Page 3 of Winter's End

“How?” I asked, my voice coming out more timidly than I had hoped. “I’m not interested in being anyone’s chess piece, Kellan.”

I gulped hard, truly acknowledging Dad had been involved in this far more deeply than my heart wanted to admit. “It’s bad enough the people we love are involved.”

“By going about your business. Doing what you’re doing now, except the amateur sleuthing part —leave the police work to us. Act normal. Keep your eyes and ears open. Report what you see.”

I let out a bitter laugh at the notion of normal. “Do you think either of us is going to go back to ‘normal’ after that little display? Prostitution and bribery, Kellan? The whole town is going to be talking—hard to blend into the background afterthat.”

“A statement will be issued that you’re cleared of all charges. It’s the best I can do. You were the right pressure point for your father, Winter. It was a statement, and I don’t think we’ll have any issues with him complying in the future. And you?—”

His stare turned glare when he set his sights on Logan. “You were a red herring. Georgio’s getting suspicious and harder to read. He knew I was traveling up here, but not why—I’ve been keeping close tabs on him through someone in his organization. I needed to throw him off the trail, and with your history as an FBI informant—it was a good opportunity to do so.”

He grinned smugly, his perfect white teeth at odds with his ruddy Viking face. “And I did you a favor. I made sure the paperwork was signed before storming in, so your wife can get her inheritance. I’m a good guy, eh?”

“I guess you know everyone’s secrets,” Logan muttered darkly, his gaze murderous as he sat defiantly back down on the hard bench and crossed his arms.

“No,” Kellan murmured slowly, a teasing smile tracing his lips. He waved his hand between the two of us. “I didn’t know you two were a thing.”

“We’re not,” I snapped.

At the same time, Logan piped in with, “She has other dicks to keep her happy.”

So help me, I was going to sucker punch him in the throat.

“How are we getting out of here?” I asked, needing a distraction and an actual answer to the question.

“We’ve posted your bail at the sheriff’s station. You’ll be transported back to Cascade Falls, and once it’s paid, you’ll be released. I’ve informed the right people, so with the rumor mill, Hillary or your friends should pay it any moment now. It’s nice to have friends in high places, no?”

Great. Now Hillary would need to be brought up to speed, because there’s no way I was going to keep any of this from her. I sighed inwardly, knowing I was in for a very long night of explanations and serious side-eye.

“Alright.” I pushed over to the other side of the bench, leaving a good two feet between me and Two-Face. “I guess we have no choice. We’ll wait for the cavalry.”

“We’ll need to have a group ‘chat’,” Kellan mused as he gave us one last once-over. “I’ll be reaching out via my inside source in the next week.” His eyes hardened, and I immediately saw how he had earned the title of Commando.

“Lives are at stake here, Winter. I need to trust that you and your friends are on the right side of this.”

He held out a calloused palm for a handshake. I quirked a brow at him at the offer, but reluctantly shook it, sealing the deal between rough skin and a secret history. Logan refused the offered hand, and Maverick and Kellan left us to our brooding silence.

I shook my head at our predicament. We were another fifty feet deeper into the bowels of deceit.

The burden was crushing.

CHAPTER 2

WINTER

“Iguess it’s a race to see who will bail us out first.” Logan shrugged flippantly. “My new wife, or your gaggle of boyfriends? I’ll bet it’ll be the one you haven’t slept with yet … so, that lost little puppy you call a best friend.”

The last was said with a sneer; the blatant mask of jealousy and judgment crazy-glued to his features.

Where was the man comforting me minutes ago, who actually tried to protect me from my blind panic?

Logan was the best millennial representation of Jekylland Hyde.

I sighed, an aggressive burst of air escaping my lips in irritation.

“Are you slut-shaming me, Logan?” I crossed my arms defiantly and stared at him across the cold stone cage. He glared right back, unblinking under the harsh fluorescent lights.

We were transported back to the sheriff’s station and led to one of the rear jail cells through a back entry. No one from the department had come to see us, but a sole FBI agent stood posted down the hall. I could only assume Kellan was keeping his distance from the Sheriff’s office, given that our current sheriff, Ralph Sutton, was one of the dirtiest men in town.

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