Page 57 of The Woman Who Couldn't Scream
Lacey gave her her bestI’m a starving doggielook.
Kateri riffled around in the car door side pocket, brought out the plastic bag of dog treats and handed her a green one. “Coming out of that stream, all wet… he Mr. Darcy’d me.” She looked down at her damp uniform. “And unless I miss my guess, when he kissed me, he was marking me.”
The green treats were Lacey’s least favorite, but she munched down with great enthusiasm, spraying crumbs on the seat and then daintily retrieving them one at a time.
“All that playing in the dirt will give a dog an appetite, hmm?”
Lacey put her head on Kateri’s thigh.
“Yeah, yeah.” Kateri dug out a brown treat and handed it over. “On the other hand, let us remember who he is and what he’s done in his life. As law-abiding citizens go, he’s on the shady side. Maybe he just has good reflexes, but during that drive-by, he hit the ground a little too promptly.”
Lacey made ahumph!sound, flopped onto the seat and closed her eyes.
“That’s not the attitude to take. I’m trying not to be stupid. Or stupider. What kind of sheriff sleeps with Stag Denali, enforcer and convicted murderer, after one casual meeting? It’s career suicide. Plus, to trust a guy with his reputation simply because he seems solid as a rock and is good in bed. Really good in bed.” Kateri looked over at Lacey.
Lacey was curled up and asleep.
Kateri started the car. “I know. If we don’t catch John Terrance and the slasher, I won’t have to worry about being the sheriff much longer.” The trouble was, when dealing with Councilman Venegra’s threat of impeachment, the unexpectedly vicious streak of crimes and Rainbow’s slow, long slide into death, it seemed as if Stag Denali’s arms were the one place she could safely sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
While Lacey snored in a manner totally unlike any prom queen, Kateri drove to the Good Knight Manor Bed and Breakfast.
Kateri needed to take a moment to see her best friend; this morning Merida had been scared to death, and a law enforcement presence might help frighten off the mouth breathers and knuckle draggers—although possibly not the murderers and rapists. Still, hope springs eternal.
Of course, while she was at the bed-and-breakfast, she’d get to see her sister, too.
God help her.
When she parked at the curb, Lacey was on her feet, wagging her tail and ready to go. The clear message was that thirty minutes of sleep could be refreshing.
Kateri could only imagine.
Together they walked the shadowy path, up the rickety stairs and over to the grand front door. Kateri read the plaque:
GOOD KNIGHT MANOR BED AND BREAKFAST
IF NO ANSWER, WALK IN.
She knocked. No one opened the door, so she did as the sign instructed and walked in.
Lacey trotted in on her heels.
The entry looked like anAddams Familynightmare. To the left all the doors were shut. To the right a parlor had been attractively arranged, set up for an evening of wine and appetizers. On the wall, Kateri saw a cutesy sign inviting her to use the ship’s bell and small mallet, but from the back in the depths of the mansion, she heard raised voices.
She moved slowly toward those voices, reluctant to get involved in a domestic dispute—they were always messy and seldom rewarding—yet one voice was male and abusive, one softly female and pleading.
Trouble. Kateri had walked into trouble.
What else was new?
With a whispered word and a soft gesture, she instructed Lacey to wait in the entry. She eased toward the back of the house, through the empty kitchen, then stood to one side of the large, walk-in pantry. She couldn’t see the occupants, but she could hear them.
“You owe me!” the male voice said.
“If you would simply work for me…”
“Work! Why would I work? For you? After everything you did to me?”
