Page 44 of Warrant
“I’d really appreciate that. These people…” She paused then shook her head. “They’ve become mine. You know?”
“Actually, I do,” I told her. She hadn’t grown up here. Neither had any of the women I’d met the other day. Yet they all considered Sentinel home. I was already more than halfway to that sentiment myself.
A knock on the door had both of us looking up, and my brows shot up when I saw the president of the Berserker’s Rage MC standing there. Cypher was an imposing man. Had to be six-five, dark hair, and a long dark beard. Then there was the muscle. He was in a tight fitting gray Henley that clearly showed all the muscle in his chest and arms, or the parts that weren’t covered by his leather cut. His jeans were tight, because who could fit tree trunk legs like that into denim and have it be loose?
“I should go,” Harlow said, turning back to me and giving me a wide eyed glance.
Narrowing my eyes at her, I tried to tell her—silently—to behave. She’d been stopping by, nearly daily, to just chat, and honestly, I was starting to enjoy her company.
“Hi, Cypher,” she chirped as she squeezed past him while he stepped further into my office.
“Harlow,” the man rumbled. His voice was deep and gravelly.
I made the mistake of looking at my new friend. She was standing behind Cypher—who was facing me again after greeting her—and she had her fist held up to her mouth. She was biting her knuckle, as if to keep herself from squealing over the fact that he’d said her name.
It took every ounce of professionalism to keep from laughing. I stood up and leaned over my desk, holding out my hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“You too, Sheriff Zimmerman,” he said with a twist of his lips. It wasn’t quite a smirk.
“If any of that is from Warrant, he lies,” I told him, shaking his calloused hand.
Cypher laughed. “Only when his lips move. But no, just what I’ve heard around town. Everyone is happy to have you here, including me.”
Letting go of his hand, I motioned for him to take a seat as I did. I cringed as the chair let out a squeak of protest as he lowered himself in it. He was a big man. If he ended up on the floor I had no idea what that would do for law enforcement/rogue biker club relations. So far, we seemed to have some unspoken, tentative agreement that we wouldn’t get in each other’s way. As long as they kept their noses clean, I was willing to continue on with that arrangement. I had other things to do.
“Well, thank you for that,” I said. “I wouldn’t have thought that would be the case,” I admitted.
He chuckled. “No one liked Denison. The man was a fuck up.”
“Allowed you to do whatever you wanted, though,” I pointed out. Cypher seemed like a straight shooter, so I took a chance and told him the truth.
He grinned. “That’s true. But it wasn’t good for the town overall.”
That seemed to matter to him. He was another transplant here. Seemed like he also considered Sentinel his home. Just like Harlow and the others. This town, its people, had that effect on everyone.
“What can I help you with, Cypher?” I asked.
He studied me for a full minute before speaking. “Just wanted to come introduce myself. See if Warrant’s been causing you too much…trouble.”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” I said with a wry smile.
“If you need any help,” he continued, “the Berserker’s Rage is at your disposal.”
My eyebrows shot up at that. “Really?”
“This is our town,” he said, his stare hardening. “We take care of it.”
“So I’ve seen. What about Sentry Securities?”
“What about it?”
“Is that at my disposal?”
He chuckled. “We’ll start with the club. If you graduate to needing my security firm’s help, then we’ll tackle that problem when it comes.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that, but I knew I wasn’t getting anything else out of him. “So this was just a courtesy, get to know you, call?”
He searched my face then nodded. “Wanted to stop by and see what kind of person you were.”
