Page 10 of Billionaire Protector

“I see.”

They both laughed then, and for the first time, Cole Carter was not the opposition, not the boy who’d judged her every move, but someone to laugh with. Perhaps this could work after all.

“Hey, Captain.”

Sarah straightened at the interruption, turning serious but polite as she regarded the deputy who entered the office. “Hi, Donovan. But I’m not a captain. I’m the sheriff.”

“Oh, I know.” Instead of looking at her, Donovan was grinning at the man across from her. “I was actually talking to Cole. I guess I’m just used to our old football days. Anyways, I’m going on my shift now.”

Cole nodded. “Sounds good. By the way, I was looking through the Anderson file, and I have some ideas. Let’s discuss when you get the chance.”

“Good deal.” Donovan nodded and left.

An ice age descended on the office. What just happened? Had Donovan – her employee – just informed Cole of his plans, and Cole subsequently said he was going to discuss a case with him? When had Cole suddenly taken over her job? Was that his ultimate goal?

Cole turned back to her, halted at her expression. “Quite serious suddenly.” He leaned in. “Be honest – is it me?”

Piercing green eyes compelled her to share all. But she was stronger than that. “Nope. Like I said, you don’t affect me. When you start taking over my job, that’s when I get offended.”

He appeared no more repentant than when he’d tried to arrest her. “I didn’t tell Donovan to call me captain.”

“But you’ve already started giving orders. Isn’t that my job?”

He shrugged, an artist’s rendering of nonchalance. “I figured you’d want to make use of my experience.”

“I have experience, too,” she snapped, harsher than she should have, and yet no less than he deserved. How could shehave ever thought they could work together? He hadn’t changed, this man who infiltrated her life in an attempted coup. This time he wouldn’t win. “Be honest. Are you after my job?”

“You want honesty?” He straightened, and suddenly the gentleman disappeared, the congenial, easy-going façade transforming into pure strength. In his place was a warrior. “I’m not sure how you even got the job, with your record and all.”

“How dare you,” she hissed. “I have no record, neither juvenile nor adult. I’m the sheriff. Either you accept that or you leave. You may have seized control when we were kids, but now I’m the boss. You can’t manipulate me, and you arenotgetting my job. This time, you are not getting what you want.”

He regarded her steadily. Even sitting, he loomed over her, muscles straining against the fitted clothing. His voice lowered to a deep growl, charged with pure authority. “I usually get what I want.”

A shiver stole her breath, and for a second, it seemed like he was talking about something other than work. He was after her job, that much was obvious, but by his fiery look, he sought far more than that. But the only other thing he could possibly be referring to was…

Her.

She stood. “That’s not happening. Not now, not ever. If you don’t like how I run things, you can find another town.”

He rose as well, and suddenly he was towering over her. He stepped straight into her space, threatening her control, her sanity, her every sense. “Think what you want, Sarah, but you’re still that same little girl who couldn’t keep her hand out of the cookie jar. You want the truth? No, I don’t think you deserve the job. No matter how many times I tried to help you, you broke the law. I’ll never understand how you got out of it. But no more. I’m going to discover everything about you. If you did one thing wrong, faked one word on your resume, I’m going to find out,and this time you’ll take responsibility, even if I have to put you in jail.” His eyes turned dark. “Again.”

She gasped. “I could get you fired for that one comment.”

He shrugged. “Probably, but you won’t. You don’t want anyone to find out.”

Damn, but he was right. The fact that they’d been six years old didn’t matter. He’d caught her stealing, or so he thought, and had decided to mete out his own punishment. He locked her in the school supply closet for an entire three minutes, while she banged and screamed and told him just how many frogs she’d plant in his pudding. When a teacher approached, he’d quickly unlocked it and fled. He never did it again, and she never told anyone. She’d hoped he’d forgotten about it.

She definitely didn’t want anyone hearing about it now. Nor did she want to imagine him being close enough to do it. “You try it, buddy, and I’ll take you down.”

He raised an eyebrow. They both knew she couldn’t.

“I’ve done nothing wrong.” She told blazing eyes. “It’s time to get to work, before I write you up for insubordination. I’ve hand-picked a special assignment just for you.”

His eyes narrowed, and she hid her satisfaction. Time to show him who was in charge.

CHAPTER 3

Sarah Sloan’s Review

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