Page 42 of Ferocious Nightmare

If I had my way, I would walk right over to the hotel across the street and fuck every inch of her body for a whole week.

Unfortunately, we had shit to do.

After sending off a text to Dante, I sped out of the parking lot and drove an hour out of the city to bum-fuck-ville Nevada.

We parked across from the diner that looked like it had seen better days. The brown paint was chipping and the neon flickered half-heartedly, but I knew that they had the best cherry pie that existed on this planet.

"What are we doing here?” Aster whispered, like she was afraid my father was listening.

I opened my door. "We're firing our guns.”

My father had pulled his out, but I was taking the first shot in the war that would end this thing between us.

Aster held my hand as I led her across the street, and I cautiously took in the sole sheriff car in the parking lot.

I trusted Dante to set this up right, but you could never trust the police.

Even the ones who were in your pocket.

The sheriff of this town had been on our payroll for years, us personally bankrolling his bid for office years ago. He didn’t understand why the Kings of Las Vegas cared an inch about his podunk town so far away from the city but he took our money anyways.

He had no idea what was right beneath his nose the whole time.

He was about to find out.

I let Aster in first, taking in everyone as we entered.

It was in between lunch and dinner, so there weren't many people here. There was a small family in the corner, where the parents were fighting off a toddler and three other small kids while trying to enjoy their food.

An elderly man who looked like he was nursing a late hangover gripped a coffee mug at the front counter, and a teenage couple that looked like they'd just woken up were the only other customers, besides the sheriff sitting in the only darkened corner of the otherwise bright diner.

As the door shut behind me, I saw him glance upwards. His eyes met mine for a brief moment before glancing back at the table, his fingers fumbling with the silverware.

"Go there," I nodded to the sheriff, directing Aster while I headed towards Lucy, the thirty-something single mom and waitress.

She smiled at me with tired eyes, rearranging her hair back into a bun. “Hey, Coulter. Didn’t know you’d be coming in today. What can I get you?”

I put in our order and gave her a hefty tip that not only helped her with this month’s rent but also assured a sweet smile and deaf ears.

Then I sat next to Aster at the table. She'd sat across from the sheriff and was talking his ear off about flowers. I gave the gruff and hardened man who looked and talked like he smoked too many cigarettes a nod.

I let them continue their conversation, realizing that this was how Aster did it.

She talked to people like she actually cared what they had to say. By doing that, she was able to pull things out of them that someone like me never would.

Turned out, the sheriff also had a mother who loved to garden. I tucked that information away for later, hoping to god I would never have to use it.

The conversation moved on to who the fuck knows what, while our food was served.

The sheriff got fried chicken and waffles, while I’d only ordered cherry pie for both Aster and me.

She bit into it and I glanced at her, wanting to watch her face as she took her first bite.

"Mmm!" Her bright eyes lit up. "This is amazing!” The look on her beautiful face was everything.

I bit down on my smile, my eyes going to the sheriff. He was watching her, his gaze on her lips.

I let out a deep growl and his eyes snapped to me. At the look on my face, he blanched, then leaned back, ignoring Aster's enthusiasm for the pie, to keep his gaze on anything and everything else except for both her and me.

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