Page 18 of Maddox: Wild Alaska
"At least she needs to know she has the choice." He salutes me as he leaves.
Peace. Again.
My hands sure like the feel of her.
My phone beeps.
After a stream of curse words leaves my mouth, I look at the screen.
Branson: Can you come by the station ASAP?
I want to reply "no," but I don't. I drag my carcass out of the chair and take one long look outside at the valley beyond. Then, I close and lock the doors to the deck.
It takes no time at all before I pull up in front of the sheriff's station. Cursing at the sight of the crime scene unit's SUV parked one space over, I climb out of my truck and head inside. It's too early to deal with Janice.
Landon greets me with a tired nod. "He'll be glad you're here."
"Why? What's going on?" I ask, leaning on the counter between us.
He ignores the ringing phone—not the emergency line—and tells me, "Another body has been found."
"Fuck!" I run a hand through my hair and glance toward the hallway where my brother will be. "Is that why the crime scene unit is here?"
"Kind of." He winces. "The woman is annoying," he mutters under his breath. "I'd better answer the phone. They've been ringing all morning."
"Where's Sally?"
"She moved to Juneau with her boyfriend. No warning. Nothing." He pauses. "And before you ask, yes, I've confirmed that she's actually there. I spoke to her this morning."
"I'll go find the sheriff while you get the phone.”
I trudge toward my brother's office, enter without knocking, and see that he's just hanging up the phone. The conversation stops, and Branson, Janice, and a guy I don't know turn to look at me. Branson finds his voice first. "Maddox, this is Janice's assistant, Roger Tyson.”
Introduction over. "Why am I here?"
"You're here because we need help in the field," Janice says. "As you were at yesterday's scene, we figured you'd be the best person to help us today."
My eyes flicker to my brother, who looks extremely uncomfortable. He knows I hate seeing death. "Hunter is a sworn deputy. He should be here, not me."
I fold my arms and lean against the doorjamb. I'm not happy at all about this situation. Not just because of the dead body, but also because I know I'm only here because Janice decided she wanted me here. Instead of making a big deal about it, I say, "I've got things to do, so let's get started."
Janice follows me outside. I turn and say, "You need to stop this crap.”
She takes a step back at the anger in my voice.
"Fucking hell!" I mutter. "I'm sorry. I have a busy day ahead, and this isn't helping, especially since it's not my job."
A horn blares, and I'm tempted to give my brother the finger. Instead, I shoot Garrett a glare. He's driving the minibus through town because he's leading a hike to the river and waterfall in the mountains. My gaze lands on Sofie as the bus passes by. Her eyes find mine before wandering to the woman beside me.
Well, shit.
"Was that Sofie Ryan?"
I snap my gaze to Janice. "How'd you know Sofie?"
"I don't know her. Her engagement pictures were in a magazine. She's marrying Richard Walker. His father owns half of San Francisco, not to mention a huge shipping company."
"How the hell do you know all this?"
