County Sheriffs 1: Conquering Adversity (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Misha followed at a slower pace and went into the infirmary to be checked out. The resort doctor had examined her. She was lucky to only have a couple of bruises and stiff muscles. Her coccyx was also bruised and the medical practitioner had suggested she take a cushion to sit on while working. Misha was glad she hadn’t broken her tailbone or been given a concussion after smacking the side of her head into the wall.

  Half an hour later, she was standing under a hot shower and moaning as the soreness in her tight muscles began to ease. The last week had been more than anyone should have had to endure, but she would keep putting one foot in front of the other. Janice would have done the same.

  * * * *

  Spence knew there was something wrong the minute he saw Misha walk into the bar. The sensual sway of her hips wasn’t as graceful as it usually was and her face was pale. Her lips were pulled in a tight line as if she was in pain, but she smiled at the staff who passed her by as they went about their duties serving the resort guests. He and Clay had already been home to the ranch, showered, changed clothes, and then headed to the resort. They’d eaten dinner in the resort dining room hoping to see Misha but when they didn’t see her they’d decided to hang out in the bar.

  Their patience had been rewarded, and though Spence wanted to go to her and ask what was wrong, he remained seated with his back to the room. He met Clay’s eyes in the mirror behind the bar and knew by the frown on his friend’s face that he’d also picked up on Misha’s stilted gait. There were only three stools at the end of the bar and Spence was now glad he’d been strategic when he left the stool between him and Clay free.

  Misha moved to stand between them but didn’t sit on the stool. “Hello, sheriffs. Are you here in an official capacity?”

  “No,” Clay answered and smiled at Misha. “We decided to try out the steak on the menu. The tantalizing smells coming from the dining room the other day were too delicious to ignore.”

  Misha nodded. “We have a great team working in the kitchen.”

  “What happened to your face?” Spence scowled at the bruise near Misha’s temple.

  “Huh? Oh, I tripped and the wall won the round.” Misha looked away when she answered and Spence knew she was lying.

  Clay obviously picked up on her untruth, too. “Try again, sweetheart.”

  “Look, it’s been dealt with so you don’t need to worry, sheriff.”

  “Call me Clay and he’s Spence. Now, how about you tell me what the fuck happened. For all you know, whoever hurt you could be the person we’re looking for.”

  Spence knew that Clay’s words had struck home when Misha’s eyes widened with fear or shock, or maybe both.

  The bar attendant came to take their orders. Clay and Spence ordered their second and last beer for the night. Misha ordered a mineral water. Once they had their drinks, Misha moved a couple of steps back from the bar. “Let’s go and sit in one of those lounge areas.”

  Spence nodded and followed to the far side of the room. He glanced about to see if anyone was watching them and was pleased when he saw that no one was taking any notice of them.

  Spence wondered if Misha was aware of their attraction to her because she’d chosen to sit in an armchair rather than the small sofa. He hoped she wasn’t scared of them, but hopefully by the end of the night she would be more at ease with them.

  “How did you get the bruise on the side of your head, Misha?” Spence asked this time and made sure his voice was firm so she knew he wouldn’t accept another lie.

  She sighed, threaded her fingers into her hair and winced before lowering her hand and sipping at her drink. “It was an accident?”

  Spence wasn’t sure if she was trying to tell them or ask them but decided to wait her out. He didn’t have to wait long because she began to explain.

  “Our head chef is a narcissistic asshole. He throws temper tantrums all the time. Ken, my boss, had to give him his final warning and he didn’t take it well.”

  “He hurt you?” Clay asked angrily as he leaned forward in his seat.

  “Not on purpose.”

  “He either hurt you or he didn’t, baby,” Spence said.

  Her eyes widened at the endearment and she looked away from him before she started explaining again. Spence was glad she didn’t take him to task over calling her an affectionate name, and while he would let her ignore the attraction between them for the time being, he wasn’t going to let her do so for much longer.

  “He stormed out of the kitchen after Ken served him with the warning. He didn’t see me and knocked me into the wall.”

  Spence narrowed his eyes as he studied her intently and could tell by her body language that she was telling the truth as she saw it. However, he was going to put the head chef on the top of his list of people to investigate in the murders.

  “Did he apologize?” Clay asked.

  “No.”

  “Bastard,” Clay snarled.

  “Yeah, well, don’t worry about him. Ken has already fired him.”

  Spence wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. If the fucker was their killer he could be getting away with murder, literally. He was going to make sure they kept tabs on the prick and have the law wherever he landed watch him.

  “So what are your injuries?” Spence asked. “We both noticed you were walking a little stiffly.”

  “I’m fine. I have a few pulled muscles and some bruises. Nothing to worry about.”

  Spence glanced at Clay and when their gazes met his friend nodded at him. They’d been friends for a long time and didn’t need to ask questions verbally. They were nearly always on the same page.

  “We worry,” Spence said.

  “I can take care of myself,” Misha said in a firm voice and her chin rose a notch into the air.

  Spence’s cock went from half-mast to full attention within a blink of an eye. He loved seeing how her blue eyes darkened and sparked with fire and couldn’t wait to see what hue of blue they changed to when she was in the throes of passion.

  “Did you get the lists I emailed you?” she asked.

  Spence held in his smirk at her tactic. She was changing the subject and decided to let her think she had the upper hand. For now.

  “We did.” Clay sipped from his beer. “That was quite a list. Are the delivery drivers always the same or do they change?”

  “Mostly it’s the same few guys but occasionally someone else will make a delivery when one of the regulars is out sick.”

  “Do you use the same contractors all the time?” Spence queried.

  “We do.”

  “That will certainly make our job easier.”

  “You said that a profiler was being called in. Are they here yet?”

  Clay shook his head. “No, unfortunately she’s been delayed with another case. Hopefully, she’ll be here by the end of the week.”

  “Don’t they have more than one?”

  “Profiler?” Spence asked.

  Misha nodded.

  “The feds have several but they all have a heavy work load. Jasmine Urban is the best and she volunteered for the job. She’s dedicated and wants this asshole caught as much as we do,” Clay explained.

  “Good,” Misha replied in a harsh whisper. “The faster Janice’s… You need to catch him before anyone else dies.”

  “We’re doing the best we can with the little we have to go on, sugar.”

  Once again Misha ignored the endearment as she drained the sparkling water from her glass and stood.

  “Well, it was nice seeing you again, gentlemen, but it’s time I called it a night. I have an early start in the morning.”

  Spence could tell by the wary look she gave them that she was running. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless but wasn’t about to make a move on her in front of her work colleagues. He and Clay were going to have to figure out a way to get her to their ranch for some alone time. How they were going to manage that, he wasn’t quite sure about just yet, but they wo
uld think of something, and soon.

  * * * *

  As Misha walked away from the two sheriffs she tried to suppress the shiver of awareness that raced up her spine. Both men were tall, muscular, and handsome and they’d been giving her heated looks the whole time she’d been in their presence. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. Why would two men look at her as if they wanted to gobble her up?

  She shrugged. None of it mattered. She wasn’t about to get involved with anyone. She had goals to make and having a relationship would just complicate matters. Plus, the men were investigating the murder of her best friend.

  Guilt assailed Misha and the tears welled. She didn’t think she would ever forgive herself. She’d had a hand in Janice’s murder. If she hadn’t asked her friend to come visit while she was taking vacation time, she might still be alive.

  The tears she tried to blink back spilled down her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped the moisture away with the back of her hands. She couldn’t give in to the grief but she wouldn’t just sit on her hands either. When she had the time, she was going to look into everyone she suspected could be capable of murder.

  Phillip was at the top of her list.

  Chapter Three

  The week passed uneventfully for Misha. She’d seen the sheriff’s cars patrolling the resort through her office window the few times she’d been working on her computer. She caught a glimpse of the officers and had been disappointed when she’d seen that it hadn’t been Clay or Spence in the vehicles. And though she should be questioning that reaction, she’d pushed it to the back of her mind.

  The kitchen had run smoothly all week and every time she stuck her head in all the kitchen staff were smiling and laughing. A far cry from when Phillip had been in charge of the food preparation and the staff.

  She had less than fifteen minutes until the last day of her work week was done and she was looking forward to some down time. Tomorrow, she was heading into Cody to go clothes shopping. A couple of her bras were about to fall apart and since she’d already thrown them into the trash, and she loved her lingerie, she was going to splurge and replace them. She also needed a new pair of shoes and since the weather was cooling off as they headed into fall, she was going to buy herself some more jeans and sweaters.

  Misha didn’t have a lot of clothes. For one, she couldn’t afford to splurge when she was at college and two, she hadn’t really set roots down since the tragic loss of her parents. Maybe once she had her own home she would fill her closet little by little, but it was easier to pack up and move if she didn’t accumulate too many material things. Plus, she was saving every penny she could with buying her own place as her end goal.

  She might even take in a movie before heading back to her room at the resort. Tears threatened when she remembered the last time she’d been to a movie theatre. It had been in the last year of college and Janice had been with her. Misha wondered whether the empty space in her heart would ever be filled, but knew even as she thought it that no one could take the place of her beloved friend. She’d been the sister of her heart. The sister she’d never had and she missed her so damn much.

  * * * *

  Misha pulled into a parking space along the main street of Cody and glanced about. It was early yet since she’d left the resort just after 8 a.m. The shop owners were just beginning to open up their stores. Cody wasn’t very big, and though it had a Walmart Superstore on the west side of town, she wasn’t about to buy her lingerie there. She wasn’t a snob and bought other clothes and things from Walmart, but her lingerie was the one thing she wouldn’t scrimp on.

  She strolled down the street, heading for the one place she knew sold the type of underwear she liked, and was just in time to see the owner unlock and open the doors. Misha smiled and greeted the woman and started scouring the racks for panties and bras in her size and a few different colors. When she saw the purple teddy, her heart flipped, and while it was on the expensive side, she just couldn’t pass it up. Misha had a love affair with purple, no matter the shade, and when she saw that the teddy was in her size, she grabbed it off the rack. She had no idea when or where she would get the chance to wear something so decadent but she just couldn’t leave it on the rack for someone else to snatch up.

  After paying for her purchases, she left the store and headed back to her car. She placed the bag of lingerie on the floor behind the driver’s seat, and when her stomach growled, she decided it was time for breakfast. Misha headed to the diner. She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that she’d been in the lingerie store for nearly an hour and a half but shrugged. It was her day off and she didn’t need to be anywhere at any particular time.

  She had just taken a seat and given her order to the waitress when the bell over the door tinkled. Misha tensed when she saw Phillip walking in the door. She cringed at how unkempt and dirty he looked but it was the scowl on his face and the anger in his eyes as he met her gaze that gave her pause.

  He stopped by her table and glared down at her. “You better watch your back, you little bitch. I know it was you that got me fired.”

  “Your actions got you fired, Phillip. Don’t blame me because you’re an asshole.”

  “I can’t get another job thanks to you and that bastard you suck up to. Mark my words, you will pay,” Phillip hissed from between clenched teeth.

  Misha flinched when he moved his arm, waiting for him to strike her but the blow never landed. The bastard smirked at her as he ran his fingers through his greasy hair, spun on his heels, and hurried out.

  “Are you okay, miss? Was that man bothering you?” the waitress asked as she placed Misha’s order on the table in front of her.

  “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

  The middle-aged waitress nodded before turning away to serve another customer.

  Misha’s stomach churned after the confrontation with Phillip but she forced herself to eat the fruit salad and yogurt she’d ordered. She wasn’t really scared of Phillip but the anger and malicious intent she’d seen in his eyes had her feeling very wary. She would have to make sure she was never alone if she ever encountered the narcissistic idiot again. Just as the nice waitress refilled her coffee cup, she felt another presence beside her and looked up to see Clay and Spence standing next to her table.

  “Hey, Misha, what brings you to town?” Clay sat down beside her and Spence took the seat opposite her.

  “I had a few errands I needed to run.” She hoped that the two men didn’t hear the squeak in her voice. They were both hotter than hell but seeing them dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts had her heart racing and her body responding. She just hoped that neither of them noticed that her nipples had gone hard or heard that her breathing was a little faster than it should be.

  “Have you finished running your errands?” Spence asked.

  Misha tried not to squirm in her seat as she met Spence’s heated, green-eyed gaze. “Yes.”

  “What did you have planned for the rest of the day?” Clay asked.

  Misha tried to hide the shiver that worked up her spine when Clay shifted on the seat beside her and his arm brushed against hers. Goose bumps raced over her flesh at the skin to skin contact and her pussy moistened when her clit began to throb. She was damn glad she was wearing jeans and hoped the scent of her arousal wasn’t noticeable to the two men.

  “I thought about taking in a movie.”

  “What movie are you going to see?” Spence took a sip from his coffee cup and though she tried to look away from his amazing green eyes, she just couldn’t seem to manage to.

  Misha shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  Clay’s arm brushed hers again when he picked up his mug of coffee. Another shiver wracked her spine and this time she knew both of the men had noticed her reaction. She glanced over at Spence and saw the corner of his mouth curve up, but it was the hunger in his gaze as his eyes perused her body that made it difficult to remain still. She pulled her gaze from his and glanced up at Clay to find him
watching her as avidly as his friend had been. She’d always thought blue eyes were warm and sad looking, like a puppy’s, but not Clay’s. His blue orbs looked hot enough to burn.

  “Have you ever been horseback riding?” Clay asked.

  “Once or twice.” Misha blinked back the tears that threatened. She and Janice had been on a couple of trail rides while on break from college.

  “Would you like to?” Spence asked.

  “Like to what?” Misha mentally cursed the breathless quality to her voice and hoped that neither man had noticed.

  “To go horseback riding?” Clay clarified.

  Misha’s heart leapt into her throat and she drew in a deep breath. She knew she should refuse, but for some reason she couldn’t understand, she was drawn to these two men and the thought of parting company caused her heart to ache.

  “Where would we do that?” she asked. “Is there a trail riding place around here?”

  “We’re part owners of a ranch with our friends and have horses,” Spence explained.

  “You own a ranch?” she asked. She tried to quell the excitement in her voice and body. No wonder they looked comfortable in their jeans, T-shirts, cowboy boots, and the Stetsons they’d taken from their heads and placed on the far edge of the table.

  “That we do.” Clay winked at her, sending more cream dripping from her pussy. “So how ’bout it?”

  “Yes,” Misha’s mouth betrayed her before her mind could kick into gear. She hoped the irritable scowl trying to form on her face didn’t show, and while she had loved the two times she and Janice had gone on trail rides, she had a feeling this was going to be way different.

  With a resigned sigh at her traitorous mouth, she stood after Clay and Spence did, and took Clay’s proffered hand. She dropped some money on the table for her food and a tip and let him help her out of the booth. Her fingers shook in his and she hoped he hadn’t felt her reaction. It wasn’t that she didn’t really want to go with them, to spend time with them. What worried her most was that she was looking forward to it.