Yeah, he had no right to feel so protective of her, but he couldn’t seem to help it.
“You have no idea how tough it was for me to treat him as anything but the garbage he is,” he said. “I had to limit my interactions with him. In the few months he was an inmate at the jail, my deputies figured out early that Warren is really good at manipulating other people’s emotions and goading them into saying and doing things they would rather not. We had to keep him segregated from the other inmates or risk a full-on riot.”
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. “It’s a beautiful day. I would really rather not talk about him.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I wasn’t thrilled about the plea deal he accepted, but at least he’s in prison now, where he belongs. I have decided I won’t give him the satisfaction of wasting another moment of my life thinking about him.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan,” he said.
She was much tougher than she appeared on the surface, with a deep, unexpected core of strength. Not only was he fiercely attracted to her, but he admired her far more than he wanted to admit.
“Am I going the right way?” she asked.
“Yes. Turn onto Center Street and head up the hill.”
Shelter Springs was a nice town, with charms of its own, but the downtown wasn’t quite as quaint and picturesque as Haven Point.
“Turn in there,” he said, pointing to the square, bland complex of buildings that held the county offices.
She obeyed and pulled into the parking lot.
“You can park there,” he said, gesturing to an empty spot a few stalls down the row.
“Why? I can just drop you at the door, then pull into the space so I can carry in your laptop.”
“I don’t need your help.”
She frowned. “You are a stubborn man, Sheriff Bailey.”
“I believe you’ve mentioned that.”
“What can you possibly gain by forcing yourself to go an extra thirty feet on your crutches through a possibly icy parking lot, especially when there’s no good reason?”
He didn’t want to have to explain himself to her, but he supposed she deserved it after she had gone to all the trouble of bringing him to work.
“There is a good chance somebody inside that building tried to run me down five days ago. By now, they probably know I suspect an inside job, no matter what the idiots at the state police say. It’s important, under the circumstances, that I appear at my department from a position of confidence and strength. I appreciate the ride and your help, but I need to carry in my own bag. The crutches are bad enough. If I could lose them, I would in a heartbeat.”
The look she gave him was not without sympathy, though it was mingled with a healthy dose of exasperation. “I’m glad you’ve at least got enough sense to know you need the crutches.”
“I’m stubborn. I’m not completely stupid.”
She didn’t look convinced as she pulled into the space he indicated. “I could carry the laptop up to the door for you and just not come inside. That way you won’t reveal a hint of weakness.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said. Right now he was more concerned about not revealing how touched he was by her concern for him, even though he knew he shouldn’t be.
After she parked, she slid out of the driver’s side and walked around the vehicle to pull the damn crutches and the bag in question out of the backseat, then she hovered close to make sure he could pull himself out of the seat and up onto his good leg and the crutches—not as easy a task as it should have been.
When he was on his feet, she handed him the bag and he slung it, messenger-style, around his neck and under one arm.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Positive. No problem.”
He would be a little off balance, carrying the bulky laptop bag, but he could handle it.
“When do you need me to come back?”
“Should we say two hours? That should be long enough for the staff briefing and to download the files I need from the secured server. Is that enough time for you to finish your shopping here in town?”
“I only have a few small items. I’ll be back here just before noon, then.” She paused. “Good luck. Be careful.”
He nodded and made his way across the parking lot, careful to watch for speeding vehicles that might come at him out of nowhere. It likely would be a long time before he could comfortably walk across a parking lot without remembering headlights zooming toward him out of the darkness.
CHAPTER TEN
HE WAS JUST as watchful when he walked into the building, this time to gauge the reaction of his personnel to his presence.