Page 1 of Wild Justice

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Lulu Reilly had seen her father, Seth, angry many times in her life.

There was that one time when she’d snuck out of the house for a party and hadn’t come home until three in the morning. He’d been spitting nails then. There was another time when she was fourteen, and she’d taken the family minivan out for a spin to get her and her friends some fast food in the next town over. She’d thought he was going to pop a blood vessel in his head. His face had been beet red, and her mother Presley had tried to calm him down. She’d done a pretty good job, too, since Lulu was still alive.

There had been a myriad of similar moments, thanks to Lulu’s “zest for life” as her mother liked to call it. Now a little older and wiser, Lulu did feel guilty about all the gray hairs she’d given her parents. She truly did. But that didn’t mean she was going to back down this time.

Because retired sheriff Seth Reilly was absolutely, positively furious right at this moment. As in, he looked like he might go off like a bottle rocket and fly into the sky. Her father loved her, she was sure of it, but he currently appeared to want to kill her.

She only had herself to blame. She’d deliberately kept this secret from him until today.

“Relax, Seth. It’s going to be fine,” Ray Ramsey, one of the town council members who had hired her, said. “She’s going to do great.”

Ray Ramsey was the local real estate guy who had his name and face plastered all over town on park benches, signs, and even mouse pads.

“Ray, you’re a good friend but stay out of this,” her father said, barely glancing at the other man. “This is between Lulu and me.”

“Ray is right,” Ellen Dunphy added. She was also on the town council and had been for years. “It’s done, Seth, and I think Lulu’s going to do great.”

So far no one had mentioned that she’d been the lone applicant. For that, Lulu was grateful. She already had her hands full with her dad.

“Lorelei Catherine Reilly, you cannot be sheriff of Harper. I won’t allow it. I won’t. Period. End of story. The decision has been made.”

Ah, the olddecision has been madegambit. Her parents had used it many times in her teens. It had worked about half the time. It wasn’t going to work today, despite her father’s no-nonsense tone.

“You’re wrong,” Lulu said. “And right, too. The decision has been made but by the town council. I’m hired. I’m the new sheriff. Period. End of story. I don’t need your permission, Dad. I’m an adult, and you’re retired now.”

Seth Reilly had taken his sweet time about retiring, too. Presley had started dropping hints which he’d ignored, and she eventually just had to be blunt. She wanted to travel. She wanted to have some fun. They’d worked hard, and now they had a chance to do whatever they wanted to do. And since Seth wanted a happy wife, he’d retired. Eventually.

And honestly? Did he think he could talk Lulu out of it? Didn’t he know her at all?

“You’re not acting like an adult,” her father growled as her mother patted his arm, trying to get him to calm down. “You’re not trained for this. You’ll get yourself killed.”

And the family calls me a drama queen. If I am, I come by it honestly. And it’s not from Mom.

“You weren’t trained either,” she pointed out. “You didn’t go to the academy. You learned on the job.”

She’d practiced this conversation. In the last few weeks, her friend Henry had played the part of her dad, and they’d had a “mock” argument so that she’d be ready for today. Henry, for his part, had done an excellent job of playing the furious father. He was silently cheering her on from the sidelines, which in this case was a couch in her parent’s living room.

“Seth, you’re overreacting,” Ramsey said in a cajoling tone. “What’s wrong with giving her a chance? If it doesn’t work out, we can reassess then.”

Lulu didn’t know whether to thank Ray Ramsey or be a bit hurt. It sounded like he believed in her…kind of.

“Lulu will bring her youth and enthusiasm to the job,” Ellen said. “She loves this town as much as you do, Seth, and they love her, too. With our support, I think she can succeed here. Right, Ray?”

“Absolutely,” Ramsey replied with a definite nod. He looked surer than he had a few minutes ago. “We feel that Harper is going to be in good hands.”

That was more encouraging. Lulu was grateful that the town council had that much belief in her. Unfortunately, they hadn’t put a dent in her father’s negativity. When Seth Reilly made up his mind, it wasn’t easy to change it. It could be done, of course; he wasn’t a stubborn jackass, but it was an uphill battle. The one person that seemed to do it effortlessly was her mother.

Her younger brother Chase was also standing by, watching this play out. She had only told him the day before, and he’d simply shook his head and muttered something about fireworks. She shouldn’t have favorites, but she did. Chase was her favorite brother. Ben always acted like he had a big stick up his ass whenever he was around which wasn’t much these days. He was busy being a grown-up and doing important things - a fact he never let Lulu forget.

After all, everyone knew Lulu Reilly was the fuck up of the family. Until she’d taken this job, she hadn’t known what she wanted to do with her life. She’d drifted from place to place and job to job, looking for something that filled her soul. She hadn’t found it until now.

“I was in the military,” her dad shot back as if no one else had spoken. “I didn’t come in green. This isn’t a job for amateurs.”

“You weren’t an MP, Dad. I can do this, but you think I can’t do anything.”

“That’s not true. I just think you shouldn’t do this. It’s too dangerous.”

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