“You’re a bit pale and shaky. I have a blanket in the trunk of the car, but first I need you to tell me whether you’re hurt anywhere.”
“No, I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Marisol?”
She shook her head, trying to hide her wince as the movement pulled at her sore neck. Shit would that bruise? “I’m not lying, I promise. I’m not hurt. I just . . . I had a fright and it made me feel shaky and scared. Then I was walking in the dark along the road and I’m not used to all the noises in the forest. I’m fine. Really.”
“All right, I’m going to go get the blanket. Don’t move, hear me?”
She nodded shakily, not wanting him to leave her sight.
You’re safe.
He returned quickly with a blanket. “I’m just going to put this around you then I’ll take your pulse, all right?” He continued to talk in that soothing voice. The blanket was tucked in around her lap. She didn’t even jump as he took hold of her hand and placed his fingers over her pulse.
His touch didn’t do anything to her like Linc’s did. But she did feel calmer now that she was with him.
And safely away from Tiger.
“Good girl. You’re doing so well. Your pulse is a bit fast. Ready to tell me what’s going on yet?”
She shook her head, and took a shuddering breath.
“I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s happened, Marisol. That’s my job. To help the people living in my town.”
She huffed out a breath. “That h-hasn’t been my experience w-with cops.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. I take everyone’s safety in my town seriously. If someone hurt you or scared you, then I need to know so I can take steps to protect you. And to stop that from happening to someone else.”
“I’m okay,” she replied. She didn’t think anything good would come from her telling him about Tiger. Ed was just one guy. There had to be thirty or so Devil’s Sinners members at the house. He didn’t stand a chance on his own. And she wasn’t sure if they’d care that he was the sheriff.
“Right. Well, I was headed out to your aunt’s place. We received a noise complaint. Do you want me to drive you there?”
“No. No, please, I can’t go back there.” She tried to stand, in a panic at the thought. He placed his hands on her legs, holding her to the seat.
“Easy, honey. You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to.”
Right. Right. Her heartbeat started to slow as she took in his words.
“I don’t want to go back there.”
“Then you won’t. Slide around. I’ll shut the door and turn the heat up to keep you warm. Don’t want you catching a cold, do we? Then I’ll take you back to my office while I get someone else out here to deal with the noise complaint.”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be a hassle.” She bit her lower lip worriedly.
“You couldn’t ever be a hassle, Marisol. Okay? Now put your legs in for me, sweetheart.”
She shuffled around in her seat.
“Want to take your backpack off?”
She shook her head.
“You can hold onto it, but you shouldn’t wear it with your seatbelt. It’s not safe.”
It wasn’t? She frowned but it seemed he wasn’t budging so she shrugged off the backpack and let him fasten her seatbelt. Under normal circumstances, she’d likely have protested him treating her like a child.
But right now, it was nice to give over control to someone else. To not have to think. It would be even nicer if it was Linc who she was giving all her control over to.
He closed her door then walked around to the front of the car.
Maybe you should tell Ed the truth. He seems like a good guy. But he was still a cop. And she had trouble trusting him.
Ed opened the door and climbed into the driver’s side. He grabbed his radio and called for someone to go to her aunt’s place to talk to them about the noise control.
“Don’t let them go alone,” she said suddenly.
“What?” he asked, looking over at her with worry.
“Your deputy shouldn’t go to the house alone. They should take back-up. Maybe. I don’t know. They wouldn’t hurt a cop. They wouldn’t be that stupid, right? No, I’m sure they wouldn’t. Forget I said that.”
“Marisol, look at me please.”
She glanced over in surprise at the firm note in his voice.
“What’s going on over there?” he asked.
She licked her dry lips. “There’s a party.”
“Right. Gathered that from the neighbors’ complaints. Who is there?”
“My aunt’s boyfriend,” she told him quietly.
“And?”
“And his son.”
“That’s all?” he asked.
“No,” she whispered. “You’ve heard of the Devil’s Sinners?”
She felt rather than saw him tense. “Yeah, I have. You saying that members of the Devil’s Sinners are at your aunt’s place?”
She couldn’t let his deputies go in blind. “Yes.”
“How many?”
“Not sure. But if I take into account all the cars and bikes, then I’m guessing maybe thirty? More?”
“Jesus Christ. And you’ve been there tonight? Did you know they were coming?”
“No, I was working late. They were there when I got home. I can’t go back there again.” She was on her own. Oh God, what was she going to do? Why hadn’t she worked harder to get a plan set up?
Because she didn’t want to leave this town. To leave Linc.
“Can we go? I don’t really want to stick around here.” She looked around nervously.
“Yeah, honey. But I think you’re right. In this case, back-up might well be necessary.”
She blocked out what he was saying into the radio unit. She knew she was trembling but she couldn’t seem to stop. When the car started up, she jumped.
“Easy, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Let’s get you back to the department. I have some really bad coffee there. If you’re really good, there might even be some creamer.”
“That sounds . . . so appealing,” she murmured.
“Doesn’t it? Tell you what, if you’re a good girl for me I’ll find Kiesha’s secret stash of hot chocolate and break it out. Of course, I’ll have to swear you to secrecy. Because if she discovers me raiding it, I’m dead.”
“Kiesha?”
“Our dispatcher.”
“Do you always work so late?” she asked as he drove. “I thought the sheriff would finish early.”
“I like to do patrol work. There’s just me and four deputies to cover a large area. It’s all hands on deck. Besides, wouldn’t be much of a boss if I asked other people to do what I wasn’t willing to.”
She gave him a surprised look. She’d never thought about it that way. Then again, she’d never had a decent boss, had she? She’d only ever worked for Rosalind and she preferred to get everyone else to work while she went shopping or lounged around at home.
She hadn’t expected for someone like Ed to feel that way. But then, so far, he hadn’t acted at all like she’d thought he might. He’d been nothing but kind, understanding and even protective. Maybe it was time to stop painting all cops with the same brush. Just because she’d had an experience with one bad cop didn’t make them all bad.