Page 3 of Wanted: Forever (Murdock Brothers #3)

Cash

I sat in the ass biting chair in the middle of the spacious and very boring office. Leroy had taken pity on me and handcuffed each hand to the arm instead of making me sit with my arms behind my back.

I glanced down at my fingers still smudged with ink. Leroy let me look at my mug shot. It was actually pretty good. I might have to print that one out and replace the one from when I’d turned twenty-one.

I hadn’t bothered with my phone call. I wasn’t getting out of here until the morning when the judge came in. Besides, I didn’t want to hear the riot act from Sully right now.

They took my phone, wallet, and keys during booking.

I’d been in this office a time or seven during my high school days. Chief Pope tried to scare me straight, but he was too busy asking about football to really be mad at me.

Living in Indigo Valley had been boring as hell, but I never truly hated it. In fact, I’d worked my ass off to buy a fixer upper house less than a year after high school. It had been a shithole, but a far cry from the apartments my friends rented.

I’d hoped for a full ride with football—and I’d managed to get a partial even with my crappy grades—but I’d never been driven to live the game like the other guys on the team. In the end, I joined my dad and brothers in the family business.

It paid well and let me travel when I was in the mood.

I dropped my head back and stared at the drop ceiling. No more stained tiles like during Pope’s tenure. He didn’t care about his surroundings, just that he spearheaded the town.

Parker had changed things up. The beat-up metal desk had been replaced with a black one with a teak-colored top.

Her computer filled one corner with her blotter full of paperwork and a tablet neatly tucked into a charging station.

No chaos here. No real photos either except of a pretty young couple holding something.

I leaned forward, my jaw dropping at what I was pretty sure was an ultrasound.

Man. A distant memory of a younger brother kicked in.

I’d played little league under their dad and Matty had always been around.

I was pretty sure every kid in the valley had been on the team one time or another.

Joel Olsen owned Hope Street Diner and was larger than life both in personality and stature.

At 6’4” with a midsection that spoke of his deep and abiding love of food, he was much beloved in town.

I still couldn’t believe Parker was now the Chief of Police. Last I knew she’d moved away for college. She’d been tight with Nora, but hadn’t exactly been on my radar. High School had been either a game or a party for me, sometimes both at once.

It had been a good time, but once it was over I’d moved on.

I’d tried college for a semester but found I liked my tool belt on my hip more than a stack of books jammed in a backpack. I’d been helping out my dad since I was old enough to handle a hammer.

The door opened, dragging me out of the past.

Chief Parker Olsen stood in the doorway.

Fuck me, she was stunning.

Long legs were on display in her form fitting uniform pants. Instead of the usual deep navy shirt of the rest of the department, she wore a white collared shirt that molded to her frame. She took off her vest and hung it on her chair before sitting down.

Damn that vest had been hiding a whole lot.

Her blond hair was bound in a braid and not a single strand dared escape.

She moved the pile of papers aside, then folded her hands together. “Tell me why the hell you pulled Daisy off the fountain?”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Before or after the shots at Rafferty’s?”

I grinned. “Heard about that, huh?”

“It seems the town is very happy to have the Murdock brothers back in town.”

I shrugged. “Fourth of July just happened too. People just wanted an excuse to extend the party.”

She glanced at my cuffs. “Worth it?”

“Depends on if Judge Crawford still likes me. Or did he retire too?”

Her fingers tightened, but otherwise didn’t betray her feelings on that. “Judge Crawford will be in at eight.”

I resisted the urge to smile. Crawford and my dad were buddies. He found me mostly amusing but since this was my third time in, I had a feeling my fine would be as big as my hours of community service.

“Guess you get my company for another...” I glanced up at the clock. “Hour or so.”

“Half hour, then you’re someone else’s problem.”

“Aww. Sorry to hear that. When did you take over for Pope?”

“This isn’t a date, Mr. Murdock. Just keep quiet so I can finish up my reports for the night.” She turned toward her screen and her slim, ringless fingers flew over the keys. She wore a watch, tiny gold hoops in her ears, otherwise she was unadorned.

I was pretty sure she didn’t even wear perfume.

I hadn’t smelled anything other than soap when she’d patted me down.

First time I’d ever enjoyed that in my life.

I’d had a number of run ins with officers in my travels as well.

Not that anything ever came of it. Usually, they just did it as a scare tactic because I owned a motorcycle.

Once the cops noticed I didn’t have any affiliations, they couldn’t be bothered to arrest me. Too much paperwork for a bar brawl.

But I had a feeling that Parker wasn’t one of those kinds of cops.

Especially since my butt was getting numb from sitting alone for the last few hours.

Better than the drunk tank. Evidently Rafferty’s and some new game place had gotten spicy after I’d left. Leroy had been happy to fill me in while he’d booked me.

He’d been a staple of the Indigo Valley Police Department since I was a kid. He was good natured and never let anything get to him. The Murdock brothers had all been in her for one thing or another. Even Sully hadn’t escaped a night in a cell.

That had been a wild party. Even Ripley had ended up in the drunk tank that night. The only one who’d escaped that Memorial Day lockup had been Kai—only because he was rarely home until recently.

I shifted in the chair, trying to find a comfortable position.

Parker’s fingers continued to fly.

“So, did you figure out the code for my adventure tonight?”

No answer.

“I don’t need the code, but I would like to know what exactly my charges will be.”

“Why?”

“Mostly to see just how much of my savings account will be hit.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you tried to steal a beloved statue.”

“I wasn’t stealing, I was borrowing.”

“Save it for the judge.” She didn’t look away from her screen.

I slumped in the chair, the cuffs cutting into my wrists. “Do you think we could lose these?” I rattled each wrist.

“Nope.”

“As if I’m a flight risk.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t make it out of the door.”

My dick gave a little nudge of reaction. Inconvenient that the cop who arrested me was the first woman to interest me in months. “And how would you do that?”

“I have my ways.”

I kicked out my legs and crossed them at the ankle. My feet were still soaked and I was pretty sure I had a blister. “I heard you moved out west.”

More silence.

“Windy city maybe?”

More clicking, no talking.

“Were you a cop out that way too? Or did you just take over for Pope because no one else would take the job?”

She peered around her screen. “Do you know what, ‘you have the right to remain silent’ means?”

I shrugged. “I’m a chatty guy. I’m also bored and you’re hot.”

She rolled her eyes and resumed typing.

“You went to school with my brother, didn’t you? Gus?” When she still didn’t reply, I sighed. “I’m a Gemini rising, I can talk to myself and be quite happy.”

Tap-tap-tap.

“Fine. I’ve been to the west coast. I was in Vancouver working on this crazy job.

The air in Van is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

And the views. Incredible!” She was still typing away which didn’t deter me.

“Anyway, this tech billionaire wanted a vacation home on Vancouver Island which meant getting our supplies out there was an absolute bitch and he wanted it done before spring. Worked out since it’s reasonably temperate there.

Not to mention it gave me a job in the off season. ”

She sat up straighter in her chair, trying to ignore me.

“You haven’t hiked until you’ve done it around there.

I even saw a Black Bear. Holy shit, that was crazy.

When I got back to the trailers, my ass on fire, the guys told me there’s over seven thousand of them on the island.

Since they were coming out of hibernation they came out with a bunch of cubs.

You haven’t lived until you wake up watching two cubs toddle after a big mama bear while you’re drinking the first coffee of the day. ”

“You’re lying.”

I grinned. Gotcha . “Nope.”

“We don’t have bears in Kansas City.”

“Missouri or Kansas?”

She huffed out an annoyed breath. “Missouri.”

“I worked out that way once. They have a lot of fountains.”

“Did you try and steal one of their statues too?”

I snickered. “Nah. I was too busy eating the barbecue. Imagine if you arrested me out there too?”

“Just how many times have you been arrested, Mr. Murdock?”

I shrugged. “The important part is I was never charged, Chief.”

“So, I expect to see you in my squad car again?”

“Depends on what we’re doing in the car.”

“You think you’re charming.”

“Oh, I know I’m charming. I got you talking didn’t I?”

Her finger twitched on that pristine blotter of hers. It slowly inched toward a bright red stapler before returning to her keyboard.

“You have some good impulse control there, Chief.”

“Unlike you.” She tapped a few buttons more forcefully before she stood up. “But you’re officially not my problem anymore.” She tucked her files into her desk drawer, then stood and slid her chair in. “Good luck with the judge.”

She strode out, turning off the light leaving me in the semi dark.

“Hey!”

I tipped my head back with a laugh when I heard the lock click from the outside.

Guess she got me to shut up after all.