Page 130 of Gunner

I had my own gun stuffed in the back of my waistband, but I wouldn’t pull it without a damn good reason. Legally, I wasn’t allowed to carry, concealed or otherwise. Lucky for us that was one of allowances the sheriff made and looked the other way.

I knew this guy was fucking shady. Nav still hadn’t found anything. But I knew in my gut this guy was bad. We just needed to figure out how.

“I think it’s time you left, Deputy,” Haizley stated with an authority she felt comfortable with because I was there, and I fucking loved it.

“This isn’t over. I know you had something to do with his disappearance, and I will prove it.”

“Isn’t he a wanted rapist, Deputy?”

“Suspected rapist,” he clarified. “Those women deserve justice if he is guilty. And justice comes from him being behind bars.”

I pondered his behavior. It seemed as though it almost pained him to make that statement, and I wondered if there was a connection between Deputy Reed and Greg Williams. His voice was controlled, but there was something about the way he saidsuspected rapist,like he didn’t believe the countless reports of women who had been drugged and raped over the past six months. Many of whom had identified Greg by the sketch I drew from Aspen’s description.

“I’ll be in touch,” he warned and walked out the front door, leaving it open. Walking over to the doorway, I watched as he climbed into his car. He sat there for a few minutes, and we eyed each other until he backed out of the drive and finally left.

Closing the door, I leaned my forehead against the wood, trying to control my rage. My woman had been left unprotected a-fucking-gain. I needed to calm my anger. It wasn’t her fault. The fucking prospect would feel my wrath when I found him. And I would make the others watch. We weren’t training fucking pussies. If they couldn’t handle a cop showing up and ran, they weren’t built for this life.

Taking a few more deep breaths, I stood back and turned to Haizley.

“Where is the fucking prospect?”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Haizley

“The what?” I asked innocently.

“There was a prospect sitting outside. Where did he go?” Gunner walked across the room slowly. I knew he was mad. He was going to be even more mad when I told him what happened.

“Well, see... Amber called. She had to cancel her session ‘cause there was no one at the clubhouse to bring her over. So, I asked the prospect to go get her. They should be back any minute,” I added quickly.

Gunner closed his eyes, and I could tell he was trying to rein himself in. He took a deep breath, and I swear I could hear him counting under his breath. It made me smile that he had learned that somewhere and was using it.

“Why didn’t you just go to the clubhouse?”

“Because that poor woman never gets to leave unless she comes here twice a week. I wasn’t going to force her to stay cooped up because the men in her life wouldn’t make the time to allow her to get the help she needs.”

My hands were planted on my hips as I rallied the courage to stand up to the big ogre. I knew he was worried about my safety. But truly, I was fine.

Bullshit!

Ok, so maybe I wasn’t fine. But I hadn’t had a nightmare since that first night. Though that might have been because Gunner refused to let me sleep alone. Hell, he wouldn’t even letme sleep on the side of the bed. Whenever we slept together, he practically had me sleeping on top of him.

“Let’s assume I concede to your logic,” he started.

Shit, he was trying to use psychology.

“Why didn’tyougo pick up Amber and bring her back? The prospect could have followed you there and back.”

I opened my mouth as I thought about what he said and quickly closed it before the protest escaped.

“I-I didn’t think of that.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Any time my attention caught on his hands, I thought about him putting those hands on me. It had been almost a week since the attack and he had slept in my bed every night. Yet, he never tried anything other than kissing me.

“Haizley!”

I shuddered at his growl. God, I loved it when he did that. I felt it roll over my body every time. Giving him all my attention, I focused on Gunner’s mouth.

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