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“I love you, too,” I whispered, but in my heart, I knew he was wrong.
“Sutton, this is not your fault.” Brian came over and knelt in front of me. He had so many of the same features as Mark, it was a comfort to have him there.
The ringing of the doorbell wrenched through the air.
And for a moment, we all sat there in silence. It couldn’t be Knox. He had left not fifteen minutes ago, and he said they had a lot to do.
The bell rang again, and Brian got up and walked over to the side table in the entryway and pulled out a small gun that I hadn’t even known was there. He motioned for us to move out of sight and then he slowly opened the door.
“Natalie?” I heard Brian say in disbelief.
Just how in the hell did my almost brother-in-law know Natalie, the slut that was ruining my best friend’s life?
“We need to talk, Brian.”
I walked out into her line of sight. “Come on in, Deputy. I am Sutton Landry. I believe you are already acquainted with Brian and Candice?”
The shapely blonde nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”
She turned to Brian. “If this isn’t a good time...?”
He put the gun back into the drawer and motioned for us all to go back into the living area. I noted that he locked the front door after he closed it. When we were all seated, Mark Brian turned to me.
“Sutton, this is Natalie Green. She is one of my operatives. I sent her down here to check things out before Mark asked me to come and stay with you. She is a retired sergeant in the US army and damn fine detective. I hope that you will understand why I didn’t share with you and Mark that I was sending her. I didn’t want her undercover status to be compromised, because I suspected that there might be foul play in the legal system.”
“Knox?” I was flabbergasted. “,.“Are you serious?”
Brian gave me a hard look. “You never know these days.”
“I don’t believe it,” Candice said softly. “Knox is an honest man. He might be oblivious as fuck, but he isn’t a crooked cop.”
Brian smiled at Candice and I once again was struck by how much he resembled his brother.
“You are a loyal individual. That says a lot about you, Candice. And no, Knox hasn’t done anything to warrant further concerns.”
Natalie nodded., “I have found nothing on the Sheriff. But I was supposed to meet with Max two nights ago at my place and he never showed. Instead, there were two men that did their damnedest to break into my place. I didn’t want to take them both on by myself, so I called Knox just in case, but they took off before he arrived. I think they had something to do with Max’s death. That is why I came. Brian, I think it’s time to come clean to Knox.”
He nodded. “Of course, I figured as much. You are free to tell him the truth, and that he will need another deputy.”
She laughed. “And that as well. I can serve in the place until he finds someone new, but it’s not fair that I’m here under false pretenses.”
I could feel Candice beside me, the confusion and anger rolling off of her.
Natalie looked up and caught her gaze. “I want to apologize to you. I needed to see what kind of a man Knox was. Part of that was seeing if he would flirt or cheat on his girlfriend. I wouldn’t have done anything with him even if he had noticed my advances. But it wasn’t fair to you. I am sorry.”
Brian scowled. “I thought you weren’t with Knox anymore?”
Candice looked at Brian and tried to smile. “I’m not.”
“Because of me,” Natalie finished. “Fucking hell, I really am sorry.”
Candice shook her head. “It’s between Knox and me, but...” She trailed off for a moment. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Sutton, I am going to get something to drink. Please excuse me.”
Brian and Natalie watched her walk stiffly from the room.
I could see the contriteness in Natalie’s face as she said. “I really fucked that up. I only flirted with him a little, that’s all.”
Brian shook his head dismissively. “You were doing the job that I sent you here to do. I needed to know his character and if he was a dirty cop. If their relationship was solid, it should never have affected it.”