Page 7 of Man of Honor

Vanderhoff's glare shifted to Wyatt, and his lip curled."You're always a soft touch when it comes to this family, Brooks, but I don't care what kind of sob story he fed you.We've got him on theft and assault.Hell, maybe even a kidnapping charge, depending on the story we get out of the girl once she's awake."

"You mean the story you feed her, you sonofabitch?" I snarled, straining at my cuffs so hard I swore I heard the bed creak.

Boone had shoved me on that bus five years ago to keep me from going after Vanderhoff, and for a while, I thought it worked.My rage hadn't faded, exactly, but all the way in Vegas it began to feel distant and fuzzy.Irrelevant. Not anymore. My skin crawledat the sight of the man, from his full head of perfectly combed blond hair to his slick politician's grin.

The urge to rip his head off pulsed through me with each spike of my blood pressure.I might have done it, too. Might have bent the flimsy rail off the bed and gone for his throat, but my brother’s voice pulled me back at the last second.

“Those are some ambitious claims, Sheriff.” Mason strode into the room, looking cool and calm and every bit the polished attorney in his tailored suit.His black hair was long enough to brush the collar of his jacket, too long for his line of work, and his sharp features carried a roughness that didn’t quite fit with the high-end veneer.I hadn’t seen him since before he'd passed the bar exam, and I was surprised at how easily he’d slipped into his lawyer persona.His blue eyes, blazing with purpose behind his designer glasses, dropped to the handcuffs chaining me to the bed.“Is my client under arrest, Deputy Brooks?”

“No,” Wyatt said firmly, looking directly at his boss.“Just detained for questioning.”

Mason’s expression lit with cool approval.“As his attorney, I suggest you release him.He won’t be answering any questions without me.”

“He can answer the rest down at the station,” Vanderhoff blustered.“He stole a truck. I can’t ignore that, no matter how far back your father and I went.I took it easy on him when he was a juvenile, but he’s a grown man now.”

I barked out a laugh. “Took it easy on me?Like hell.”

That asshole had been waiting years for a chance to throw one of us behind bars.Ben might’ve gotten the brunt of it, but I hadn’t forgotten how much pleasure Vanderhoff took in everychance to screw with me.He lived to make life hell for anyone with the Beaufort name.It never seemed to matter to him that my brothers and I weren't related to Boone by blood.Anything Boone loved, Vanderhoff hated on principal.Including us. Especially us. Sticking it to us was sticking it to him, even from beyond the grave, apparently.

Mason cut me a quelling look and moved to stand beside Wyatt.Between the two of them acting as a bulwark, I was almost completely blocked from view.I could only see a slice of him between their shoulders.

“He acted under exigent circumstances, as outlined in the Louisiana Revised Statutes.You should be familiar with the statute, Sheriff, but in case you’ve forgotten, I’ll refresh your memory.” Mason’s voice was calm, cutting, the way he always was when he had someone dead to rights.“An individual isn’t criminally liable for property crimes when committed in defense of persons or property under immediate threat.Gage took that truck to save a life.”

“He committed a crime,” Vanderhoff snarled, complexion growing darker by the second.

Mason didn’t blink. “But can you prove it in a court of law?”

Vanderhoff squared his shoulders, stepping forward like he thought his size alone was intimidating.Mason didn’t budge; he just looked at him with cool indifference.Physical intimidation didn’t work on any of us, not with our backgrounds, and not when we’d grown up with Gideon and Dominic as older brothers.

“I’m just doing my job,” Vanderhoff growled, practically vibrating with indignation.“If I go easy on him, folks in Devil’sGarden will think I’ve gone soft.Or worse, that I’m playing favorites because of your family's money."

“We wouldn’t want that,” Mason said cynically.

I covered a laugh by coughing into my fist.Wyatt pressed his lips together and glanced up at the ceiling, doing a perfect impression of someone who’d suddenly gone blind and deaf.But Mason didn’t miss a beat, adding, “Louisiana law is quite clear on the subject, however.It recognizes the principle of necessity, and you’d be well advised to do the same before you push for charges that won’t hold up in court.”

“He started a fight in the Dead End’s parking lot.I’ve already spoken to witnesses from inside the bar.” Vanderhoff puffed out his chest, trying to regain the upper hand.But that wasn’t in the cards.Mason Beaufort was the king of control.

“Reluctant witnesses, I’m sure,” Mason replied with a smirk.He tilted his head, eyes flashing behind his lenses, and asked, “What about my brother’s supposed victims?Have you found them yet?”

“We will,” Vanderhoff blustered.His cheeks were flushed, coloring his sunken face with an anger he could barely contain.I’d never seen him any other way.

I could feel the barely concealed amusement leaking off Wyatt.I'd never understood how he had the patience to work for a man like Vanderhoff, but I bet watching the blowhard get taken down a peg was the highlight of his month.

“Besides,” Vanderhoff continued, “I’ve got the girl.I recognized her right off. Street kid who’s been in and out of trouble all year, mixed up with people she shouldn’t be.She’ll sing like a songbird once I get a few minutes alone with her.”

Wyatt’s head snapped up. I shot him a questioning look, but his face was blank as a fresh sheet of paper.He cleared his throat and said, “The kid’s a victim, Kent.”

Vanderhoff shot Wyatt an annoyed look.“We don’t know that, Deputy. We haven’t even questioned her yet.”

“Well,youhaven’t,” Mason said, coolly amused.“I spoke with her briefly when she first woke up.”

Vanderhoff’s pale, watery-blue eyes—stupidly bright for someone with his ugly mug—widened with interest.“She’s awake?”

Mason nodded. “Her name is Ivy, and she’s agreed to take me as her legal representative.I’ve already pulled her foster records.She’s run away from three homes in as many months, so we’ll be placing her in emergency care at Eden House.She hasn’t shared much yet. No details on her situation.She’s scared, Sheriff, and as of right now, she’s exercising her right to remain silent.Anything further goes through me.”

“I want to talk to her.” Vanderhoff turned sharply on his perfectly shined boot, storming out of the room without a second glance in my direction.Like I was some small fry next to an unknown waif of a girl.

“Go after him, Mason,” I said softly.“I don’t want her alone with him.”

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