Page 18 of Out to Get Her
But it was more than that. She wasn’t afraid of standing up to Jordan. She was afraid of dropping the ball. A lifetime of not living up to people’s ideas of who she should be and what she should be doing was taking up too much residence in her brain.
If she wanted to be the police chief of this town, though, she would have to get over that.
“Here’s the thing,” she said. “This is still my case.”
A flicker of shock flashed across Jordan’s face, then quickly disappeared as he chuckled. “Sam, honey, you lost this case the second you made that call. Because you couldn’t handle things yourself.”
That was bait.
She swallowed the rage boiling up at hishoneyand straightened her back. “I made that call because my job requires me to call your department whenever I have a potential murder investigation. We might need your crime lab, but we do not need your investigative services. I am still allowed to workmycase.”
This wasn’t just some pissing contest to her, though. This was a victim in her town. Someone who should have been under her protection. She would do everything she could to find out what happened to Paul and make sure justice was served.
She doubted Jordan would give this case that kind of dedication.
He grinned. A slick grin, like the snake that he was. “At my discretion.”
He wasn’t wrong. But the fact that he would enjoy making her beg for the rights to her own dang case was one reason he had no business being chief. It was the reason she had to enter that race. The citizens of Etta deserved someone who put the town above their ego or some sick sense of competition.
“I know these people,” she said.
“And they know you. Too well, maybe,” he said. “Which is why outside folks should be on this.”
Again, not wrong. But not entirely true either.
“These people aren’t going to talk to your people like they’ll talk to me,” she said. “They’ll be comfortable around me, and they’ll give up information they wouldn’t give to some outsider.”
“Well, good thing I’m not an outsider.” That disgusting grin widened.
She rarely wasted time hating people, but for Jordan Fonseca, she made an exception.
“I stand by my statement.” She held his stare, this ridiculous game of glaring chicken taking place between them. “My town. My people. My case.”
“How do I know you wouldn’t feel sorry for someone or overlook them because they gave you a cookie one time when you were five?”
She opened her mouth to shut him down, but he held up a hand.
“I’m sorry, that was out of line.”
An apology? From him?
Now Samantha was really suspicious. He’d had the authority to walk right in and kick her off of this thing. Off the property. Hell, he didn’t even have to update her if he didn’t want to. So why was he bothering to have this discussion?
“What do you want, Jordan?”
The grin disappeared, his mouth transforming into a gross pucker as he considered his words. “I want you busy. I want you so far out of your depth that this case eats you alive. I want you to fail. Hard.”
The election. Of course.
He didn’t care about anyone in Etta, much less about this victim or this case. He just wanted to win.
Samantha would have to prove to him and everyone else that she could handle both the race and the investigation. Maybe even winbecauseshe solved the case.
“Just stay out of my way.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “Not on your life, honey.”
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