or Maddix. It was a disturbing realization.
"Do you think we haven't checked you out, Steele?" Animosity thickened Luke Nelson's voice.
"Enough, Luke," Maddix growled.
"Tell him, Riley." Luke's sneer in the chief of police's direction was snide and filled with derision. "You can't arrest the bastard, though, can you? Can't or won't. Maybe you're just too damned scared?"
Chief Riley's wide, square face tightened in anger as Nik merely shook his head.
"He can't arrest me." Nik stared back at the chief. "I have yet to break a law."
Which wasn't entirely true.
"That we can prove," the chief muttered. "You know, Steele, I'm only here because Maddix is a friend and I want this cleared up just as much as he does. Otherwise, I'd be trying to find a way to fry your ass, no matter the fact that certain government agencies find you useful."
"That you can prove. And fortunately for me, I have many friends," Nik agreed as he inclined his head mockingly. "And on that note, before I murder this little bastard of Maddix's, I'm leaving."
Fury stiffened Luke's expression as he jumped to his feet and turned to his father.
"I feel sorry for you, Maddix," Nik stated, pitying the man. "Try suspending his allowance for a while. Maybe he'll act like a decent human being rather than the disgrace he's turning out to be."
Nik walked out of the room as Maddix lowered his head and pinched the bridge
of his nose. Almost simultaneously Glenda and Luke began raging. It didn't surprise Nik that Glenda was joining in on Luke's side; like the two council members, Glenda and Luke Nelson were making a little happy time between the sheets.
Nik wondered if Maddix was aware of it.
On second thought, Maddix wasn't a stupid man; he probably was.
Leaving the house, Nik walked back to his Harley, swung on, and twisted the key.
The engine flared to life with a heavy, deep roar.
Maneuvering out of the wide driveway, he headed for the security gates and what
he considered freedom beyond. Hell, he'd prefer to pledge the rest of his life to the Elite Ops than to live like this. Accepting deceit and selfish bickering such as what he'd glimpsed in Maddix Nelson's life.
The man hadn't raised his son with the same values he lived by; that was for
damned sure.
But Mikayla had those values.
Where the hell had that thought come from?
Nik felt his enter body tense, tightening involuntarily at the thought of the too-
small, too-fragile woman he had held in his arms the past week.
He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind, nor had he been able to keep from
56
watching her. He was spending more time tracking her than he was tracking a killer. And that wasn't even Nik's job. His job was to figure out why she was lying about a man who hadn't, or at least who swore he hadn't, committed murder.
This was turning into a hell of a job, and one that was clearly going to take more time than Nik had anticipated. His commander, Jordan, was already questioning how
much longer it could possibly take. The team had already been sent out to the next mission without Nik. That was something that hadn't happened in all the years they had fought together.
It was something that shouldn't be happening now. Except Nik couldn't seem to
pull himself away.
The bruises on Mikayla's face were only now beginning to fade a bit. He knew
that because he spied on her. As disgusting as it seemed to him, he couldn't help but watch out for her, to check up on her.
Someone much larger, much stronger, had dared to attack her in the darkness.
Because of what she had seen or because of what she thought she saw?
Nik knew the surrounding area was divided on the subject of Maddix Nelson
committing murder. Many thought he was capable of it. Some thought he was capable, but that in the case of Eddie Foreman he hadn't actually acted. Others thought the idea absurd but were amused by the battle being waged over it.
And at least one night, someone had decided to put a stop to the small
"Do you think we haven't checked you out, Steele?" Animosity thickened Luke Nelson's voice.
"Enough, Luke," Maddix growled.
"Tell him, Riley." Luke's sneer in the chief of police's direction was snide and filled with derision. "You can't arrest the bastard, though, can you? Can't or won't. Maybe you're just too damned scared?"
Chief Riley's wide, square face tightened in anger as Nik merely shook his head.
"He can't arrest me." Nik stared back at the chief. "I have yet to break a law."
Which wasn't entirely true.
"That we can prove," the chief muttered. "You know, Steele, I'm only here because Maddix is a friend and I want this cleared up just as much as he does. Otherwise, I'd be trying to find a way to fry your ass, no matter the fact that certain government agencies find you useful."
"That you can prove. And fortunately for me, I have many friends," Nik agreed as he inclined his head mockingly. "And on that note, before I murder this little bastard of Maddix's, I'm leaving."
Fury stiffened Luke's expression as he jumped to his feet and turned to his father.
"I feel sorry for you, Maddix," Nik stated, pitying the man. "Try suspending his allowance for a while. Maybe he'll act like a decent human being rather than the disgrace he's turning out to be."
Nik walked out of the room as Maddix lowered his head and pinched the bridge
of his nose. Almost simultaneously Glenda and Luke began raging. It didn't surprise Nik that Glenda was joining in on Luke's side; like the two council members, Glenda and Luke Nelson were making a little happy time between the sheets.
Nik wondered if Maddix was aware of it.
On second thought, Maddix wasn't a stupid man; he probably was.
Leaving the house, Nik walked back to his Harley, swung on, and twisted the key.
The engine flared to life with a heavy, deep roar.
Maneuvering out of the wide driveway, he headed for the security gates and what
he considered freedom beyond. Hell, he'd prefer to pledge the rest of his life to the Elite Ops than to live like this. Accepting deceit and selfish bickering such as what he'd glimpsed in Maddix Nelson's life.
The man hadn't raised his son with the same values he lived by; that was for
damned sure.
But Mikayla had those values.
Where the hell had that thought come from?
Nik felt his enter body tense, tightening involuntarily at the thought of the too-
small, too-fragile woman he had held in his arms the past week.
He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind, nor had he been able to keep from
56
watching her. He was spending more time tracking her than he was tracking a killer. And that wasn't even Nik's job. His job was to figure out why she was lying about a man who hadn't, or at least who swore he hadn't, committed murder.
This was turning into a hell of a job, and one that was clearly going to take more time than Nik had anticipated. His commander, Jordan, was already questioning how
much longer it could possibly take. The team had already been sent out to the next mission without Nik. That was something that hadn't happened in all the years they had fought together.
It was something that shouldn't be happening now. Except Nik couldn't seem to
pull himself away.
The bruises on Mikayla's face were only now beginning to fade a bit. He knew
that because he spied on her. As disgusting as it seemed to him, he couldn't help but watch out for her, to check up on her.
Someone much larger, much stronger, had dared to attack her in the darkness.
Because of what she had seen or because of what she thought she saw?
Nik knew the surrounding area was divided on the subject of Maddix Nelson
committing murder. Many thought he was capable of it. Some thought he was capable, but that in the case of Eddie Foreman he hadn't actually acted. Others thought the idea absurd but were amused by the battle being waged over it.
And at least one night, someone had decided to put a stop to the small
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