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Prologue I

Do you want to play a game? It’s called ‘fuck off.’ You go first.

—Black’s secret thoughts

Black

Eighteen years ago

“What are you doing?”

I looked at my wife and said, “I’m going to work.”

“I just had a baby!” she cried out.

“You had a baby three weeks ago,” I agreed. “And I would do anything for the both of you, but there was a murder, Marcia. I don’t have the luxury of staying at home and pretending that it didn’t happen. There’s an innocent life that was lost, and I have to figure out how that happened.”

Marcia gritted her teeth. “This is crazy, Black. There are other people that can handle it.”

I finished snapping my gun into the holster before saying, “Marcia. You of all people should know that I need to be there. You used to be one of my deputies.”

And she had.

We’d fallen in love four years ago when we’d both been deputies.

When I’d run for sheriff after learning our boss was retiring, she’d decided that she would rather not work under me.

I hadn’t blamed her, nor had I argued.

She was hard to work with as a deputy. I didn’t really want to work with her as her boss.

Luckily, she’d gotten there on her own.

She’d opened up her own private investigating business, and I hadn’t said a word.

She was gone all hours of the night, and had loved it.

Until she became pregnant.

Our daughter, Shelby, was a thorn in her side.

We hadn’t meant to have any kids.

But one accidental oops and there my girl was.

I loved her with my whole heart, and I wouldn’t trade her for anything.

No matter how many sleepless nights she was causing me.

“It’s not fair!” Marcia grumbled. “I’ve been cooped up here for three weeks. You get to leave. You get to do things. Meanwhile, I’m stuck here with her.”

I gritted my teeth. “I wish I could give you the chance to leave, but…”

But Marcia had been torn “clit to ass” as she liked to say. She hadn’t been able to walk or sit up in a while.

This was the first day that she’d actually gotten out of her bed.

Now, I wasn’t saying that she wasn’t hurt.