A Better Man. Emilie Rose

Hamilton.

      If he’d put a fresh dent in the plaster behind the door, she would ring his neck. After he repaired it. The man was still good for some things.

      “Ann Marie!”

      She rose, smoothing her palms down her skirt, and met him in the doorway. “Good afternoon, Lou. Doris, why don’t you take your lunch break now?”

      “But—”

      “I’ll go when you get back. I’m waiting for a call and don’t want to leave the phone uncovered.” As well as she and her secretary worked together, Doris was one of the biggest gossips, and their corner office on Main and Maple Streets gave her the perfect vantage point to see everybody’s business.

      Doris looked predictably disappointed. Lou only stormed in when he had something interesting to grouse about. He never dropped by to chat the way he’d done before Piper became pregnant and he’d taken the stance that Ann Marie couldn’t forgive or forget.

      Ann Marie waited until her assistant had gathered her purse and shuffled out the door before marching over to inspect her wall. Her fingertip trailed over a telltale dent. “You’re going to fix that.”

      “Course I will. Do you know what that sonofabitch has done?”

      “To which fine citizen are you referring?” But she knew. Lou had only one man in his sights at the moment.

      “Sterling sent Morris and Jones home and told them to come back this evening. Then he said, ‘We’re not going to sit on our asses and collect our paychecks. We’ll be working twelve-hour shifts and patrolling when we’re not doing paperwork.’ Then he left Butch in the office to run Dispatch, with orders to clean the equipment while he waited for calls to come in.”

      “Don’t other towns’ officers work shifts?”

      “I don’t care about other towns. That’s not how we operate. We’ve never worked shifts and we’re all available ’round the clock when calls come in. That damned Snodgrass and his peons have been bending Sterling’s ear.”

      She didn’t bother reminding Lou he was no longer part of the “we.” In his mind he would always be Chief.

      “You’re angry because you’ve lost your daily poker game. And you shouldn’t be getting this worked up over something that’s not your problem. You have your checkup this afternoon and you don’t want your blood pressure to be too high.”

      “I will not let that jackass ruin my department.”

      That did it. There were times you just couldn’t ignore pigheadedness. “It’s not your department anymore, Lou.”

      She said it as gently as possible, but he paled as if she’d slapped him.

      “Sterling has to go. Have you even thought about what will happen if he finds out about Josh? He might sue for joint custody, and if he does, then Josh will spend time with him. What grandma ignores her grandson? Which means Josh will be keeping company with Roth’s mother, and where Eloise goes, Seth goes. I will not allow the murdering bastard who killed my brother anywhere near my grandson.”

      Fear fisted in Ann Marie’s stomach. She collapsed into her chair. “I’ve thought of nothing else since Roth told me his daddy was getting out, and I’m worried sick. But Lou, if you don’t control your anger, Roth will start asking questions about what has you so riled. And if he asks the right ones, then we might face exactly what we fear the most.”

      “Over my dead body.”

      She hoped that was an empty threat.

      “None of us wants that. Piper needs us now more than ever, so please, try to put her well-being first instead of forcing your edicts on everyone else.”

      He flinched at the low blow. It wasn’t often that she brought up the decision he’d made that had destroyed their marriage. But he had to focus on Piper and not his pride, or they could lose everything they held dear.

      And Ann Marie would not, by God, lose her daughter again.

      * * *

      A QUICK FLASH of red amongst the pines caught Roth’s attention. He slowed the patrol car and scanned the woods, but whoever was out there had gone to ground.

      He stopped the car, silenced the radio, lowered the windows two inches and killed the engine. Then he waited. Listening. Watching. Snipers learned patience early in their careers. Or they died. Five minutes passed before the top of a blond head preceded a pale face from behind a trunk. A boy. Too young to be out of school. Dark eyes. Medium build. Five and a half feet tall.

      Roth blipped the siren with one hand and reached for the door handle with the other. He fully expected his quarry to flee. Instead, the boy strolled toward the car. He stopped abruptly when Roth emerged. And then he considered running. Roth could read it in the sudden tensing of the kid’s muscles and the slight flexing of his knees.

      “No point in taking off now. I’ve seen you well enough to have a good description. Plus having to chase you would really piss me off.”

      Roth did a visual for weapons or accomplices and saw neither. The crunch of the gravel beneath his feet gave way to the crackle of dead leaves. “Good weather for a hike, but shouldn’t you be in school?”