feelings?
My drawn-out groan causes the sheriff to sputter to a stop midsentence. Now that all eyes are on me once again, I rip off the Band-Aid and stand, nudging Khalil to the side with a dirty look when he tries to sidestep and keep me out of view.
Fucking really? We’re way past that now.
When I get too close to the sheriff and his deputy for Khalil’s liking, he grips the back of my shirt and yanks me back until I’m close enough to feel the heat emanating from his chest. He keeps me in front of him though, leaving me to face the sheriff.
“I think you might have amnesia, Gramps. I said I didn’t need your help.”
“Aurelia,” Thorin warns.
The sheriff levels a look at me that makes it clear he’s not amused by me like he was earlier. And here I thought he found me charming if not trying. “And as I told you, Ms. George. I cannot ignore the law.”
“Even if it means killing me?”
Everyone’s shock ripples across the room. My mountain men, of course, take it the wrong way, but there’s no time to reassure them. The nervous deputy returns his hand to his gun, and the sheriff doesn’t rebuke him for it this time. I just barely resist the urge to roll my eyes since this new web of lies will take delicate role-playing.
