Page 69 of The Harborer
Shane shook his head. “She was taken by surprise. She did tell me she’s found some things out of place in her store lately. Nothing missing, nothing criminal, but a little suspicious. Someone besides her might be getting in there and messing with stuff.”
“Who’s got keys?”
“No one. She admitted to loaning them out to staff and volunteers opening for her, but she makes them return them at the end of their shifts. Doesn’t mean they didn’t make copies, though. I’m tracking them down.” He planned on going to Miners tonight where he would find at least three people Amy had mentioned. If Cade was there, he’d ask him too, even though Amy claimed she’d never given him a key.
“What about that worthless boyfriend of hers? Micky Allen?”
Shane’s temper spiked at the word “boyfriend.” “Ex-boyfriend,” he corrected.
Chesterton cocked his head. “Yeah, I heard about them splitting up. I also heard you helped her move out.”
Okay, maybe he didn’t love how secrets spread in this town. Did Chesterton also know Amy had spent last night at Shane’s place, or how many times Shane had gotten her to scream his name? “I did, along with the Hunnicutt brothers.”
He detected a flicker of surprise in Chesterton’s eyes. The Hunnicutt name carried clout, and that would mean a lot to an elected official.
The sheriff’s tone was less gruff when he spoke next. “Why’d you do that? I mean, why spend your day off helping her move?”
Because I’m sweet?“According to Amy, er, Councilwoman Caufield, Allen hasn’t been himself lately. I can’t confirm that, but I chatted with him at the Boarding Call about a guy he’d been talking to who took off when I walked over.” Shane went on to explain how the guy looked like the driver of the silver SUV, and how the passenger who ducked down wore a hat similar to Micky’s. Was Shane setting Micky up? And doing it for his own personal reasons? No. He was objectively reporting what he’d observed. “The Hunnicutts and I agreed that Allen was capable of losing his shit when he discovered her moving out, so we decided to help her and run interference at the same time. Allen never turned up, and we were able to avoid any confrontations.”
The sheriff’s heavy brows pinched together, forming one large one. “That bit about the driver wasn’t in your report. Neither was your suspicion about Allen being the passenger.”
Oh, so the sheriffhadread Shane’s report. “They were fleeting glances. I couldn’t positively ID either man, and I didn’t want to contaminate the report or send the investigation in the wrong direction.”
“All right, O’Brien. You can go.” Chesterton gave him a dismissive wave.
Gee, thanks.Shane swallowed the snarky comment. Not only would it piss off his chief, but it would drag this impromptu meeting out even longer. And he had somewhere else to be.
Chapter 24
Keys
Miners Tavern was hoppingtonight, packed with some tourists and a boatload of locals. Fine by Shane. He could more easily distance himself from Amy and pretend they weren’t together—atherrequest—even though they’d arrived at the same time. They’d been in their own vehicles, so no one had noticed anyway.
That might have bothered him under normal circumstances, but nothing about these circumstances was normal.
Staying apart from her would allow him to think objectively, keep his head clear as he grappled with his suspicions about her and his duty as a law enforcement officer. The rules were black and white, which meanthehad to be black and white. If she was involved, even as an accessory, she was guilty. He’d been tempted to ask her about the documents he’d found in her office, but what if shewasinvolved and he tipped his hand and inadvertently compromised the investigation?
When he’d stopped by her new place to see how her move was coming, she’d keyed on his conflicted emotions right away, asking what was wrong. He’d lied and blamed his mood on the fouled-up camera order and lack of sleep. Fortunately, she had bought it, and he’d tossed another helping of guilt onto his growing pile.
He couldn’t come clean and explain that the man who’d sworn to uphold the law was at war with the man who’d fallen in love with her. One wanted to protect the town, and the other wanted to protecther—at all costs. When he finally discovered the truth about what was going on—and he would—it might crush him.
Jesuuus!He felt as though he was being ripped down the middle.
When in doubt, look at the evidence.
Fuck!
He prayed like hell that when this thing blew wide open, she’d be able to explain why a map that showed the exact landing spot of the missing packet, along with suspected narcotics drop and pickup sites, was squirreled away in her office.
Scanning the crowd, he satisfied himself Micky wasn’t here. Hopefully he wouldn’t show at all. Shane swiveled his head toward the bar, where Amy sat on a barstool. The nap had done wonders for her. Not that she wasn’t always beautiful, but tonight her face glowed, her skin flawless and free of fine worry lines as she drank champagne and laughed with Joy and Neve. Her glossy black hair was loose, spilling down her small back. Tendrils framed her high cheekbones, accentuating them. He pictured himself sifting his fingers through all that fine silk before burying his nose in it.
An ice-blue V-neck sweater hugged her mouthwatering contours and exposed the tawny-toned column of her graceful neck. He wanted his lips on her throat, her ears, her mouth. On every single curve. Onallof it. But if she was involved with the trouble brewing in their town…
Your feelings for her are compromising your objectivity.
“Deputy? My mom says you wanted to talk to me?”
Shane whirled to face Cade. “Yeah, I do. Let’s head back into the hallway where it’s a little quieter.”
