Chapter 10
Cara opened the heavy glass door to the Sheriff’s Office, her shoulders stiff with unease, and walked over to the dispatch window. Sheriff Ducat had assured her that he would hold her position open for however long she needed to come to terms with her new lifestyle. Ducat knew the MC’s secret. He had kept quiet about the den of vampires residing in Pleasant over the past decade in return for their protection should the S.O. need back up. Ducat liked having the Sons in his corner, not to mention taking care of society’s degenerates. Cara supposed it was much better than the alternative of working against the law. No wonder Kane and his brothers had been so pissed when Cara and her partner tried to lay the murders of three women at their doorstep and why the sheriff hadn’t pressured Cara and Joe to solve the case. The Sons had just as much interest in seeing the killer caught, if not more so, than the S.O. did.
Asking for her job back wasn’t what had her more fidgety than a cock in a cock fight, though, nor the reason she had walked back through the door. Kane’s pockets were deep enough to sustain them several lifetimes, so it wasn’t as if Cara had returned for the promise of a steady paycheck. She had loved the job, plain and simple. Being an officer ran bone-deep, it was her identity. She missed the camaraderie of her fellow deputies. Hell, she missed Hernandez. Not that he’d be any too pleased to see her, which was the sole reason for her sudden case of the jitters. Like it or not, Joe Hernandez had been a good friend over the years, and her relationship with the Sons, more specifically Kane, was not going to sit well with him.
The dispatch looked up from her long row of monitors and smiled at Cara’s approach. “Detective Brahnam … I hadn’t heard that you were back in town.”
“Lisa,” Cara acknowledged. “I sort of slipped in under the radar, no need for fan fair. Is Sheriff Ducat in?”
“Let me buzz you in. He’s in his office on the phone, but I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you.”
The activation of the door buzzed and Cara grasped the handle, pulling open the heavy interior auto-locking door. “Thanks,” she said, then walked past the dispatch office and started down the hall.
“Nice to see you again, Detective,” Lisa called after her.
The sentiment made her smile. “Nice to be here,” she said, and meant it. Cara had come home.
She supposed talking to Sheriff Ducat was the first order of business. Once they set a date for her to return to the job, then she’d talk to Joe … alone. Cara had a feeling he wasn’t going to make this easy for her. No matter how she presented it, Joe would look at it as a betrayal and he’d never accept her relationship with Kane or the Sons.
Sheriff Ducat replaced the phone in the cradle just as Cara walked through the opened doorway. A smile grew wide on his weathered face. Ducat looked as if he had aged several years over the past six months. She hoped like hell her tribulations and near death, followed by her lengthy absence, hadn’t caused him grief.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, beaming. The sheriff stood and rounded his desk, pulling Cara into a bear of a hug. “Dare I hope you came to beg for your old job back?”
Cara laughed. “I was sort of hoping you still had that spot for me.”
“What would make you think any different?”
“Because … I’m different.” Her smile waned as she looked her old mentor in the eye, glad that she didn’t see anything other than acceptance there. “You know what I am.”
Ducat shrugged. “I’ve know what the twins were for years, and the rest of the Sons. The way I look at it, it’s a bonus to the county. Pity the man who comes here looking for trouble. He’ll definitely find it. As long as you can still do your job, you’re welcome here. That side of your life, though, has no business here. I can’t have your fellow deputies knowing about you or the Sons. I fear Lane County would become a modern day witch hunt.”
“That part of my life will have no bearing on my job.”
The sheriff smiled, stuck out his hand and shook hers. “Then welcome back.”
She barely felt his tight grip, her strength growing every day, something she’d have to be careful using around her fellow deputies. Ducat circled his desk, opened the drawer on the lower right side, taking out her Glock and badge and placing it on the desk’s surface.
“I’ve been saving this for you. I was hoping you’d be back. In truth, it will be like having someone with … special skills on board if you will. You talk to Hernandez yet?”
“No. I wanted to speak with you first.”
“You can start back officially Monday.” He returned to his seat. “Hernandez is in his office. You two will still share the office.”
“No new partner?”
He shook his head. “I was waiting for you. And truth be told, I’ll bet he was hoping for your return as well.”
Cara took a deep breath. “Not so sure about that. He’s no fan of Kane or Kaleb. My being a part of their life won’t sit well with him.”
“If he has problems with your return, then you tell him to take it up with me.”
Cara took in a deep breath then released it slowly. “Thank you, Sheriff. Your support means a lot.”
“You’re a good girl, Cara. That hasn’t changed. Now go on, and prove that to Hernandez.”
Cara slipped her Glock in the waistband at the small of her back, then picked up her badge.
“Monday will be soon enough to swear you in. See you at eight. I take it the hours won’t be difficult?”
“Not at all, Sheriff. It’s not like I sleep in a coffin.”
Ducat smiled. “See that you don’t.”
She headed out of the office, just as the phone rang and the sheriff muttered something about election years and politics. Cara’s feet grew leaden the closer she came to her old office. Florescent bulbs flickered in the hallway and the smell of freshly shined floors drifted to her nose. Funny how all her senses had heightened since becoming a vampire. The more blood she consumed, the stronger she became as well. Cara caught a waft of Joe’s aftershave before she even entered the office, telling her he was in the room. She stopped in the doorway, leaning on the doorjamb. Hernandez’s back muscles flexed as he combed through an open file on his desk, speaking with someone on the phone about the papers littering his desk, unaware of her arrival.
His dark hair cut short and curled softly about his ears, looking slightly longer and unkempt from the last time she had saw him. When he replaced the receiver onto the cradle, his spine stiffened as if he had detected her arrival. Joe slowly swiveled in his chair to see her standing there, his expression not one of welcome.
“What the hell do you want, Brahnam?”
“Nice to see you too, Joe.” She offered him a weak smile.
Cara hated the mile-wide gulf between them. She had at one time felt like a little sister to the man. He would have given his life to protect her. Now? She wasn’t so sure.
“No one said anything about it being nice to see you.”
“Damn, Joe, why don’t you really say what’s on your mind? Get it off your chest so we can go back to being partners already.”
“Oh, hell no!” Joe stood and faced off with her. “You’re not coming back to the job and you’re definitely not sharing this office with me.”
Cara’s ire rose. Where did he get off treating her like dirt beneath his Oxfords all of the sudden? “It’s already been decided. I start Monday.”
His gaze narrowed, dislike clearly evident in his brown eyes. “I see.”
She stepped farther into the office and shut the door behind her. No sense allowing the rest of the office privy to their heated exchange. “No, Joseph Hernandez, you don’t see.” She planted her fists on her hips. “It wasn’t that long ago you had my back. Nothing has changed. I have not changed.” She thumped her fist against her chest for emphasis.
His anger seemed to rise off him. “I always had your back, Brahnam, that is until you started shacking up with that piece of—”
“Careful, Joe. Regardless what you think of Kane, or his brother for that matter, I do love the man.”
Joe slowly nodded, though he wisely kept his mouth shut. He needed to hear her out.
“And he loves me unconditionally, regardless of what I do for a living. I owe him the same respect.”
“You may, but I don’t. Don’t you think it’s a conflict of interest you working here? He’s an outlaw, for crying out loud, Cara. You’re going to give him an inside to what goes on here. And what if he or any of the Sons are under investigation? You think about that?”
“Kane isn’t breaking any laws.”
“You’re an idiot if you believe that. The Sons are all outlaws. I can’t fucking believe the sheriff okayed you coming back.”
Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall. Not that she didn’t think Joe would have a hard time with her relationship with Kane, but she hadn’t realized how deep his dislike of them ran. Joe seriously didn’t think he could force her to choose between him and Kane. He had to know that was one argument he couldn’t possibly win.
“You know I love you, Joe. That’s never changed. You’ve always been a big part of my life. But we don’t always get to choose who we fall in love with. Kane Tepes is in my life. I can’t and I won’t give that up … not for anyone or anything.”
“I sure in the hell hope that doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass, honey.”
“Why not let me worry about that?” A tear slipped down her cheek unheeded. “I promise, Joe, that Kane or the Sons will not interfere with my job here. And if it comes to that, I’ll resign.”
Joe’s stance softened. His anger lessened. He may not like Kane, or the idea of her in a relationship with the biker, but no one told her how to live her life … including Kane. She may be mated to him, swore to love him until death, but Kane did not own her. He hadn’t liked the idea of her working with Hernandez again, but he had also known how much the job meant to her. Kane would never stand in the way of her happiness.
Joe sighed, then stuck out his hand. “Welcome back, Brahnam.”
But instead of taking his hand, Cara walked over to him and folded her arms about his waist. Joe paused but a moment before enfolding her within his embrace. “I do love you, Joe.”
“Yeah, you just keep that biker out of my way.” She heard the smile in his voice as she lay her cheek against his muscular chest. “And you tell him if he hurts you, he has to answer to me.”
Cara smiled. Joe wouldn’t stand a chance against Kane, but she’d let him think it a worthy threat anyway.
* * *
Pulling a black tee over his head, Kaleb walked from his bedroom and into the living area of the clubhouse where the Sons gathered. The call from the Knights had come only a few hours prior, but Kaleb had been able to gather a crew at the last minute. The last gun run had been a mere two weeks ago, so they hadn’t been exactly prepared. The caller had apologized to Kaleb, but apparently a deal had gone south and the Knights had been offered a lucrative deal. For the Sons, the money was easy—Kaleb wasn’t about to complain about another forty percent coming their way this month. Kaleb had tried to get a hold of Kane, but his twin wasn’t answering his phone. No matter, they had been doing these runs without him the past six months.
He took care of alerting the sheriff that the Knights would be skirting the town after midnight so that his deputies would be conveniently busy in other areas of the county. The runs had become routine enough that when the Knights rode through Lane County, the locals steered clear in case the state troopers might happen by. The Sheriff’s Office could plead ignorance of the illegal transaction as long as they were on the opposite side of the county. This had been the monthly norm since his brother, Kane, had made the deal with Red six months back.
And a great money-making deal it had been.
The Sons made a good amount of money for little to no work. They did nothing more than usher their once rival MC through the state of Oregon and run interference should they attract attention from outside law enforcement. And the money helped when profits were down at the K&K, the twin’s motorcycle shop, where most of the Sons worked, bringing them honest wages. Kaleb and Grayson had been regulars on every run, always making sure they protected their interest. But tonight, they elected to sit this one out due to prior plans to head to the Rave. He knew his men could handle the run without them, plus he offered each man a bonus on their next K&K paycheck for helping out on short notice.
Not a single man complained. On the contrary, they all stood in the clubhouse ready to go. Alexander, being the Sergeant at Arms, would lead the pack with Anton at his right. Kaleb hated leaving club business up to his men. After all, he was the president and should anything go wrong, he’d hold himself personally responsible.
Grayson had assured him the men were more than capable of playing babysitter to the Knights. He had pointed out that Suzi would probably be waiting dutifully at the Rave as requested. If Kaleb didn’t show, she’d likely take that as a free pass and Kaleb would have to look for another donor or wait another three days to feed from Suzi, which to Kaleb wasn’t acceptable. He needed to feed to keep his strength, so finding Suzi was on his high list of priorities. No other donor would do, not when he couldn’t get the sassy little brunette from his mind. Hell, his dick hardened just at the thought of having her in his arms, whether it was to merely feed or not. He’d not give Suzi an excuse not to fulfill her duty as his personal donor for even a day.
“Everyone ready?” Kaleb asked as he walked up beside Grayson. “This should be an easy in and out for the Knights. Especially since this is so last minute. No time for the word to get out. Meet Red and his boys at the county line at twelve thirty, ride with them to Florence. Once the exchange has been made, escort them back to the county line. Xander, you and Blondy follow them to the state line. Any sign of trouble, get the fuck out of there. The Sons aren’t going to take the heat for a puppet club. Questions?”
“What should we tell Red if he wants to know why you and Gypsy aren’t there?” Anton asked.
“You tell him, Blondy, that it couldn’t be helped. If he wants Gypsy and I there next time, give us more than a couple of hours heads-up.” Kaleb glanced at the clock on the wall. The black hands read ten fifty. “VP and I are heading for Florence. You guys can hang out here until time to meet the Knights. Make sure you aren’t late. Xander is in charge of this run. Don’t give him reason to have to report back to me. See you don’t fuck this up.”
Kaleb grabbed his chaps off the back of the sofa and stepped into them, buckling them at the waist, before shrugging into his cut. He sat on the edge of the chair and slipped on his boots before standing and heading for the rack of keys by the door. Snatching his set of keys, he headed for the door, knowing Grayson followed. Once outside, he stepped over his chopper’s seat, stuck the key in the ignition and turned it. The ’79 Harley Davidson Ironhead chopper roared to life. He placed his skull cap on his head and buckled it beneath his chin. After kicking up the center stand, he looked back at Grayson. The VP gave a nod and the two pulled out of the gravel parking lot and onto the open road.
Pulling back on the gas, Kaleb opened it up and took off down the road, the wind whipping his cut behind him and beating against his leather chaps. Now that he had business behind him, hunger gnawed at his gut, and not just for communion. No, only one smart-mouthed brunette would do. If she wasn’t at the Blood ‘n’ Rave tonight, he’d beat down every donor’s door until someone gave her up. And after tonight, he’d make damn sure he knew where she lived. Keeping an eye on her and this fiancé had suddenly become a priority. If he wasn’t sleeping with Suzi Stevens, he’d make damn sure that this piece of shit wasn’t either.