Smoking Hot by Karen Kelley Page A

and it’ll be gone.
    â€œSheriff Barnes tells me your father used to be the sheriff,” Emily said.
    Her thoughts seemed so real that it was a shock to glance around the room and not see her father. He wasn’t there. Dillon wasn’t either. Maybe he never had been.
    She sat in the chair facing them and raised her chin. “Until right before he died.”
    â€œDo you resent someone taking his place?” Emily crossed her legs, leaning slightly forward.
    She looked at the sheriff. “You mean Sheriff Barnes?”
    He glanced down at the papers on his desk. Was he trying to stay neutral? Her father would never have taken a back seat at any interrogation.
    â€œThe thought never crossed my mind,” she told Emily. “Sheriff Barnes was Dad’s lead deputy. He liked and respected my father. I wish my father was here, but he’s not. No one will ever take his place, but if I had to choose someone to fill the slot he left open, I couldn’t choose a better man than the one sitting behind that desk right now.”
    Sheriff Barnes raised his eyes; a slight smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Your father was a good man, one of the best.” He leaned back in his chair, looking anything but casual. “I think we can leave Raine’s father out of this inquiry.”
    Emily shrugged as if to say she’d only been testing the waters. Raine had a feeling Emily wouldn’t cut her much slack. She would do the same thing if their positions were reversed. She could respect the other woman for doing her job.
    Emily reached into her pocket and brought out a piece of paper. She carefully unfolded then flattened it with the palm of her hand. “You’re not very old to have garnered so much praise from your superiors.” She glanced up.
    â€œI imagine we’re close to the same age,” Raine said.
    For a brief moment, Raine thought she caught a glimmer of humor in the woman’s eyes, but Emily quickly looked down at the paper so Raine couldn’t be sure. Not that it would matter. The agent would still do her job.
    â€œYou also have a list of reprimands.” She raised her gaze to meet Raine’s. “You’ve taken a lot of chances at the risk of your own life.”
    â€œI did what I had to do at the time.”
    â€œLike what happened on the drug raid last December?”
    How could someone not remove a crying child from a house where a drug deal was going down? If they stormed the place, bullets would fly. The child was in a room by herself. Easy in, easy out. Until one of the drug dealers opened the door to get his stash of drugs out of the closet.
    â€œI removed the child from a hazardous situation.”
    â€œThe man sued for police brutality and almost won. The trial still cost the taxpayers, though.”
    Raine cocked an eyebrow. “He tripped.” Could she help it if his windpipe landed against her fist? He hadn’t been able to call out a warning and she’d removed the baby from the house unharmed.
    The questioning continued until Raine thought her head would explode. After an hour had passed, Sheriff Barnes cleared his throat. “I think that’s all we’ll need for today.”
    Emily looked as though she might protest, but she nodded instead. “Of course, you won’t leave the area.”
    Where would she go? “I won’t go farther than the ranch.” She came to her feet.
    â€œOh, just one more question,” Emily said.
    Raine was about ready to scream. “Whatever I can do to help.” Yes, her words sounded sharp, but Raine didn’t care. Her head hurt and she was tired.
    â€œYou said you would do anything for your grandfather. Would you rob a bank for him?”
    â€œOf course not!”
    â€œWhy was he there that night?”
    â€œHe wasn’t.”
    â€œYet his handkerchief was found at the scene.”
    â€œNo.” Raine shook her head.
    â€œYour