Kansas Nights [Kansas Heat 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (30 page)

Jack cracked his neck as he rolled his chin from side to side, trying to release the tension that came along with that thought, but he couldn’t relax. He needed Kathy. He needed to see and touch and smell her to know she was truly safe. Snatching his keys up, he headed for the door only to find the sheriff waiting on the other side.

“We need to talk.” As if that statement gave him the right to simply walk into Jack’s little room, Sheriff Black stepped forward, using his considerable bulk to back Jack up.

“I don’t see as where we have anything to say to each other.” Jack disagreed, but didn’t stand in the sheriff’s way. Stepping back, he let the man in, even closing the door behind him so they could have some privacy for what Jack suspected wouldn’t be a polite conversation. As if silently agreeing, the sheriff took Jack’s measure with a sour look.

“Don’t get all squirrelly now.” The sheriff’s scowl deepened as he turned to confront Jack. “At least wait until I tell you I can recognize a Fed a mile away.”

“I’m sorry, Sheriff, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jack didn’t
miss a beat with his answer. “I work for Amanda Johnson’s security detail—”

“Don’t feed me that shit,” the big man snapped. “Security details don’t break into—”

“I didn’t break into anybody’s house.” Jack put a stop to that accusation instantly.

“Yeah? Well, your buddy did,” the sheriff shot back, proving he knew more than Jack would like him to. “And I don’t appreciate you guys encouraging Kathy. It’s already hard enough to keep that woman out of trouble!”

Jack sighed, unable to argue that point and not really feeling up to playing this game. “You want a beer? Because I could use a beer.”

“I want answers,” the sheriff corrected, turning to track Jack as he made his way to the small refrigerator tucked in near the vanity. “Honest answers.”

“That’s all I want, too,” Jack muttered, pulling out a can and offering it the sheriff.

The man just glared back at him. Ignoring the sheriff’s scowl, Jack shrugged and took his beer to settle back down in his chair. What he really wanted was Kathy naked and ready to help him work off some frustrations, but instead he propped his feet up on the small, scarred trunk that served as both bench, storage, and coffee table for the small efficiency.

“Look, you can glare at me all you want, but I’m kind of immune to intimidation.” Jack waited a second, smiling slightly when the sheriff finally conceded some ground and relaxed back enough to settle his ass against the dresser holding up a TV that belonged in a different era.

Like any good suspect should, Jack kept his trap shut and waited for the sheriff to instigate the conversation. The sheriff didn’t bother until after enough time had passed for the silence to become pointed. The quiet gave Jack a chance to study the sheriff, and what he saw impressed him.

Tony Black was as mean-looking a son of a bitch as Jack had ever seen. He had the kind of internal hardness to him that would make a cowardly man crumble quickly in his presence. Jack wasn’t a coward, but even he tensed at the steely determination churning in the low drawl of Tony’s voice.

“Why don’t we start with just who you are?”

“Jack—”

“I don’t give a crap about your name,
Jack
. I care about who you represent, and don’t give me any crap about private security. We both know that if I decide to arrest you, whatever case you’re working on will most likely be compromised. If you don’t want that, speak now.”

Sheriff Black didn’t beat around any bush, nor did he hesitate to put all his cards on the table. Jack couldn’t argue with the man’s point. He knew enough about small towns to know the cops could beef up any superficial complaint and blow his cover. It wasn’t like they suspected the sheriff of anything, which meant Jack wouldn’t be compromising the case any more than it already was to share just a few details with the man.

“Okay.” Jack stretched back in his seat and nodded. “DEA, but this is a multi-organizational task force.”

“And you’re monitoring Amanda?”

“Her safety along with discovering anything she might know is my primary objective.”

“And Kathy?” It had only taken the sheriff three questions to get to the point, proving he was as blunt and direct as Jack had surmised.

“Is a very lovely woman.”

“Don’t get smart with me now, Jack,” the sheriff warned him. “Kathy is a friend, and I want to know what you and
your friends
have planned for her.”

“Is there anybody in this town you wouldn’t say that about?”

“No…well, maybe Will McKinney, but he’s dead.”

“And I’m aiming to make sure Kathy doesn’t end up the same way.” Jack didn’t bother hoping that would suffice for the sheriff, but he did expect it would appease the man’s concern about Jack’s intentions. “Trust me, Sheriff, I’m trying to make sure
all
your friends are alive to reelect you next time around.”

“You think that’s what this is about?” Clearly misunderstanding Jack’s intent, the sheriff stiffened with indignation. “You think I care about my job more than my town? Let me tell you something, asshole, I got this job because nothing matters more to me than this town and the people who live here. They’re my first priority. I want to bring this violence to an end so my people are safe. Got me?”

“Clear as a bell.” Pleased that he’d inverted the situation and put the sheriff on the defensive, Jack tried to ease the tension that move had caused. “That’s all I want, except my notion of ‘this town’ is a little bigger.”

“How very noble of you,” the sheriff sneered. “You know the problem with worrying about the whole fucking world? You start accepting that you might have to hurt one woman to save the rest of us, and I don’t buy into that. So I want to know what the hell you and your inbred hick of a buddy are doing with Kathy, and the answer better not piss me off or your ass will end up a jail cell so fast the speed of light won’t be able to catch up for a few hours. Now talk.”

“Nobody’s doing anything with Kathy but trying to keep her from getting herself into trouble,” Jack assured him, not sure that he could offer a better answer. The truth certainly wouldn’t help.

“See, I find that hard to believe when the rumors are you spent a night with her and now you’ve passed her on to—”

“Nobody’s
passed
her on.” No sooner had the words passed his lips than Jack realized his mistake.

“Really?” The sheriff arched a big, bushy brow. “’Cause I could swear your little blond friend is over at her house right now.

“Collin’s a bodyguard. They tend to stick close to their subjects.”

“And they don’t tend to run them off the road either.”

“He’s new to the game.”

“That must be why instead of stopping Kathy from breaking and entering Eddie’s house today, he fucked her in it.” The sheriff cocked his head and studied Jack for a second before asking him point-blank, “So how many lies you going to feed me before you try the truth?”

“The truth is, Sheriff, Kathy’s a grown woman and a stubborn one at that.” Jack paused, letting that sink in for a moment before pointing out the obvious. “I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that she’s decided to solve all of Amanda’s problems. Apparently, they’re friends and here, in Humble, that means that common sense is put aside in favor of the ‘at any cost approach.’”

Either his words or his desperation penetrated the sheriff’s thick skull, finally allowing the man to see that Jack didn’t have many options when it came to Kathy. Heaving a heavy sigh, the big man kicked back, setting more of his weight onto the dresser.

“Yeah, I know. I told her to stay the hell out of this mess. So did Amanda.”

“And are you expecting her to listen?” Because Jack would call the man a fool if he was.

“No,” the sheriff admitted. He fell silent for a minute, clearly considering his options before adding on to that. “But I’m betting you will. I want you stay the hell away from Kathy.”

“No can do.” Jack wouldn’t agree to that no matter what the sheriff threatened. The big man had some leverage, though. He didn’t hesitate to use it either.

“You know, I do have a lot of friends, friends that tell me things, things about money runners being kidnapped from federal safe houses, about a case gone to hell and an inside man who has a lot of blood on his hands. Only problem is nobody knows who that is, do they?”

The sheriff met Jack’s stare dead-on, each word ratcheting up the tension holding Jack’s shoulders stiff. “Hell, it could be you.”

“Excuse me?” Jack let the anger that was infusing his blood sharpen his words to a lethal edge. “Would you care to
repeat
that?”

“I’m just saying. The only thing we both know for sure is that I’m not guilty and neither is Kathy.”

“On that, at least, we can agree.” It took an act of supreme willpower to let the sheriff’s insult go, but Jack managed. He knew the man wasn’t actually accusing him but making a point, a very dangerous point.

“It must have been one hell of an assault, and don’t insult my intelligence by claiming it was the cartels. If those assholes had anything to do with it, the whole thing would have been a bloodbath. Nobody would have escaped, especially not the primary target. Somebody else did this, and when you look around here, I know what you’re looking for.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?” Jack would sure like to know because somewhere along the line he felt like he’d lost all direction.

“For some crackpot paramilitary group that has delusions of grandeur, and you’re looking at Kathy because you’re thinking she’s your ticket into the paranoid underground, and don’t deny it.”

Jack blinked, uncertain of how to handle that accusation. The sheriff didn’t have it completely wrong. Hell, he couldn’t have articulated Tagger’s goal better if he’d tried. Jack, on the other hand, had something far more lewd in mind when it came to Kathy, not that he expected that would soothe the sheriff’s temper.

“I think Kathy’s halfway to getting herself killed, and I’m not going to let that happen.” Jack finally decided to go with the one thing he knew Tony Black would agree with. “I don’t want her to be my ticket anywhere. I’m just hoping to be hers to a safe future. You got the time to be that?”

“And your buddy?” Tony asked, clearly not impressed with Jack’s heroism.

“What can I say? It’s a two-man job keeping that woman safe.” Jack shrugged and threw the rest of his beer back. Slamming the empty can down on the trunk, he offered the sheriff his biggest smile. “And happy.”

“I’m going to let that go for right now,” the sheriff allowed, though Jack could see it cost him. “Later, when you hurt her—and we both know you will—we’ll be visiting that conversation again. Got me?”

“I’ll remember to wear a cup.” Jack shoved out of his seat. “If that’s settled, I—”

“I don’t intend to kick you in the balls,” Tony corrected Jack, following his lead and straightening up. “I intend to shoot you in them. Just so we’re clear on that.”

“Okay then.” Jack accepted that because there was nothing else he could do.

Kathy might be aggravating and causing him no small amount of needless problems, but she also stirred barbaric, primitive instincts within him, making him feel alive in ways Jack hadn’t believed existed. She was like a drug to his senses, and now he had to pay the price for becoming an addict. Like any junkie, he’d pay just about any price for a fix, and right then he was late for his.

“So now that we have that cleared up, I’ve got someplace I need to be.”

“Sit your ass back down,” the sheriff snapped. “We’re not done. We’re not even started. I want to know truth about what the hell you boys pulled out of Eddie’s shelter.”

* * * *

Marion paced anxiously up and down the length of the patio, her teeth grinding harder and harder with each ring of the phone. Finally Dennis’s voice mail picked up. His cheery tone boomed over the line, making Marion curse and snap her phone closed. The bastard expected her to be at his beck and call but could barely find the time to say “hello” when she needed his damn help.

Flinging the phone onto the iron-and-glass table set up in the dead center of the circling paver stones, Marion dug into her purse for the silver cigarette case buried at the very bottom. Menthol light one-twenties, the long, thin cigarettes couldn’t provide enough nicotine to even dent the anxiety gripping Marion’s nerves. A pill or two would have helped, but she’d run out. Until Dennis answered, she’d be out.

“Everything, okay?” Millie Sanders cast a concerned glance in Marion’s direction as she stepped through the French doors. A maid trailed in her wake, darting around to set the tea tray she held down on the table.

“Life couldn’t be finer.” Marion forced a smile for the young servant’s benefit. Settling down in the seat opposite Millie, she continued to prattle on as the maid set about serving them. “George is actually talking about taking a true vacation over the holidays. Now that the children are all gone, he’s finally willing to consider Christmas in the Alps.”

“You mean he’s finally grown tired of putting up and taking down all those decorations and sees the wisdom in actually relaxing over the holidays.” Millie chuckled, a false and hollow sound that Marion recognized all too well. It faded as the maid carried the tray off, taking her leave at the wave of Millie’s hand.

“So, how is everything, really?” Millie’s tone sharpened as her gaze narrowed. In an instant, she took on the hard, watchful look of a woman well accustomed to surviving scandal and chaos.

“I miss Will.” Marion sighed, feeling more depressed than she could describe. The words that came to her simply couldn’t do justice to the wealth of feeling brimming inside her. “He was so much fun and now…”

“He was entertaining,” Millie agreed, a smugly satisfied smile pulling at the edge of her lips for a second before straightening back out. “But he wasn’t worth any grief.”

Millie didn’t understand. For her, Will had simply been a seasonal fad. Now she’d go back to screwing her gardener, or her husband’s accountant. Unfortunately, Marion’s gardener called her “ma’am” and had a girlfriend who he worshiped. Marion remembered those days. Back before George, she had looked at Dennis with the same starry-eyed devotion. That hadn’t lasted long.