Page 35

“I know, I know.” Reg held his hands up. “Bad idea.”

“You’re on a roll. Don’t stop now. What exactly do you propose?”

Reg worked his jaw, seemingly tuning out the crackle of static on the radio at his belt. “I tell Dad about the doctor’s recommendation and suggest woodworking. You could teach my dad—and maybe me—how to make something. A model airplane or coasters, for example. Something easy. Just an hour of your time.”

I stared…and stared some more…until his grin widened, and it felt perfectly normal to tease him. “How did we go from Burlington to model airplanes? I feel like I’m moving in the wrong direction. Or are you compensating me in blowjobs?”

“I’m an officer of the law, Mr. Gibbons. I don’t proposition my constituents for a good time. At least not while in uniform. This is just a highly unusual proposal.”

I was too enchanted to feign annoyance. And if I lingered on his broad chest for a beat too long, sue me. Chief La Rue was charming as fuck, and I was not immune.

“But if we were trading sexual favors, this would be an interesting take on killing two birds with one stone.”

Reg snorted. “Interesting…and illegal.”

Heat coursed through my veins. The idea of getting my hands on him again made my head swim.

“I’m sure there’s a way to get around legalities.”

“Maybe.” He met my gaze and held it for a beat before glancing away, breaking the sexual tension—or at least dimming it. “Thank you.”

“I haven’t agreed to anything.”

“I know, but you listened and didn’t make me feel like an idiot.”

His earnest expression confused me.

Obviously, Reg was going through a boatload of high-stress real-life drama. Been there, done that. But he wasn’t thinking clearly. One did not ask a veritable stranger for a favor involving a parent.

No, this was a simple matter of cognitive association.

His dad was on his mind, and I was the person who’d called in his whereabouts. In hopeless situations we tended to grasp for anything that felt like a lifeline.

It was a sign of sheer desperation that Reg had come to me. Poor guy.

He must have hit a serious low.

CHAPTER 13

REG

Each town in the Four Forest area had a dedicated police force and its own station. Pinecrest’s was by far the nicest, but it was my least favorite to visit. I spent two hours listening to Captain Constanz brag about the private endowment that had been earmarked by a wealthy citizen to expand the park and build a restaurant.

“A five-star establishment,” the captain had drawled, his manicured fingers steepled as he’d leaned forward. “The mayor is quite pleased.”

No doubt.

“That’s nice,” I’d replied coolly. “Just be sure the mayor’s office checks their zoning restrictions. Pinecrest⁠—”

“I know how to do my job, Chief.”

Did I detect a sanctimonious tone? Yes, and it certainly pissed me off, but police work involved dealing with pricks in all shapes and sizes. I’d made a promise not to be swayed by inter-town rivalries like my predecessor.

The old chief hadn’t been above taking a bribe or two. Gorman had been accused of lining his coffers with money from so-called private citizens from Pinecrest in exchange for ignoring their wayward child’s new BMW wrapped around a flagpole on Belvedere. There’d be none of that under my regime.

Pinecrest had their share of spoiled teens with more money than sense and a coke problem no one took seriously. Somehow they assumed their gilded polish made them immune, and that certainly wasn’t the case. Their brand of blatant elitism wouldn’t fly with me.

“Excellent. Thanks for the update.” I stood to shake Constanz’s hand, loving that I had the weasel by a good six inches.