He just shrugged and grinned.
Annoyed, I left Leroy to handle him.
Before I could walk away my admin waved me back. “Boss, we’re over capacity. Do you want me to send him to Saratoga?”
“No, we don’t need to get county involved.” I sighed. “Stick him in my office. I’ll figure out where to put him.”
“Got it.”
Cash’s lips twitched.
I gave him my death glare. “Enjoy your birthday mug shot, Mr. Murdock.”
“Oh, I will. Third time’s the charm.”
I slammed my molars together as I walked away.It was almost three and I still had a few more hours of patrol.
There wasn’t much to do on a Thursday night, but I liked to roll through town a few times to make sure there was nothing going on. The kids were out of school and I was more than aware of how boring it could be when you were a teen and restless as hell.
I pushed out the door and tried to leave Cash Murdock behind me.
Chapter 3
Cash
I satin 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 drivento 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.
