Page 1 of Archangel

Chapter One

Sonya

“This might be the time we finally push him over the edge.” Caroline was my best friend and partner in crime. Right now, she was looking at the man in question with a wary gaze.

“We taking bets?” I didn’t look at Linnie but kept my eyes on our tormentor, Sheriff Grady Bassett. The frown he gave us said we were in big trouble.Hugetrouble. To be fair, we often got into mischief in his county.

Sheriff Bassett didn’t take us to jail this time. Instead, he marched us inside the courthouse and left our asses on a bench outside the courtroom to wait.

“Guess we get preferential treatment, huh?” Linnie wasn’t as comfortable breaking the rules as I was. I was trying to help her work through her discomfort. It was clear how nervous she was now, though. We were the same age, but Linnie was a natural rule follower. I… was not.

“What about it, Lawdawg?” I addressed Sheriff Grady. “We gettin’ special treatment?” Lawdawg was a play on his job as well as his actual road name. While mine and Linnie’s dads were members of Salvation’s Bane MC, Lawdawg was a member of a nearby MC called Black Reign. Our clubs were allies and, as such, had several functions a year together.

“Just saving everyone time and money, sweetheart. Besides, if I took you to jail for the proper processing, we’d never have gotten here before Judge Daily was done for the day. Since it’s Friday, that’d mean you’d be in jail until at least Monday morning.”

“Point taken,” I drawled. Then I gave him a bright smile. “Anything to save the good taxpayers of Glades County and Moore Haven a couple of bucks.”

Lawdawg shook his head, frowning at first me, then Linnie. “Your daddies shoulda spanked the pair of you more often as kids.”

“That’s a mean thing to say.” Linnie was better at pouting and being all innocent and shit than I was. She always went first.

“And vandalism isn’t?” The bastard looked at us like we were still wayward children.

“We didn’t vandalize anything.” Linnie sat up straighter.

“You put a blow-up sex doll in the back of Santa’s sleigh in Mrs. Cranston’s front yard, Caroline.”

“There was no permanent damage done and all anyone had to do was pull off the duct tape. And that isnotan admission of guilt. I happened to watch as the police removed the sex doll in question from the Santa blow-up. Besides, anyone who has Christmas decorations still up deserves to have fun had at their expense.” Linnie was learning. Good argument. Reference to the alleged crime without saying we did it. Point out no harm was done. “As to the residential area, there is no one in that subdivision under the age of sixty, and all their grandkids live in other states.” Yep. She was getting good.

I could be mistaken but if anything, Lawdawg looked amused. “Doesn’t matter. If it did, you’d be spending the weekend in jail rather than going to see Judge Dailey now.”

“Come on, Lawdawg.” I rolled my eyes, wanting to stomp my foot in irritation. And no. I would never call him Deputy Dawg or anything to his face. Very often. “This is horseshit and you know it. We didn’t hurt anyone or scar anyone for life. Besides, someone didn’t mind the sex toy being out in public too much because it was hanging half in half out of a trashcan in the neighborhood before making its way to Santa. Ain’t sayin’ whose house it was in front of, but the house number was 2187, and the female who put it there was yelling pretty loud at the male trying to get her to come back inside so they could ‘talk’.”

Lawdawg rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “That explains some things, believe it or not.” Then he pointed an accusing finger at me. “Girls, your daddies are gonna be pissed.”

“Our daddies ain’t gonna find out.” If my tone was clipped, fuck the bastard. He didn’t like it, he could damned well take himself someplace else. And let me get the fuck outta here.

“Your daddies already know, sweetheart.”

“Tattletale. Don’t you know snitches get stitches?”

“I know little girls who get arrested for pranking get their asses spanked.”

I snorted. “I’m twenty-one years old, so I can say with absolute authority” -- I narrowed my eyes at him – “not in this fucking lifetime, baby.”

Lawdawg gave me an evil grin. “Yeah? Wait a while. Your daddy’s sendin’ someone to get the two of you. Should be here before we’re through in court.”

“Sonya’s riding with me,” Linnie piped up.

“Look. How long’s this gonna take? We got shit to do.”

“You’re a brat who needs a lesson in manners, Sonya. How the fuck did Thorn raise boys who were so straight and narrow, then raise a daughter who’s a hell-on-wheels wild child?”

I barked out a laugh. “My brothers? Straight and narrow? Are we even talking about the same fucking people?”

Lawdawg pointed an accusing finger at me. “You’ve got a mouth on you, Sonya.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Sparring with Lawdawg was always fun. I think he enjoyed it as much as I did. Probably why I never managed to truly piss him off like I did most other people, though not for lack of trying. “You just now figuring that out?”

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