Page 29 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
“Don’t look at me,” he protested, “I’m not on Diamondback’s payroll.”
“True.” Luke’s expression grew sly. “But as one of the owners, you pocket a third of their profits. That’s the extra money being funneled into your account, isn’t it? Not hush money and not your cut from the jewel heists.”
We’re back to that again?Aaron gave him a disgusted look. “It sounds like A.J. and I need to have a long talk.”
“Yes, you do.” The sheriff eyed him curiously. “Like you, I’m convinced he was only trying to protect your sister.”
“From me.” Aaron shook his head. “That’s rich!” For the past two years, he’d been the only person standing between her and danger.
Luke spread his hands. “In his defense, the diamond ring your sister’s cat found didn’t improve his impression of you, and he has no idea what your sister really does for a living. Try putting yourself in his shoes.”
Aaron’s brain was too full of cobwebs to attempt anything of the sort. “The ring my sister’s cat found is from a private collection my family owns.” For the life of him, he couldn’t explain how Bandit had gotten his paws on it.Aaron wasn’t normally that careless. Maybe the snake poison was to blame.
“You need to rest.” Luke abruptly straightened. “But I’ll leave you with one final thought before I scoot back to the station.” He held Aaron’s gaze. “We do things differently here. Heart Lake is filled with families and friends that go back for generations, people who’ve always had each other’s backs. Some call it our cowboy brand of justice. All I know is it’s real, and it works. So, if you intend to stick around, you need to get on board with it, you hear?”
Aaron’s head pounded from the effort of wrapping his brain around what the sheriff was saying. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure what he meant by the town’s cowboy brand of justice, but he suddenly wanted to find out.
“Just keep the lines of communication open between us after you get out of here,” the sheriff added gruffly.
“I will.” Aaron was grateful for the second chance he’d been handed. “One last question.”
Luke paused in his exodus from the room. “Fire away.”
“Do you know when the gas leak will be repaired?”
“Already done, but it’s still classified as a crime scene. Though you gave us the green light to investigate what happened, I’m shorthanded as usual.” He gave Aaron a pointed look as if to remind him that he was partially to blame for that. “In the hope of speeding things up, I’ve delegated the task to Lonestar Security.”
“Great.” Aaron’s heart sank. “The guy trying to put me behind bars is now pilfering through my underwear drawer.”
Luke’s dark eyebrows rose. “Assuming you have nothing to hide…”
“Nothing illegal.” Aaron had plenty of stuff to hide concerning his sister, but doubted it would remain a secretfrom A.J. for much longer. To get ahead of the fallout that was sure to follow, he needed to get in touch with his uncle. Immediately.
As soon as the sheriff took off, Aaron tapped the button to bring one of the nurses running. “Any chance I can have my cell phone back?”
“Absolutely.” She smiled warmly at him—too warmly—the way a woman does when she’s checking a guy out. “It’s good to see you sitting up again.” She bustled around the room, checking the machines, refilling his water glass, and pushing the curtains open wider.
It was impossible not to be aware of her in return. She was a brunette with freckles across her nose and a bounce in her step, a bit on the curvy side the way he liked.
“Only the good die young, as they say.” He hated that she was seeing him in a hospital bed wearing a flimsy white gown.
His nurse chuckled merrily. “I would’ve never guessed you weren’t one of the good guys, Deputy Cannon. You don’t give off the evil overlord vibe, but maybe you’re just better at hiding it than other evil overlords.”
She knew his name and what he did for a living, which made him feel at a disadvantage. “Yeah, I’m pretty good at hiding my evilness, Miss…er…”
“Maggie,” she supplied in the same warm voice. “Maggie Meyer. I’ll be right back with your phone and other stuff.”
She left the room, and he stared after her, wondering against his better judgment if she was married. She returned with a clear plastic bag containing his cell phone, wallet, and the clothes he’d been wearing when he’d arrived in the ambulance. “Here you go!”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He hoped that calling her ma’am would squelch the mildly flirtatious note in her voice.
“Maggie,” she corrected brightly. “May I call you Aaron?”
“Sure.” So much for his attempt at keeping things professional between them.Next question.“How soon will the doc let me out of here?” His gaze moved to her left hand, and his chest grew lighter to see that her wedding ring finger was bare.
Her smile widened. “As soon as your sister returns. She said she and her boyfriend are getting a room ready for you at his apartment.”
Over my dead body.There was no way he was subjecting himself to A.J. Pike’s hospitality, even if it meant getting a hotel room for a couple of days. However, he kept his voice neutral. “Sounds good to me. Thanks for returning my things.”
