Sheriff Rowland rolled his eyes and glared at Flint. “Well, can I come in… seeing as I have a warrant and all.”
“Of course, Sheriff.” Turning to Flint I smiled up at my bouncer. “Flint, let the sheriff and his men in. They don’t have to pay, big guy.” I winked at Flint and turned to lead the way into the club.
For the next hour, I watched the sheriff search the club from top to bottom. He scared off my customers, so the club was empty except for myself and my employees. By the time the sheriff walked up to me, I was ready to spit nails, I was so angry. Almost an entire night of profits down the drain.
“Ms. Liutik,” he greeted with a snarl. For a human, the sheriff could growl right along with the loudest shifter.
“Not sure why you dropped in this time, Sheriff. All of my licenses and certifications are up to date as always.” Letting out a sigh, I lifted my drink from the bar and sipped it to feign indifference to his presence.
“Ms. Liutik, I’ve had multiple complaints. While it is true none of the others have panned out – which makes me wonder if you’re being tipped off” – he waved off the comment before continuing, “but I have one more complaint to deal with.”
“And, what is that, sheriff?” I sighed.
“Koroleva Liutik, you are being charged with the assault of Brett Keppel two nights ago in this establishment. Please stand up and place your hands on the bar.”
I groaned as I slid off of my stool and did as I was asked. What the hell game was the sheriff playing? It had been two days since that incident and I was within my rights to restrain an unruly customer. However, the smirk on Sheriff Rowland’s face said he was really enjoying this and I had a feeling it wasn’t about the asshole Brett.
The sheriff was rambling off the usual diatribe as he clicked the handcuffs on my right wrist. Before he could move to the other side a large shadow blocked out the lights from behind us.
“Get your hands off of her,” a deep voice growled.
“Sir, I need you to back up at least ten feet. I’m in the middle of an arrest,” the sheriff demanded as he let go of the cuffs and me to talk to the shadow.
Slowly, I turned my head and glanced behind me to see who had stepped up in my defense. It was silly… the sheriff could pretty much do as he pleased. But, something inside of me warmed at the thought of someone defending me. Like a knight in shining armor coming to the aid of his damsel in distress.
What I found shocked me. I hadn’t realized my yummy conquest from earlier hadn’t left with the other customers. He towered over the sheriff by at least a foot. When he was seated, I hadn’t realized how tall he was, but now I could tell just how tall and muscular the man really was. It had arousal rising inside of me and I was determined to have him.
“Hey,” I called out and both the sheriff and my knight raised their eyes to me. “I’ll be okay. Hell, I’ll be out before the night is over,” I laughed.
“I doubt that Ms. Liutik,” the sheriff huffed.
“Harpy,” I called out. When she appeared in my line of sight, I snapped out orders, “Call Roark and make sure to get this guy’s info.”
Turning back to the men, I smirked and held out my hands to the sheriff.
“My name’s Banshee, what’s yours?” I asked as I looked over the sheriff’s head while he roughly grabbed the cuff dangling from my right hand and pulled it behind my back. I must have flinched because my knight growled.
“D– I’m Chance,” he rasped.
I could tell he was holding himself back and I shook my head as I rolled my eyes toward the sheriff and his deputies. His nostrils flared and he nodded his understanding.
“Well, Chance, I’d really like to continue where we left off. Get my info from Harpy or leave yours with her, preferably both, and we’ll pick up where we left off.”
The sheriff jerked the cuffs and forced me to head toward the exit.
“Call Roark,” I yelled back at my staff as I was pushed out into the cool night air.
“That fucking asshole. I can’t believe he took me in. Everything he had was bullshit and he knew it,” I seethed the next morning.
“Yeah, Lawson was pissed that we pulled him out of bed for some trumped-up charge,” Roark rumbled.
“And, Rowland threatened me before I left.”
“What the fuck?” Ry demanded. As an enforcer, it was his job to protect us.
“Said that someone was getting pissed off that we were snooping where we don’t belong and we’d be better off to sell our land and move somewhere where we were wanted.”
Haught, the club treasurer and IT specialist, cursed and ran his hand over his face. He’d been discussing something with Roark when I arrived this morning for the church meeting.
“This is bullshit,” Boris added in his thick Russian accent.
“Look, I’m pretty sure this has something to do with that land development deal which means the mayor is probably putting pressure on the sheriff to push us out,” I explained as I sorted through my own thoughts.
“And, our good sheriff is only too happy to help them with that,” Preacher laughed hollowly.
“Yeah. Him and his fucking vendetta against us,” Ry agreed.
“He’s still grieving for his daughter–” Roark began but I interrupted.
“I didn’t have fucking shit to do with his daughter. When it was clear she was more than a recreational user, I sent her packing. It isn’t my fault she found a different source.”
“I don’t blame you, Banshee.” Roark placed a hand on my shoulder. “Now, what the hell are we going to do about this situation?”
Roark’s demand held in the air for several minutes
