Taking Aim at the Sheriff by Delores Fossen Page B

He would have liked to have added that this wasn’t of her own making. But that was only partly true. She had brought some of this mess on herself by not seeing the truth about her father sooner.
    She didn’t listen to his warning. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. First to Jericho. Then to Levi. “How much time do we have before I turn myself in and stop those arrest warrants from being issued?”
    “I’ve already told you, that’s not going to happen,” Jericho snapped.
    “No, you glared at me when I said I was going to do it. Now that you’ve got the custody papers started, I can turn myself in.”
    Jericho got to his feet so he could make eye contact with her and so she could see that he wasn’t leaving room for argument. “Your father’s past the brow-beating stage with you. He wants you behind bars, and he wants Maddox. Turning yourself in won’t stop that.”
    Laurel lifted her hands in the air. “Then how do we stop him?”
    He had a plan, all right. Jericho just wished it was a whole lot better than it was. “I’ve asked the county sheriff to file charges against Herschel for trespassing on the ranch.”
    Levi looked at him as if he’d sprouted an extra nose. “That won’t put Herschel behind bars.”
    “No, but it’ll keep him occupied for a few hours while he’s trying to sort it out.” Maybe. “In the meantime, Jax and Weston are digging into the backgrounds on the shrinks who gave fake reports regarding your mental health. They’re looking to find a way to connect Herschel to the illegal activity.”
    Laurel didn’t exactly jump for joy. Probably because she knew her father would have covered his tracks well.
    “Chase will help them when he can, but he’s on a lead right now to find the Moonlight Strangler,” Jericho added.
    He hated he couldn’t pull Chase away from that case, but it was critical that the Moonlight Strangler be stopped. Especially since the snake would no doubt strike again. And soon.
    She stayed quiet for a few seconds before her gaze drifted toward the living room. “Maddox deserves better than this,” she whispered.
    Yeah. He did. A whole lot better.
    Jericho didn’t know a lot about babies, but he knew this should be a time of celebration. Presents, Christmas trees, lots of excitement. Well, there was excitement, all right, but it was the wrong kind.
    “I’ll make sure he has some gifts,” Jericho assured her. He wasn’t certain how he would manage that, yet, but he’d get him something even if he had to download some games and books from the internet.
    Levi must have decided this wasn’t a conversation he needed to be in on, because he took out his phone again and headed out of the kitchen. “I’ll see what I can do about speeding up the process for that voice comparison.”
    Jericho thanked his brother, was ready to launch into some calls himself, but he stood so he could glance into the living room and check on Maddox. Still asleep. So was his mother. She was napping in the recliner next to Maddox.
    He went closer, his attention on his son’s face, and he wondered if it would always be like this when he looked at him. That strong wash of love. So strong that it seemed to crush his chest. Twenty-four hours ago, Jericho hadn’t even known Maddox existed, and now he couldn’t imagine a life without him.
    That meant a life with Laurel, too.
    Even after they put an end to the danger and sorted out all her legal troubles, she would still be in his life. Jericho was guessing she’d want some kind of split-custody arrangement. And maybe that’d work. But he didn’t want to lose another minute with his son, much less the time he wouldn’t have with Maddox if he had to share custody with Laurel.
    He glanced at Laurel and realized she was staring at him. “What?” Jericho asked.
    “Magical, huh? I mean, people tell you what it’s like to love a child, but you can’t imagine it until it happens to you.”
    Jericho didn’t trust his voice and settled