profanity under his breath. Laurel silently said a whole lot more. She didn’t want anyone to go to jail to protect her, but she also didn’t want to hand over her son to her father.
“I’ll handle this,” Jericho assured Dexter at the same time that Levi called out from the living room. “Jax and the justice of the peace are here.”
“Good.” Though there was nothing in Jericho’s body language that indicated anything about this latest news was
good
. “I’ll phone you back,” he added to Dexter, and he ended the call.
“I’ll have to turn myself in,” Laurel insisted. And her mind began to whirl with the possibilities of how to do that while keeping Maddox safe.
Jericho gave her a look that could have withered an entire forest, and he took hold of her hand to lead her back into the living room. “Come on. Once the vows are finished, we’ll work out what the hell we’re going to do.”
Chapter Nine
Jericho checked the time. Laurel and he had been married exactly one hour, and he was already on his sixth phone call. He’d never really given much thought to his wedding day, but he sure as heck hadn’t figured that he’d be spending his time trying to keep himself and his entire department out of jail.
But that’s exactly what he was doing.
Along with putting some things into motion that he hoped would buy Laurel and him some time. Time he needed, because the only way to put a stop to this situation was to find the link between those hired thugs and Herschel.
“I might have something,” Levi said the moment Jericho finished his latest call.
Since Levi, too, was working on his own string of phone conversations, Jericho hoped his brother had a whole lot better news than he did.
“It’s about Rossman and Cawley,” Levi explained. “The FBI wiretapped their office months ago and recorded all their calls. There are several from Laurel to discuss a real estate transaction. But there’s one from a man who doesn’t identify himself. It could be Herschel. There’s nothing that out and out incriminates him. Only one sentence—‘Let’s get this done.’ If it’s Herschel’s voice, then we’ll at least have proof that he was in on the deal.”
“You can access my phone messages if you need a sample of my father’s voice to compare to the recording,” Laurel said, walking into the kitchen. She’d obviously been listening. “I don’t have my phone with me. Jericho said maybe it could be traced, so I took out the memory card and left it at the ranch.”
“I can access your phone messages from here,” Levi assured her.
She blew out a breath of relief and turned her attention to Jericho. Laurel was obviously waiting for good news. Too bad Jericho didn’t have a string of good news to give Levi or her. But he did have something.
“The custody papers have been filed,” Jericho explained to them. “They’re being walked through, so they’ll be done before the judge and his staff leave for Christmas break.”
Jericho hoped. That was the plan, anyway, but it was possible that key players needed for the process had already left work for the holidays.
“Good,” Laurel said under her breath and then repeated it. “And what about the arrest warrants for you and the deputies?”
Jericho looked at Levi, hoping he’d made some progress in that area. But Levi shook his head. “The warrants haven’t been sworn out yet, but the Dallas PD has probable cause if they believe you’re harboring a fugitive.”
Yep, there it was in a nutshell. He was indeed doing just that. And in this case, he was now married to the fugitive.
His
wife
.
The word didn’t exactly stick in Jericho’s throat, but it was close. He’d had no plans for marriage, but he’d always thought when and if he got around to saying I do, that it wouldn’t have been to save his son. Or to save Laurel.
“I’m really sorry,” she said as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Don’t,” Jericho warned her.
“I’ll handle this,” Jericho assured Dexter at the same time that Levi called out from the living room. “Jax and the justice of the peace are here.”
“Good.” Though there was nothing in Jericho’s body language that indicated anything about this latest news was
good
. “I’ll phone you back,” he added to Dexter, and he ended the call.
“I’ll have to turn myself in,” Laurel insisted. And her mind began to whirl with the possibilities of how to do that while keeping Maddox safe.
Jericho gave her a look that could have withered an entire forest, and he took hold of her hand to lead her back into the living room. “Come on. Once the vows are finished, we’ll work out what the hell we’re going to do.”
Chapter Nine
Jericho checked the time. Laurel and he had been married exactly one hour, and he was already on his sixth phone call. He’d never really given much thought to his wedding day, but he sure as heck hadn’t figured that he’d be spending his time trying to keep himself and his entire department out of jail.
But that’s exactly what he was doing.
Along with putting some things into motion that he hoped would buy Laurel and him some time. Time he needed, because the only way to put a stop to this situation was to find the link between those hired thugs and Herschel.
“I might have something,” Levi said the moment Jericho finished his latest call.
Since Levi, too, was working on his own string of phone conversations, Jericho hoped his brother had a whole lot better news than he did.
“It’s about Rossman and Cawley,” Levi explained. “The FBI wiretapped their office months ago and recorded all their calls. There are several from Laurel to discuss a real estate transaction. But there’s one from a man who doesn’t identify himself. It could be Herschel. There’s nothing that out and out incriminates him. Only one sentence—‘Let’s get this done.’ If it’s Herschel’s voice, then we’ll at least have proof that he was in on the deal.”
“You can access my phone messages if you need a sample of my father’s voice to compare to the recording,” Laurel said, walking into the kitchen. She’d obviously been listening. “I don’t have my phone with me. Jericho said maybe it could be traced, so I took out the memory card and left it at the ranch.”
“I can access your phone messages from here,” Levi assured her.
She blew out a breath of relief and turned her attention to Jericho. Laurel was obviously waiting for good news. Too bad Jericho didn’t have a string of good news to give Levi or her. But he did have something.
“The custody papers have been filed,” Jericho explained to them. “They’re being walked through, so they’ll be done before the judge and his staff leave for Christmas break.”
Jericho hoped. That was the plan, anyway, but it was possible that key players needed for the process had already left work for the holidays.
“Good,” Laurel said under her breath and then repeated it. “And what about the arrest warrants for you and the deputies?”
Jericho looked at Levi, hoping he’d made some progress in that area. But Levi shook his head. “The warrants haven’t been sworn out yet, but the Dallas PD has probable cause if they believe you’re harboring a fugitive.”
Yep, there it was in a nutshell. He was indeed doing just that. And in this case, he was now married to the fugitive.
His
wife
.
The word didn’t exactly stick in Jericho’s throat, but it was close. He’d had no plans for marriage, but he’d always thought when and if he got around to saying I do, that it wouldn’t have been to save his son. Or to save Laurel.
“I’m really sorry,” she said as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Don’t,” Jericho warned her.
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