Rachel took one of only four seats in the small lobby and stared out the plate-glass windows at the motorcycles lined up outside the diner. She wondered which table and women Cash was sitting with.
When the sheriff’s office finally opened, Knox walked out with Cash.
“Sheriff, Rachel is here to see you.”
The idea of blending into the woodwork vanished when both men turned to look at her.
“Rachel, you can come into my office.”#p#分页标题#e#
She slowly got to her feet, moving forward into Knox’s office while avoiding looking directly at Cash.
When she glanced over her shoulder as Knox closed the door, Cash was inside, also.
“I’d like to talk to you alone,” Rachel told Knox.
“Are you going to need me to do any investigating?” he asked, taking a seat behind his big desk.
Rachel frowned. “I don’t know exactly. Maybe. I suppose so.”
“Then he needs to be in here. He’s my investigator.” Knox leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands over his muscular stomach.
“He is?” Rachel’s confused eyes met Cash’s amused ones.
“Yep, I use him when my deputies are busy. Last night, he had to track down a stolen tow truck. Lyle left his keys in the ignition and a bunch of high schoolers took a joy ride.”
He hadn’t spent the night with the women at the clubhouse? Rachel’s thoughts whirled, but Knox quickly reminded her of why she had stopped by his office.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Willa. I’m concerned that Lewis is harassing her.”
“What do you want me to do about it?” Knox raised a brow.
“I want you to make it stop. I think she’s afraid of him and is too embarrassed to ask anyone for help.” She didn’t try to keep the anger out of her voice.
“I’ve already talked to Willa back in the summer. Evie had the same concerns and came to talk to me about them. She also had Shade talk to Lewis.”
“Well, it hasn’t worked. The other day, I stopped by her house and he was there. She was frightened, Knox,” Rachel insisted.
“I’ll stop by her house again and have another talk with her. But if she doesn’t want me to help her, there’s not a lot I can do,” Knox explained.
“You obviously don’t know Willa; she will not ask for your help. Never mind, I’ll get my brothers to handle it.”
She angrily turned to the door, only to find Cash blocking it.
“Just a damn minute, Rachel. I said I would talk to her. If you set your crazy-ass brothers off on Lewis, it’s the Porters who are going to be arrested.” Knox lost his relaxed appearance, straightening in his chair.
Rachel placed her hands on his desk, leaning toward him. “If she were one of The Last Riders’ women, you wouldn’t be talking to her; you would be talking to Lewis. You wouldn’t give a shit about protocol. I’m not going to let that jerk make her scared one more day!”
This time, when she turned to leave, she moved toward the door.
“Move!” she ordered Cash.
“Rachel, calm down.” Cash’s voice tried to soothe her temper, which she wasn’t in the mood for, but he took her arm, leading her to the chair in front of Knox’s desk.
“Knox isn’t saying he won’t do anything, but he has to talk to Willa first. Give us a couple of days. I’ll keep an eye on Willa, and if I see Lewis doing anything to make Willa uncomfortable, we’ll get a restraining order and put a watch on her. If you go off and set your brothers on him, you could be escalating an already bad situation.”
Rachel took a deep, steadying breath. “Willa was a senior when I was a freshman. Even then, I saw Georgia tormenting her.” Rachel looked down at her work-roughened hands. “Georgia tried to pick on me a couple of times, but she wasn’t really brave enough to do anything with Dustin always watching out for me. Georgia didn’t get any nicer as she got older, though. Everyone, including Willa, learned the best way to deal with her was to stay away from her.#p#分页标题#e#
“You know the funny thing about it? Lily was the only one who ever had enough guts to actually confront Georgia.” Rachel ran her sweaty hands down the sides of her dress. “I stood by then, but I’m not going to ignore it anymore. I know he’s going to hurt her.” Every time she was near Willa, she felt the fear and terror the woman was dealing with on her own.
“I’ll make sure we all keep an eye on her,” Knox promised.
Rachel nodded. Getting to her feet, she went to the door. This time, Cash opened it for her and then followed her outside.