“It isn’t a request; it’s a deal breaker. We’re not negotiating terms. You want my silence? This is my price.” The sheriff’s voice was unwavering as he stared at Jacob.
Meeting the sheriff’s blazing eyes, Jacob knew that the other man wouldn’t be intimidated by threats of charges from interfering with a federal investigation. Zeke’s hard gaze said he wouldn’t be swayed at all because this was about folks he considered his family. The one thing Jake had learned about these people that lived in this tiny corner of America was that family trumped everything else. Always.
There were no exceptions.
If he was ever going to get to see Harmony tonight, he was gonna have to agree to the stubborn pain in the ass’s demands.
“Fine,” Jacob clipped out, regretting the words as soon as he said them. “But you make sure they know that this is a sticky situation. Runnin’ their mouths to the wrong person could mean somebody’s life. The agency has a man on the inside. Think about that.”
“My boys know how to keep their mouth shut.”
“Alright, then. I’ll let you know if I get any more information. Appreciate it if you’d do the same,” Jacob replied in a low voice as he threw a twenty on the table between them to cover their drinks.
“I can do that,” Zeke agreed with a short nod.
Jacob rose from his seat, his tight, worn jeans stretching with the movement. “Then I think we’re done here.”
“Listen, Stone,” Zeke said quickly as he shifted his hat back into place. “One last thing. With everything I shared with you, I think you know that I’ve put a certain level of trust in you. I wanna offer you one last piece of advice…go slow with her. She’s been through a lot.”
The noise of the bar seemed to increase in that moment, and Jacob took a step closer. “I hear you, man,” he acknowledged, “but slow isn’t really in my wheelhouse. What I can promise you is that I’ll take care with her. I didn’t come to Paradise expecting to find a woman that would mean anything to me. I sure as fuck didn’t plan on finding the one that could mean everything to me. Now that I have, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.”
“See that you do, Agent Stone. You see that you do.”
And on that last warning, Jacob spun on the heel of his motorcycle boot and headed for the door. There was nothing more he could add to what he’d already said that would make a believer out of Ezekiel Monroe, and he had far better things to do with his time than waste his breath.
Besides, he’d always believed actions spoke louder than words anyway.
Chapter Four
“This is hopeless,” Harmony McKinnon growled as she struggled to pull the form-fitting violet sweater over her head. “Why can’t I just wear jeans and a tee shirt?” she asked her sister, Faith, over her shoulder as she unsnapped the black skirt and wriggled the tight material over her hips. “I’ll take comfort over style any day of the week.” This was the third skirt she’d tried that had fit like a second skin, and she decided then and there that she seriously needed to skip tomorrow’s pie selection. “Jake already knows what I look like.”
Rolling her eyes, Faith ignored the snort from their other sister, Patience, and kept flipping through the hangers in Harmony’s closet. “It’s your first date in over seven years. You’re dressing up,” she decreed, pulling out a wine colored low cut silk shirt and scrutinizing it. Holding it up for Patience to see, she tilted her head. “Well?” she asked as she shoved her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“Too red. That color will make her look like a high-class hooker – which, if you wanna like a hooker would be the way to go…but still, doesn’t she have anything in a teal in there?” Patience asked, looking over Faith’s shoulder into the closet. “Blue will make her eyes pop.”
“Our sister is NOT going out dressed like a whore! Honor would tackle her to the ground before she cleared the door. But, I do agree with you about the blue,” Faith muttered as she resumed digging in the closet again.
“Oh, for crying out loud!” Harmony barely stifled a groan. Clad in a pink bra with little embroidered flowers sewn into the fabric and a pair of matching panties, she flopped back on the bed and watched as her two siblings continued to rummage through her limited wardrobe. She’d been modeling outfits for her discerning sisters for the past half-hour and even she could agree that her choices were somewhat sparse. As a working single mother, she really had two choices from which to pick… her normal work uniform of blue jeans and colorful tees or her mom uniform of yoga pants and colorful tees. “Why am I even doing this? I should just call him and cancel,” she muttered more to herself than to her siblings.