Mike rubbed his chin as he stood in front of the one-way glass. He watched as Reg Schmidt interviewed Jaime Nuñez. The man was one of Jesus Perez’s men who’d been brought in for questioning regarding the murder of a young woman, Beth Franco, who’d been close to Perez.
Beth had recently turned informant when she’d overheard Perez talking about murder and human trafficking. The sheriff’s office had arranged to have her wear a wire tonight—but now she was dead.
Reg was a hard man who didn’t have a hell of a lot of tolerance. He saw the world in black and white, no gray areas, which had its good and bad points when it came to doing his job as a law enforcement officer. If Reg suspected someone, the person was guilty until proven innocent. Reg had been a sergeant when Mike took office. Frankly, he wouldn’t have hired the hothead, much less promoted him to sergeant, if it had been his choice.
Right now Reg was attempting to verbally beat down Nuñez, who was sitting in his chair wearing a smirk. Mike folded his arms across his chest as he watched. Reg’s face was getting redder by the moment. Mike frowned. The deputy looked close to losing control.
Betty Turner came up next to Mike. She was frowning, too. “Reg is going to pop a vein if he keeps this up.”
Mike turned his gaze on Betty. “Get in there and see if you can get anything out of Nuñez before Reg—”
“Holy crap.” Betty darted past Mike to jerk open the door to the interrogation room.
Mike whirled to see Reg holding Nuñez by the throat with one hand while he pounded his fist into Nuñez’s face.
“Shit.” Mike ducked into the room on Betty’s heels.
Betty grabbed Reg by one arm while Mike gripped his other. Reg’s face was livid, having gone from red to purple.
“Let me at the fucker.” Reg fought against Mike and Betty’s holds and he almost got out of Betty’s grip. “He killed that girl!”
Nuñez was bleeding, but he was grinning through the blood.
Another deputy charged into the interrogation room as Betty and Mike dragged Reg out. The deputy was Ernie Walters, a long-time veteran of the sheriff’s department. Ernie made sure Nuñez wasn’t going anywhere as Reg was removed.
Reg stopped fighting and Mike slammed the door behind them once they were out of the room.
Mike ground his teeth as he fought back his temper. He rounded on Reg. “What the hell was that?”
Reg snarled. “The sonofabitch was practically bragging that he’d done it. You know he killed Beth Franco.”
“In my office.” Mike narrowed his gaze at Reg. “Now.”
Mike turned and fought down his anger as he strode into his office and moved behind his desk, but remained standing.
Reg walked in behind him, his face still purplish red, his knuckles red from hitting Nuñez, and blood on his sleeve.
“Close the door,” Mike said in a hard tone.
The deputy did so and turned on Mike. “The bastard deserved it.”
Mike locked eyes with Reg. “Sit down.”
Reg looked like he was going to argue but he parked his ass in one of the two chairs in front of Mike’s desk.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve lost control.” Mike remained standing but bent slightly, bracing his palms flat on his desk. “This time you’ve forced my hand. I’m writing you up.”
“What?” Reg’s face turned purple again. “That fucker—”
Mike cut him off. “Next time you will be suspended.”
Reg’s jaw dropped. “You can’t do that.”
“The hell I can’t.” Mike seated himself in his office chair. “You’ve been a loose cannon since I came into office. This is something I should have done long ago.”
The deputy gripped the arms of his chair. “You’re too damned soft on these shitheads.”
“You’re going to want to watch your mouth.” Mike gave him a long hard look. “I won’t warn you again. I can and will fire you if I believe you’re a danger to this office.” He nodded to the door. “Take the rest of the day off.”
Reg bared his teeth but pushed himself out of his chair. He glared at Mike and looked like he was going to fire off something else but instead he pivoted, jerked open the office door, and stormed out.
When the deputy was gone, Mike leaned back in his chair, his jaw tight. He dragged his hand down his face. If it came down to it, he’d have no problem firing Reg. The man wasn’t worth having around with the trouble he caused. With the crap he’d been pulling, he was going to get the sheriff’s department sued.
Mike turned to his desktop computer and started to log on when a knock came from the direction of the door. He turned his gaze on the open doorway to see Anna knocking on the doorframe.
She bit her lower lip when she saw his face. “Sorry to disturb you,” she said before he had a chance to say anything. “I noticed it’s a little hectic in your office.”
Just the sight of her caused some of the tension to drain out of him. “You could never disturb me.” He gestured for her. “Come on in and have a seat.”
“I stopped at Sweet Things to get some doughnuts for the campaign office. While I was there, I bought you a couple of treats.” She hesitantly held up a pink bakery box as she took a step into his office. “Although you look like you could use a drink rather than an éclair.”
He couldn’t help a low chuckle. “I’m on duty so I’ll take the éclair.”
She seemed to relax and she took the seat that Reg had just been sitting in. She was definitely a sight better to see in that chair than Reg was.
With a little smile she set the box on the desk. “I don’t want to bother you while you’re working, so I won’t stay. I need to get to the campaign office soon, too.”
He settled back in his chair and took her in, trying to avoid letting her see his gaze take in the red cowl neck sweater she wore that hugged her body and was drawn snugly across her breasts. Her long dark hung over her shoulders and alongside her breasts as well as falling in dark curls down her back.
“You’re the best thing to happen to this office all day.”
“That rough, huh?” She glanced over her shoulder at the doorway.
Through the doorway he saw Betty and Ernie talking with another deputy. Since she’d noticed things were a little crazy, he wondered if she’d overheard the deputies talking about what had just happened. Did he need to have a conversation with them about their professionalism when civilians were in the office? He’d have to say something just to make sure.
She returned her gaze to Mike. “I’m going to work on setting up the debate today. As long as Chad agrees to it, we should be able to have it the week before Halloween.”
Mike smiled. “Perfect.”
He watched as she tucked hair behind her ear, and he had a strong desire to be the one touching her hair, her face—
“Sedona is having a fall festival on Saturday.” Her words brought him back to reality. “I thought that might be a good opportunity to get out and meet the public. The arts, music, a barbeque, and other events.”
“I’ve gone in the past.” He gave a nod. “They put together a hell of an event.”
“Great.” She leaned forward in her seat. “Once I get these set up, you’ll have to think of other things I can do for you.”
He could think of a few things she could do for him, none of which were suitable suggestions for public appearances, much less mentionable. He mentally shook his head. This was no way to be thinking about a lady like Anna, but that was easier said than done. She was so damned beautiful. Kissable. Touchable…
With a nod, he said, “I’m sure we can find something for you to do.”
She got to her feet. “I’d better get to headquarters.”
“Thanks for the éclair,” he said as he stood, too.
She gave an impish smile. “Next time I’ll stop by with a bottle of whiskey.”
He grinned as he came around the desk to where she stood. “Believe me, if I was a drinking man, today would be a perfect time for it.”
“I hope your day gets better,” she said as they moved toward his office door.
He never liked to think of challenges as more than just that. “I wouldn’t say it’s a bad day. Just a little challenging this morning.”
Her smile broadened. “That’s the way I like to think, too.”
He nodded toward the exit. “I’ll walk you out to your car.”
“Thanks.” She fell into step beside him.
They headed toward the front entrance together and outside. Her car was parked a short distance away, in front of the YCSO.
The day was windy and overcast and Anna hugged her arms around her body. “I should have worn my blazer.”
Mike would have put his arm around her shoulders but they reached the car and there hadn’t been a real opportunity to do so. She pressed the button to unlock her car and he opened the driver’s side door for her.
“If today doesn’t get out of hand, I’ll stop by the campaign office,” he said.
Any more out of hand than it already has.
She put her hand on the door and smiled at him. “Then maybe I’ll see you later.”
He touched the base of her spine and she stilled. He lowered his mouth and moved his lips over hers for a long slow kiss. She sighed and kissed him in return.
When he drew back, her face was flushed, her eyes glittered with desire and he had no doubt she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
He let his hand slide away from her lower back and she noticeably relaxed, as if the sexual tension of the moment had dissipated.
She slid into her seat and he closed the door behind her.
Anna let out her breath as she pulled away from the curb and drove away as Mike walked back into the sheriff’s office.
As she headed back to the campaign HQ, her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number. She pressed the connect button and put it on speaker phone before answering with, “Hello.”
“Anna.” Chad’s voice caused a crawling sensation down her spine. “I saw your car parked outside the sheriff’s office.”
Her skin tingled with irritation. “What do you want?” The moment she said the words she regretted snapping at him. It wouldn’t do to tick him off.
“I don’t think that’s any way to respond to someone who holds your future in his hands,” Chad said, his tone suddenly hard. “What did you learn while you were at his office?”
She tried to keep her tone even without emotion. “Nothing. It was busy so I didn’t stay long and Mike was probably preoccupied with one of his deputies.”
“Why was he preoccupied with his deputy?” Chad asked.
Distracted by a streetlight turning red ahead of her, she said, “I heard a couple of other deputies say that someone named Reg lost control in an interrogation.” The moments she said the words, she wished she could take them back.
“Reg lost control?” Chad said with clear interest in his voice. “In what way?”
Her throat worked as the light turned green. “I—I’m sure it was nothing.”
“How did he lose control?” This time Chad’s words were harder and held a note of warning.
“He beat up some guy named Nuñez, I think, that they’d brought in for questioning.” She swallowed as she drove on, hoping she hadn’t just screwed up big-time by saying something that could hurt Mike.
“What else?” Chad asked and she didn’t like the nasty sound of his question as he said it.
“Just that it wasn’t the first time.” Anna wished desperately that she hadn’t answered the phone. She felt trapped and unable to get out of her current situation. “One of the deputies said that Reg has a short fuse. The deputy said it had happened it before, that he’d hit a suspect, and that it had only been a matter of time before he really lost it. The deputy also said that he should have been written up long ago.”
“Thank you, Anna.” This time she heard a note of satisfaction. “You’ve finally been of some use. Just make sure you keep your senses sharp and get me all of the information you can on Mike. Understand?”
Anna’s stomach turned over and she felt sick inside. “Yes.”
“Good.” Chad disconnected the call without another word.
“Damn.” The word did nothing to express how she really felt. She felt used and guilty for using Mike to keep her own secrets from being revealed.
She bit her lower lip and struggled to hold back tears as she drove through traffic.
This was all wrong, so very wrong. She was going to hurt Mike and she didn’t know what to do about it. Once the election was over and Chad couldn’t hold her family over her head anymore, she’d have to pull away from Mike. There was nothing else she could do, no other choice she could make.
No way out.
Chapter 14
Mike placed the phone back in its cradle and started to dial his assistant, Clarice, who’d attempted to get through to him twice.
“Sheriff.” Betty’s voice sounded urgent as she rushed through the doorway into his office. “Turn on the news.”
Mike frowned at the concern in the deputy’s tone. He picked up the remote from his desktop and pointed it at the flat screen TV in the corner of his office. The TV came to life and a news anchor was talking, while behind him was a picture of Reg next to one of Nuñez, which had been clearly taken after his release. His lip was split, his eye swollen and black, and his nose looked broken.
In the next moment, a recording of Nuñez being interviewed flashed onto the screen. “He went crazy on me,” Nuñez said. “I didn’t do nothin’ wrong.”
The camera went back to the anchor. “According to our source, Sergeant Schmidt has been known to abuse other suspects.”
It was only a day after Mike had reprimanded Reg, and shit had just hit the fan.
Mike clenched the piece of paper he’d been holding. “What the hell—”
“The sheriff has allegedly been negligent in writing up the deputy,” the anchor added. “Channel 7 news attempted to reach Sheriff Mike McBride but he was unavailable for comment.”
Mike dropped the piece of paper on his desk and dragged his hand down his face. That was no doubt why Clarice had buzzed his office while he’d been talking with one of the informants on Jesus Perez. He hadn’t asked the informant to hold because he’d been lucky to manage to get the man to talk to begin with.
In the next moment a reporter was talking with Chad Johnson. “What kind of sheriff can’t control his own deputies?” he said.
“What a dick,” Betty said in a growl.