Page 36 of A Deceitful Pact

“What can I say, you sent the wrong man for the job. I was havin’ a bad day.” I shrug because all my days seem to be fuckin’ bad since Riley ran out on me a month ago. She still ain’t talking to me, she won’t even look in my direction.

“So this has nothing to do with the sheriff?” Jamie questions me, his eyes daring me to lie to him.

“Why would it have anything to do with her?” He catches me off guard.

“Because Hayden tells me you were pretty calm until her name got mentioned.”

“It wasn’t the fact she got mentioned. It was the threat he made to us that influenced my decision to kick his ass.” I offer another half-truth to spare my pride. Clenching my fists when I think back to what he said.

“I’ll bet that new, hot-assed little sheriff you got in town hasn’t got a clue that her mayor and deputy are playing with the wrong side of the law. Maybe I could arrange a one-on-one with her, teach her a thing or two.”

I hear the nasty bastard’s laugh in my head, and it makes me want to beat the soul out of him, all over again.

“Wewere the ones in control, Sawyer. We could have had that man eating out the palms of our hands, and you blew it!” Jamie yells at me again.

“Yeah, well, I think you're forgetting about who we are and what our aim is. We ain’t straight, Jamie, but I’ve always lived by the honor of knowing that what we do is right. Carpenter taking handouts from kiddie fiddlers makes him just as bad as they are, and you fuckin’ know it.” I wait for him to come back at me, but he remains silent. If I didn’t know Jamie Sullivan better, I’d say he was looking a little guilty.

“If ya need me to finish the job I started, I will happily drive to Riverton and send that bastard to fuckin’ hell,” I offer before lighting myself a cigarette. I gave up on quitting when I figured Riley ignoring me meant she probably won’t be requiring me to knock her up anytime in the future.

“It’s fine, we’ll take care of it.” Jamie’s voice comes out calmer. “Just clean your act up, Sawyer. I need you. Jace’s girl ain’t far from dropping that kid, so his head ain’t with it. I need to know I can rely on you.” Jamie grips my arm, and when I offer him a nod for assurance, he nods back before he leaves.

I sit and stare at the bottle of Jack in front of me, considering keeping the bar closed for another day. I could head upstairs and drink this whole bottle, hoping that I pass out and the pain in my chest goes numb again.

The door swings open, and when Beth steps inside, the noise her heels make on the wood floor irritates my head, and I almost choke on the amount of perfume she’s wearing.

“We’re closed,” I tell her, hoping it’s enough to make her go away.

“I know it’s eight a.m., but I just saw Jamie Sullivan leave, so I figured you’d be awake.” She places her purse on the bar, ensuring me that she’s going fuckin’ nowhere.

“I’ve been really patient, Sawyer. I’ve ignored the whispers around town and the looks you and that sheriff give each other, and now that she’s leaving, I’m offering you the chance to put it all behind us and make things official.”

“Wait…what did you just say?” I have to check I heard her right.

“I said, I want to make things official.” She takes a long, impatient breath as she looks up at the ceiling.

“Not that part, you said someone was leaving. Were you talkin’ about Riley?” The thumping in my head instantly moves to my heart, and I feel myself start to panic.

“That’s the word on the street.” Beth lifts her shoulders and fails to hide her satisfied smirk.

“When did ya hear this?” I stand up, hoping that it’s not already happened.

“Yesterday, Eleanor was at the doctor's office with Hank. She finally convinced him to get that mole on the back of his neck checked, and while they were there, they saw Hale in the waiting room,” she explains.

“And…?” I wait for her to explain why that would mean Riley’s leaving town.

“Come on, Sawyer, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. She’s stressed, she took a job far too above her status, and now she’s feeling the pressure of it. Everyone knew she wouldn’t last.” The words coming from this girl’s mouth sound as if Eleanor Chambers put them there herself. The woman always did have a talent for putting two and two together and making a hundred. But what the coven's latest gossip has taught me is that Riley was seeing the doctor yesterday. I think of the reason why that might have been and smile for the first time in a week. But, surely, if Riley was pregnant, she would have told me, even if she is still mad. I have to fuckin’ talk to her, and this time I ain’t taking no for an answer.

“Watch this place for me.” I storm out the door, ignoring Beth’s demands for me to come back. I may have fooled around with the girl a few times, but I never led her to any assumptions that we could be more. I never even considered the idea ofmoreuntil Riley showed up in town and made me wanteverything.I march across the town square, getting closer to the station, and angrier with each step I take.

It’s been nearly three weeks since I last spoke to her, and I just assumed that all that time we spent trying to make a baby hadn’t been effective. I convinced myself that no matter how mad she was, she’d have the decency to tell me if she’d found out she was pregnant.

I swing the station door open and ignore Harriet when she asks me how she can help; instead, I head down the corridor that leads to Riley’s office and let myself in.

“Yes, Mr. Laffery, I will get to the bottom of it… and, of course, speak to the parents.” Riley’s eyes double in size when she looks up and realizes that I’m the person who’s barged through her door.

“Yes…I assure you, I will take this very seriously. Stone throwing is a very serious offense.” She nods her head, trying to end the call as fast as she can while I pace the space in front of her desk, and feel myself getting more and more worked up.

“Thank you, Mr. Laffery, goodbye.”

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