Irresistible Forces (McKingley) (11 page)

“Do what?” Lord, he was furious.

“Drive like you did. You’re reckless and stupid to do such a thing. If you think you being who you are should give you a free pass then move to some big city where that works. But not here, not in my town. Your ridiculous,
selfish
actions could have killed someone. You know what my day was like? I just finished telling some parents their child was dead because of a reckless driver only to find out you were out not much later than that, doing the exact same thing.”

“I had a headache,” she said, defending herself. “I wanted to get home. I’ve done it before, you know this.”

“I don’t fucking care if you did have a headache. I know you’ve done it before and it was my stupidity and my obsession with you that allowed you to get away with it. You have friends you can call and one of us would have come gotten you no problem. You know that. But this…hell no, not anymore. Not in
my
town. Do it again and I’ll take your licence and lock you up.”

How dare he?
“Fuck you, Leonardo.”

His eyes were unforgiving and alive with flames of rage. “Do
not
push me on this, Deyon. You’re lucky I don’t take it now. Don’t test me. I’ve told all my officers as well. You drive like that again and that piece of plastic will be gone so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

He whirled around and stalked off, anger evident in every inch of him. She jerked when the door slammed behind him. The sound of gravel spraying made her wince again.

She sank to a seat, her appetite all gone, and wavered between anger and shock. What had just happened? She’d never seen him that upset before. Never. Sure, they’d had arguments before—they were both passionate people. But this. No kiss. No hug. No anything other than anger.

She stomped back to her bedroom and flopped down, upset with him.
Bastard.
Who did he think he was to reprimand her like that? And why the hell did she feel so terrible?

Chapter Eight

Deyon stood on her back porch watching as the sun rose the next morning. Leo hadn’t come back or even called. The bed had been empty without him and all night she’d cursed herself for getting used to him being by her side. The terrible feeling had only increased as she thought about what he’d said and finding out what had happened yesterday. The accident had been on the news and from what Leo had roared when he was yelling at her, he’d been the one to tell the parents. She could only imagine how he had been feeling. Leo didn’t say much about his job, but she knew when he had bad days and tried to ease him and not to pry. From the reports, it was no wonder he’d been so furious when he came by.

“It still doesn’t give him the right to curse at me, but I get it,” Deyon said.

She sighed, rolling her shoulders. If she wanted to salvage her weekend off, she’d have to track Leo down. First, she had to make a stop in her store to get the presentation she had planned to do a little work on this weekend. With the way her head had been hurting, she’d left it. After, she’d find Leo—she already knew he was probably in his house since it was also his weekend off, and after a day like yesterday he’d not want to be around too many people. Deyon straightened and took her mug back into the kitchen then went to get dressed.

Ten minutes later, she was in her vehicle. Deyon drove out onto her road then onto the main one. A sound from her cell in the holder caught her attention. The tone she recognised as the security system at her store then it was followed by another sequence of notes that she didn’t recognise. Frowning, she started to reach for it but stopped—driving and looking at her cell was a bad idea. A flash out of the windshield caught her eyes and Deyon gasped, jerking the car hard. She slammed on the brake but nothing happened. Gripping the wheel, she glanced wide-eyed as the tree she was heading for seemed to keep getting bigger and bigger. At the last moment, she jammed the car into neutral then hunched herself over the wheel, bracing for the impact. The car jolted and Deyon grunted as the belt dug into her and her head hit the steering wheel. The vehicle stopped and Deyon breathed out, realising that she was fine.

The door opened and a frantic male voice called, “Miss Deyon, are you okay?”

Deyon lifted her head, blinking and seeing the tree. She turned then winced before focusing on the concerned teenager looking at her.

“I’m fine, Carlton.” She fumbled with her seat belt, getting it off and turning to get out of the car. “Are you okay? I didn’t hit you, did I?” She stumbled as she stood.

Carlton Rawlings held her up and shook his head. “No, Miss Deyon. I’m sorry I was speeding and didn’t see you.”

Deyon stifled an ironic laugh. She only sped when she was trying to beat her migraine, but other than that she drove within the speed limit. Yes she did drive at the higher end of the posted limit, but since she was being mindful of what Leo had said, she’d been driving slower.

Yeah the damn bastard is going to love it when I tell him this.

Deyon brought her attention back on Carlton—he was the brother of one of her neighbours. The area they lived in didn’t have houses close to each other, but everyone in the area knew their fellow neighbours—there was a yearly get together held either at Carlton’s or at her home where they invited every neighbour.

“It’s okay, Carlton.” Deyon pulled gently away from his hold now she had her bearings. “I see Kenton finally let you ride his bike.”

Kenton was Carlton’s older brother and his guardian. Kenton also owned a custom bike shop.

“It’s mine. He made it for me as a graduation present. This is my first solo ride. He’s going to kill me for running you off the road.” Carlton smiled ruefully.

“You didn’t run me off the road. There is something wrong with my brakes.” Deyon stepped from behind the open door then closed it glancing at the front and was relieved to see there wasn’t too much damage. “Which is weird. I just had it serviced at Bennett’s.”

“You’re very lucky, Miss Deyon. You didn’t hit the tree too hard,” Carlton said. “When the cops get here I am so dead. Maybe that’ll save me from Kenton’s lecture.”

Deyon turned back to him, noticing the young man was anxious. “Hush now, it will be fine. There is no need for the cops to know. I’ll speak with Kenton to calm him down.”

Carlton was already shaking his head before she even finished speaking. “I already called them on my cell.”

“Bu—”

The sound of a vehicle pulling up caught her attention. Deyon frowned at the police Jeep pulling in.

“Let me handle this, Carlton. Call Kenton,” Deyon told him.

“I should—”

“You can’t avoid it. You,
his
brother
, were in the accident too. He needs to know.” Deyon stared at the young man until he nodded.

As Carlton moved away slightly to talk on the cell, Deyon remembered hers and the security noise. She turned, opening the car and retrieving her cell and purse before facing the officer. Deyon studied the woman who already stood waiting for attention. She didn’t recognise the caramel skinned officer who was watching her.
Wire-rimmed glasses covered her dark brown eyes with thick lashes. The cop’s hair was neatly pulled back from
her face and she was sans cap.

“
Deputy
—”

“Conner, Miss
De’clare.”

Deyon waited for her to continue and it took her a moment to realise she wasn’t.

“There is no need for the police. We’ll—”

“I’ve been ordered to take you in, ma’am.”

Deyon stared, unsure she had heard her correctly then sputtered, “Excuse me?”

“Sheriff Wright ordered you be arrested for speeding.”

“But, how did—” Deyon stopped, realising that Leo
had
given orders to his deputies after he left concerning her.

“You can’t arrest her. It was my fault, I was speeding. She swerved to avoid me.” Carlton came abreast to her.

Deputy Conner looked between her and Carlton then said, “Explain what happened.”

Carlton did. Deyon didn’t pay attention, anger slowly filling her. Leo had gone too far. She glanced at her cell, pushing a button then reading the screen. Fear gripped her and she glanced up at the Deputy.

“I need to go—”

“You can’t. I have to call the sheriff.” Deputy Conner turned and walked away, talking softly on her radio.

Deyon stood, waiting impatiently for her to come back. Her hands shook and she tried to be still.

It’ll be okay. Breathe, Deyon.
She inhaled then exhaled.

“Are you okay, Miss Deyon?”

“Yes. Did you reach Kenton?”

“Yes. He’s home today and will be here in a few moments.”

Deputy Conner returned. “I’m taking you in,
Miss
De’clare. You’ll have to straighten things out with the sheriff at the station.”

“What?”

“It’s my fault,” Carlton protested.

“I know that. But the sheriff didn’t let me explain and ordered Miss De’clare be brought in.” Deputy Conner’s face was composed.

Deyon tried to gauge what she was thinking.

“Bu—”

“It’s okay, Carlton. Stay here and wait for Kenton. If you don’t mind, can you and he stay and wait for the tow truck?” Deyon looked at the deputy. “Can I place a call?”

She fought to stay polite. It wasn’t the deputy’s fault. It was all that hard-headed Leonardo Wright and she would deal with him directly. The deputy nodded and moved away to give her some space.

Deyon patted Carlton’s arm then dialled. She didn’t wait when it was picked up. “I’m being arrested for speeding.” She quickly explained what had happened and about the security signal then finished. “No, I’m not injured. Can you also get a tow truck to retrieve my car?”

Once she’d hung up, Deyon strode over to the deputy and glared. “I could just deck you and go on my way.”

“You could try, but then I’ll have to put you down. Taser you then the charge for resisting arrest and assault on an officer will make your arrest a reality instead of a bogus one.” Deputy Conner spoke in a firm, succinct and no nonsense manner.

Deyon lips twitched. “You don’t say much, do you?”

“No.”

“If you know this is bogus, then why are you arresting me?” Deyon was more curious than anything else.

In the brief time in the deputy’s presence she suspected the woman followed the rules.

“Following some of the sheriff’s orders.”

“What other orders are there?”

“I’m to cuff you and put you in the back seat then in a jail cell. Cuffs in my opinion are not necessary. Unless you plan to try to deck me that is, then I’ll have to put you down on the ground.” Deputy Conner’s face was serious.

Deyon gritted her teeth. Leo was going to get it for putting her through this.

“Let’s go, Deputy Conner.” Deyon strode towards the car.

The cop opened the back and Deyon slid in, placing her bag on the seat beside her then dropping her cell on the top. Deyon clasped her hands in her lap, looking straight ahead as the door closed. In moments, the officer got in and got them on their way. As they drove, Deyon’s mind started to race with what was happening at her store. To get her mind off thinking about it, she looked at Conner through the panel separating them. She remembered Leo mentioning a Conner before, but she’d assumed it was a man with the first name Conner. The possible relevance of the name finally dawned.

“Are you related to Conner from the Sigmund’s ranch?”

“Yes.”

That was all and Deyon waited again then said, “Talking to you is like conversing with a rock.”

“Not really. Rocks don’t talk.”

Deyon laughed. “Don’t be literal. You know what I mean.”

There was no reply. Deyon tried not to think of her shop.

“What type of gun do you carry?”

“Why?” Deputy Conner made a turn.

“I like guns. I have a collection of them as well as other weapons.”

“What sorts of weapons?”

Deyon noted the interest on her face. She recognised the look of someone who enjoyed the same thing she did.

“Since this is a bogus arrest can we make a stop?” Deyon glanced out of the window at the way her store was. She couldn’t see anything, but could imagine the chaos going on.

“No.”

“I need to go to my store.” The desperation in her voice pissed her off.

If it wasn’t for Leo she’d be there.

“Why?”

Conner’s one-word answers were aggravating her even more.

“I’d like to be there to see if all I built will be burnt to the ground.” Deyon blinked, not going to cry.

She would not show weakness. She didn’t know how big the fire was that the notice from her security at the store had sent her—the alarm had never been triggered before. The idea of losing everything was filling her but no matter what, she’d rebuild if she had to. But she’d like to be there to do something. The feeling of being helpless did not sit well with her.

“It mustn’t be too bad or we’d have heard of the fire on the ra—”

The radio in the dash came on and the dispatch asked for officers to report to the fire to help the fire department. Closing her eyes, Deyon gripped her hands tighter as they talked in codes she didn’t know while referring to her business.

“Tears are useless. Tell me about your weapons.”

“I’m not going to cry.” Deyon opened her eyes then met dark brown, wire-rimmed eyes in the rear-view mirror. “I have this sweet piece I bought a few weeks ago while at a gun show with L—” Deyon cut herself off, frowning as she thought of the man who had her here instead of where she needed to be.