Page 49 of Warrant
Warrant clutched at his heart, as though I’d wounded him, but then he grinned and went over to the car.
My eyes roamed over the Berserker’s Rage crew. Frowning when I saw three new faces, I asked Cypher, “New recruits?”
Cypher’s brows lifted. “What makes you say that?”
Right.
I couldn’t admit that I had Denison’s files on each of his officers and members. Not without outing myself. The last thing I needed was these men knowing I was looking into them. Something told me that would make them a little paranoid.
Shrugging, I racked my brain for a reasonable answer. Thankfully, one appeared without too long of a pause. “Didn’t see them at the wake.”
Cypher grunted, but then strode toward the car—ignoring my question and the answer to his—and met Warrant as he held something up.
“Found it underneath one of the seats,” Warrant was saying as I walked up.
I stood just behind the MC president. Irritated with myself for not digging under the seats, I asked, “What is that?”
The men exchanged glances, and Warrant handed over the item to Cypher, who stuffed it in some hidden pocket on theinside of his cut. “Thank you for letting us search the car, Sheriff,” Cypher said. “Cheyenne can have it now.” He walked back toward his men, leaving Warrant to deal with me.
“Was that a stuffed animal, Warrant?” I asked, glaring at him.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know, Ains,” he told me.
“No, I really think I do,” I said, planting my hands on my hips, settling in to scold him. “If this has something to do with children, you need to tell me. Now. I can’t-”
He had a hold of me before I could avoid his grabby hands. The next thing I knew, I was being kissed to the point I was worried I’d melt into a puddle. The noise in the background could have been ringing in my ears, but I was pretty sure it was the hooting and hollering of a bunch of bikers.
Warrant let me go almost as quickly as he’d grabbed me, taking just a moment to make sure I was steady before breaking contact with me. “Thanks again, Sheriff,” he said with a massive grin on his face.
He strolled off, whistling a tune as he went back to his brothers. I didn’t have the wits to stop them as they all got onto their bikes and roared off into the distance. “Asshole,” I muttered, lifting my hands and brushing my fingers over my tingling lips.
Sighing, I got back into my Tahoe and looked up the number for the Cheyenne PD. It didn’t take long to come up with a plan. The tow truck would take the car back to the city so the owners could reclaim their vehicle. I didn’t mention the little girl’s stuffed animal—pretty sure it had been a bear with a little hat on—or bikers searching the car first.
“You really need to keep your distance, Ainsley,” I said to myself once I got off the phone. “He’s bad news and he’s going to get your ass canned.” It wasn’t as easy to fire a sheriff, however,it could be done if needed. I really didn’t want to find myself in that position.
Determined, more than ever, to put space between Warrant and I, I turned on my Tahoe and tried not to let my mind over-analyze what those bikers were up to. If it really did have something to do with a kid, which I suspected it did, I just hoped they’d find them. There was nothing worse than a case involving a kid. They were too innocent. They deserved to be protected and loved, and nothing else.
If they weren’t going to bring me in on whatever this was, I’d help where I could with the hope that whatever trouble the child might be in would be taken care of. Then after that? I was done associating with the Berserker’s Rage, and Warrant. That was the only way to keep my heart, and my job, safe.
It didn’t take long to make it back to the station. Pausing by Owen’s desk, I eyed him as he was bent over his computer, typing away.
He looked up, did a double take when he saw it was me, and then leaned back in his chair. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
He was a good deputy. Seemed like a good guy. There was this gut feeling I had—and I’d learned to listen to my gut—that he was trustworthy. “You know anything about what Warrant is up to?”
Owen’s brows shot up at my question. “No,” he said after a brief hesitation. “Just that they’re working something. That’s all I know.”
I gave him a half-hearted smile. “Would you tell me if you did know?”
His own smile had a tinge of guilt to it. “No.”
“That’s what I figured.” Nodding at him, I turned and walked into my office, shutting the door behind me. Most would probably fire him, since he knew his friends were up to things that interfered with a police investigation. Except it wasn’t ourinvestigation. Whatever was going on hadn’t hit my desk yet. Which was frustrating as hell. I wanted to help, but until I knew what was happening, all I could do was keep my head on a swivel for anything suspicious happening in town.
As for Owen, how could I fire him when I technically seemed to know more than he did? Not much, but a bit. Besides, there weren’t a lot of people fighting to become a deputy and he really was a damn good one. I’d keep an eye on him and make sure nothing got out of hand. Which was exactly what I was trying to keep from happening with myself as well.
And really, was he any different than me right now? He was loyal to his friend. I was doing favors for a man that I had, and shouldn’t have, slept with. So really the only difference was that Owen hadn’t slept with Warrant.
Damn bikers. Damn Warrant. Meeting him had brought a whole lot of trouble into my life. Trouble I really didn’t need, but seemed to follow him like a shadow.
