Bounty (Walk the Right Road) (14 page)

“Wally, rather, Deputy Wally, will be tagging along with us. Anyone we want to talk to, he’ll be with us, shadowing, just so we know that we’re in the wrong community and need to move on,” Diane said, not missing the strange exchange between Sam and Zac.

“Anyone else have a feeling that the motel clerk knew something and was about to say something before Deputy Wally walked in? I know I’m not being paranoid, ’cause I know when someone is giving a warning. He wasn’t too subtle,” Sam said.

“First thing, let’s talk to the cleaning people around here, show them the girl’s photo before Deputy Wally gets here. Let’s just hope the clerk hasn’t told his staff not to talk to us.” Zac pulled out his cell phone and scanned through the screen. “Ah, there we go. Thank you, Casey.”

“What?” Diane asked and pushed off the bed, striding to Zac.

He held his phone out to her and showed her the screen, scanning through the photos of the girl at the crime scene and the morgue.

“Can you text those to my phone, too?” she asked.

Zac nodded, and a few seconds later, Diane’s cell phone beeped. “Sam, what’s your cell phone number? I’ll send them to you, too. This way it’s going to be really hard for that deputy to take the photos. Next time, they’ll have to take our phones.”

Diane yawned and looked up to Zac watching her in a way that let her know he didn’t want to leave, but he turned to Sam and said, “Let’s go. Diane, we’ll see you down for breakfast at six thirty.”

Sam was out of his chair, and Zac pulled open the door. Sam paused for a second, and there was another odd exchange between the men. Sam went out the door first. Wow, something had definitely happened between them, like two dogs who’d beaten the crap out of each other and then established boundaries and ground rules.

“Diane, I’m sorry,” Zac said. “The last thing I wanted was to make this investigation any more difficult for you.”

He left before she could even think to respond, and the door closed. She set her hand against the door and then dropped it, because she believed he did feel bad, but he also had a dark side, and today she’d seen it for the first time, up close and personal.

“More coffee here?” The waitress had bleached blond hair and couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen. She filled mugs with coffee for Zac, Sam, and Diane in their corner booth, where they had a bird’s-eye view of the parking lot and the door. Sam had taken the seat across from Diane, and Zac had slipped in beside her. They had just finished eating, Diane having inhaled her veggie omelet. Sam had ordered steak and eggs, and Zac had ordered the breakfast special, something hot and spicy.

“Can I get y’all anything else?” The waitress scribbled on her order sheet.

“No, that’s all. Just the bill, please,” Zac said.

The waitress ripped off the paper and set it on the table beside Zac.

“I’m going to head back to the room, see if I can spot one of the chamber maids and have a quick chat before that deputy shows up and makes sure we don’t talk with anyone who’ll be of help to us,” Zac said, grabbing the bill and starting to leave.

“Hey, I think it’s my turn.” Sam held out his hand for the bill.

What surprised Diane more than anything was that Zac simply folded it lengthwise between his fingers and passed it over. The paper rustled as Sam took it from him.

“We’ll wait here for the deputy, see if we’re still welcome,” Diane said. She watched as Zac strode out of the restaurant, her eyes zooming in on his butt. She’d never considered herself to be a woman turned on by some guy’s butt, but when she put the entire package together, tall and handsome, with well-defined muscles, along with the fact that the man filled out a pair of jeans like few could, well, she had to fight the urge to lick her lips.

Her eyes were glued to the image walking out the door when Sam cleared his throat roughly. Diane swung her head around and faced him, not missing the odd expression on his face. Was he amused? Lord, she hoped not.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Sam asked as he shoved his coffee away.

She didn’t want to talk to Sam about her fantasies. That would just be so awkward and wrong. He was her partner, or rather he had been for years. They were buds: She had his back and he had hers. They weren’t two girlfriends discussing their feelings. Right about now, though, she’d have traded Sam for her two friends, Marcie and Maggie. Either would do, both would listen, and they’d understand.

“Yeah, I guess I do. He’s smart. He’s been a lot of help on this investigation.” She cleared her throat when Sam narrowed his eyes.

“That’s not what I asked you, and you know it. The way you look at him, and him you, it’s as if you want to lick him from head to toe. I’m pretty sure his thoughts have gone to the same place.”

“That’s disgusting, Sam. Seriously,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone had heard his crude remark as the heat climbed up her face. Dammit, she hated blushing, and it wasn’t something she did, but since meeting Zac, it seemed to have become an uncomfortable pastime.

“Diane, look, I’m sorry about how I acted yesterday. I deserved Zac’s fist in my face.”

She stared at him as he glanced away sheepishly.

“I was being a first-class prick. You know it, he knows it. I just pushed his buttons, and it’s exactly what I intended to do.”

“He was a loose cannon, doing what he did, yanking you out of the vehicle and you two pummeling each other like two cowboys having a barroom brawl,” she muttered. What she didn’t say was that she was kind of turned on, thinking Zac was defending her, until she thought about it some more. It had really been about Zac’s ego. Maybe. “Anyway, that stupid move by you two got us in some pretty hot water and on the wrong side of the person here who can make or break this case for us.”

“I know, Diane, and I’ll say it again and again: I’m sorry, it was stupid, and I take full responsibility.” Sam held both hands up in front of him.

“What did you two do, kiss and make up last night?” Diane snapped, because Sam was making her uncomfortable talking about this.

“Diane, I’ve never seen you with anyone. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never dated or been with anyone. For a while there…”

Diane wondered why he had stopped. She had this awful sinking feeling in her stomach that she didn’t want to hear what he was going to say. “What? Spit it out. What did you think?”

“Well, there was some locker-room talk that you were into girls. You know.”

Her eyes widened, and maybe it was shock that had her leaning across the table, ready to reach out and grab Sam’s shirtfront. Then she thought better of it as she leaned back, fisting her hand and then crossing her arms protectively, covering her breasts. “Oh my god, Sam. How many and who were talking about me that way?”

Sam flinched.

“Sam,” Diane spit out. She glanced over her shoulder at an older couple who seemed more than interested in listening in. “Do you mind?” she said as she set her fisted hand on the table, and the couple flushed and turned away.

He set his hand over her fist. “It doesn’t matter, Diane. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Really, kind of like how you resigned from the taskforce and walked away after Lance Silver screwed us, and every cop on the team wondered if you’d been paid off?”

“What the hell? Who said that? You know that’s absolute bullshit,” Sam said a little too loudly.

Diane watched his face flush. “You never did tell me everything that happened, Sam. Oh, I knew you’d made some deal, I just didn’t ask too many questions. But you’re a cop deep down, and you hung on to things for years, getting your teeth into that investigation to shut down the biggest drug ring in the Pacific Northwest. After Jesse told you to make a deal and protect your own, well, I’m not stupid. I had an idea you did something, but I also know you were obsessed. You met Marcie, we got screwed royally, and then you just walked away.”

“Some things are best left alone.” Sam wouldn’t look at her.

“Yeah, maybe. Or maybe you can come clean with me on what deal you made and with whom.”

Sam wouldn’t look at her. He leaned back and swung his arm across his seat.

“What did you do, Sam?”

“Let’s just say I made sure that Marcie and Maggie were safe, and I took Jesse’s advice, because he was right: You look after the home front first. I needed to make sure the sharks we were swimming with stayed far away from them.”

“You made a deal with Lance Silver, didn’t you?” she asked, and this time he didn’t flinch when he met her curious gaze.

“Yes, I did, and I’d do it again,” he said.

“Does Marcie know?” She wondered if Sam had even considered the fact that Marcie and him were so alike, with their need to protect those they loved.

“No. She doesn’t need to know.”

“Strange, don’t you think? At least she came clean to you about going to see Silver, getting his help for Maggie and Richard to protect them. Yet you did the same thing, but you don’t tell her, and you see her as the one who betrayed you. Very much the pot calling the kettle black, hey, Sam?”

Sam didn’t appear to like what she’d said, as his eyes flashed with a warning. “That’s different.”

“Really, how?” She eased back in the booth and watched as Sam chuckled under his breath.

“Because it’s my job to protect her, not the other way around,” Sam said as he yanked out his wallet and pulled out a handful of bills, dumping them on the table. “I’m not talking about this any more with you, Diane. It’s done, it’s over. What Marcie did is different.”

“How? You tell me right now, because I would really like to know,” she said. When he didn’t answer, she shook her head. She wasn’t making any headway with him at all. “It’s a real shame that you can’t see what a first-class prick you’re being, considering how you left Marcie and how you treated her when she came clean. Your pregnant…significant other who can barely hold it together drives away, falling apart, in tears, with your little girl, and she doesn’t have a clue whether you’ve just walked away from her for good. You hurt her, and she didn’t deserve that, considering you did exactly the same thing and never bothered to share it with her. I’m sorry you can’t see what I can from this side, because if you could, I expect you’d be on your way home right now, apologizing and groveling at her feet, begging for her forgiveness for how badly you’ve treated her.”

“Are you done?” He gestured to her empty mug as if he hadn’t heard a word she said.

“Yeah.” She scooted from her seat. “I most certainly am.” She stepped toward the door just as Zac stepped in with Wally the deputy right behind him. There was one thing she’d figured out about Zac in the short time she’d known him: He had a better poker face than anyone she’d ever met.

“Zac, I see you found the deputy. So, where to first?” Diane asked, stopping right before them.

Wally set his wide hands on his hips and stared at Diane with light blue eyes that seemed free of any emotion. He gestured them outside, and they all followed. “Well, one of you can ride with me. How about the girl?” he said.

Diane couldn’t help the jolt of fear that sliced through her. There was something about him she didn’t like.

“I’ll go with you,” Sam said, cutting around Diane and extending his arm to the deputy. “Don’t think Zac here would appreciate you riding around alone with his woman.”

Diane couldn’t believe what Sam had said, and she jerked around so fast, staring at Sam with a look she hoped he understood clearly: She was going to kill him later. It was then that Zac decided to slide his hand into hers, which had her doing another double take. What the hell did they do, plan this?

“What the…?” Diane started to say.

Zac interrupted by tugging on her arm. “Deputy, you must have a wife or girlfriend at home. I’m sure you’d understand how I feel. After all, she’s really good at playing one of us against the other, as you saw on the highway yesterday.”

“What?” Diane barked and yanked her hand away.

The deputy laughed and slapped Sam on the back. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” He gave Zac a two-finger salute as he turned and headed toward his cruiser with Sam.

Diane turned on Zac, her hands fisted, ready to slug him, hit him anywhere. She was shaking so hard.

“Not here.” Zac set his arm around her shoulder. “Just play along.”

Play along, my ass.
Even his hand on her shoulder prompted an overwhelming need to punch him, to shove him away and kick him in the shins. Okay, maybe that was childish, but at this moment she didn’t care. Zac opened her door, not daring to touch her arm and help her in. Smart boy. He shut her door a little harder than normal and walked around the front of the rental SUV. When the cop car drove past, Zac raised his hand, and hell, Wally’s honk in return even sounded friendlier.

He slid under the wheel and shoved the key in the ignition, and it wasn’t until he started the engine that he slid around and faced Diane. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door, taking a good long look at the first man who could have her fluttering as if she were a fool, blushing at the drop of a hat, and feeling crazed all at the same time. The funny thing was that as pissed as she was at Zac, it wasn’t the same as her irritation for the other cops every time they ridiculed her and made her feel small. Coming from Zac, this behavior stung more than she could fathom.