Duke glanced at his dashboard. The clock on his patrol unit read twelve-thirty. If he went home now, he could get about five hours of sleep before his shift started again. He took a swig from his cola bottle and swallowed his medicine. The rum burned his throat on the way down.

Annie’s words echoed in his mind.

Why don’t you take your medicine?

Because he wasn’t crazy. He didn’t need his medicine, despite what she or his dad said, and he wasn’t the black sheep in the family. He’d show his parents when he became Sherriff. Hell, he’d show them all.

“Damn you, Annie.” He slapped his steering wheel and screamed. “Where the hell are you, huh?”

The minute his dad got wind she’d run off, he’d blame him. Give him the whole, can’t win a campaign without a wife bullshit. Like he didn’t already know that.

He’d waited near the ATM for four hours. Four fucking hours.

She hadn’t made it to the bank before him because their account still had all their money in it when he closed it out that morning. A measly two thousand dollars.

So, where was she? And how could she get anywhere without proper funds? Not that two thousand was something he would consider proper funds.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, his forearms burned from the tension. When he did find her, he would drag her ass to the Justice of the Peace and make her his wife. Being his was best for her. Everything he wanted for her was for her own good. She would see.

And once they were hitched, he’d be damn sure she never pulled a stunt like this again. She would also quit that stupid job of hers and focus her attention on being his dutiful wife and campaign manager. They’d still have the big, fancy wedding for show. He’d just have to pay for the fucking thing. No better way to acquire votes from Black Widow’s elite than by boozing them on his dime.

He pulled his cruiser to the side of the street in front of his house.

Damn, he was tired. If he weren’t so worried about becoming Sherriff, putting on a good face, he would call in sick for his evening shift. Use the day to catch up on some sleep, and then spend the evening figuring out a way to find her. His medicine would kick in by then. And while he didn’t need it, he’d admit he focused better with it.

He glanced at his clock again. She’d been gone for at least five hours…maybe. Problem was, he had no real idea of when she left the house, or where exactly she could be by now.

If she fled to her mom’s, she would have arrived an hour ago, if not more. He’d be sure to call the home later tonight when Nurse Maddy was on shift. He'd pleased her enough times in the supply closet the last time they drove down to visit Annie's crazy mom. His nurse would give him all the information he wanted.

He tapped his fingers on his leg and took in a deep breath. Everything would work out.

Disobedient woman better have put some makeup on to hide the bruises she made me give her. Fleeing bitch.

Duke went to turn off the ignition of his unit. Tyler Wilde’s name stared at him from the computer monitor. Something about the guy didn’t sit right with him. If he’d had a warrant, he would have asked to see what was under the tarp. He’d watched as the guy put his card in the machine, yet he didn’t withdraw any money. Perhaps the man was getting a bank balance?

He reached for his phone and dialed the bank.

“Livingston’s Bank, Peggy speaking.”

He cleared his throat and lowered the tone of his voice to panty-dropping level. “Peggy, good morning, it’s Chief Fields.”

“Oh, Chief!”

The shrillness of her voice made him cringe.

“What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a check here from someone, and I want to make sure the funds are available before I cash it.”

“Well, sure, what’s the account number?”

“The account number?” He hadn’t planned for that. “I umm…I don’t have my contacts in, Peggy, darling, so I can’t make out the numbers, but I can give you the man’s name.”

“Contacts? I didn’t know you wear contacts.”

He didn’t.

“I cannot wear those things. They kill my eyes,” she squeaked into the phone.

He held the phone away from his ear. Her coke bottle glasses and too-tight-around-the-midsection dresses killed his, but she didn’t seem to care.

He took a deep breath and pulled the microphone back to his mouth. “Yeah, they aren’t for everyone. So, can you look up the man’s account by his name?”

“Well, I’m really not supposed to. If you had an account number I could, but I’m not supposed to by name.”

Damn. He was going to have to do something he didn’t want to. Flirt. “Oh, Peggy, honey, I guess I understand that. And you’re such a good employee. I wouldn’t want you to do anything to get yourself in trouble. As an officer of the law, I can appreciate your honesty. I guess I’ll just have to take the chance of this check bouncing on my account.”

“Oh, well.” She let out a slight giggle. “I don’t want that to happen. Listen,” she whispered into the receiver, “I’ll do it this one time just for you. Go ahead. Tell me the man’s name.”

“You’re a doll,” he rolled the words off his tongue in a southern drawl. “Last name’s Wilde, with an E on the end. First name’s, Tyler.”

“Okay, let me see here.”

The sound of computer keys clicked in the background. “Well, Chief Fields, I do believe someone has given you a false check. We don’t have anyone by that name at our bank. Did they know you are a police officer? Lordy, that man could get arrested. I’ll need to send an email alert to our branch manager and let him know Tyler Wilde is writing false checks on our bank. But, oh Lord, how am I going to tell him? I’m not even supposed to be looking up his name.”

He had to diffuse the situation before the pitiful teller had a heart attack. “Oh, wait Peggy, that’s not necessary. I looked at the check wrong. It wasn’t written off Livingston’s bank after all. I’m sorry to bother you. Thanks for your time, darling.”

“Oh, thank goodness. No problem, Chi—”

He hung up and glanced at his computer monitor again. Wilde’s picture stared back at him. “If you don’t have an account then why were you really there?”

He shut off his car and walked to his back door. The house alarm beeped when he opened the door, and mindlessly, he punched in his code. Drowsiness overtaking him, he shuffled toward their bedroom and stopped midway, Annie’s locket still on the ground. He reached to pick it up. If Annie showed up while he was at work, he might not realize until much later. Unless… His medicine must be working. He walked back to the keypad and created a new code.