Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

A s soon as he walked into the sheriff’s station, the look on Jeff’s face told him that he wasn’t going to have a good day. Carlos headed over to the coffee table to pour himself a mug. He’d already had two cups between home and the ride in, but it was an excuse to get close to Jeff without being obvious.

“You have a visitor,” Jeff told him, keeping his voice low, “and you’re not going to believe who it is because I don’t believe it.”

Carlos’s eyebrows about hit the roof. Who the hell could be in his office that would raise such a statement from Jeff? “Who is it and what do they want?”

“Well, since it can’t be who I think it is, I have no idea how to answer that first question. What does he want? To speak with the sheriff.” Jeff turned around and held his mug up to his lip without taking a sip. “Pretty sure he didn’t get the memo about the new regime change and you’re not the only one in for a surprise.”

Carlos couldn’t help but glance down at his new badge. The council had made it official and he’d been handed Hannigan’s badge before he’d left work the day before. Jeff now wore his old one that named him the deputy sheriff. Carlos had also gotten the approval to hire two full-time deputies. He’d been planning on spending his morning sending messages out to surrounding towns and cities to notify them of his new position as well as let them know of the open jobs. It wasn’t poaching if the other departments were the ones to initiate a transfer.

Not liking Jeff’s nebulous words, Carlos collected his coffee mug and headed towards his office.

The sheriff’s station was larger than one would expect for such a small-town police station. Former Mayor Boone had commissioned a larger Town Hall building during his tenure. The old sheriff’s station, which was the building Carlos had started his law enforcement career in, was now a town storage supply building, utilizing the old jail cells in the basement.

The old Town Hall building had become the new Sheriff’s Station. Upon entering was the lobby with a wide front desk. Chairs for visitors and the coffee bar were out front too. Belinda, now his secretary, was supposed to keep it stocked with donuts, cookies, apples, and bananas. Like many of her duties, though, this seemed too challenging for the ditzy blonde. Past the front desk were two swinging saloon doors that led into the back bullpen. Facing each other were three sets of two desks where Deputies Bert Anderson, Danny Weiss, Scott Pan, and Carl Kostrab worked.

While Carlos was the only one who knew for a fact that Connelly was not, and never would be, returning, no one had sat at Connelly’s desk since his disappearance. Even over a year later, Carlos’s internal monster still glowered at the fact that he’d had a rapist under his command and he had not known.

Carlos’s old office was now Jeff’s new office. The sheriff and deputy sheriff offices were cookie cutter spaces with glass windows that gave them a full view of the entire bullpen as well as each other’s office. Shades could be drawn if needed.

If Carlos succeeded in hiring Zoe as his secretary and finally getting rid of Belinda, who was utterly useless, then Carlos foresaw those curtains being down more than they were raised. He needed to talk to Keys to figure out how solid Zoe’s alias as Clara Everwood was and whether it was good enough to get her hired by the sheriff’s department.

The station’s overnight janitor was Bill Anderson, Deputy Bert’s younger brother. Bill had been in a serious car accident when he was sixteen, which resulted in nerve damage on his entire left side and the death of his best friend. Each month, Bill journeyed to the high school to counsel the teens against drinking and driving. He used his own body as a living example. Since Bill could not drive himself or hold down a standard nine-to-five job, Bert had gotten him a job as a janitor to the town’s buildings. He would travel between Town Hall, the Sheriff’s Station, and the Fire Station each night to help clean, take out the trash, and scrub the bathrooms. It also allowed Bert to keep an eye on his younger brother, which was why Bert generally was on night-duty shifts.

Though Carlos hadn’t asked for it to be done, Bill must have scraped the vinyl lettering off of the sheriff and deputy sheriff offices doors. Hannigan’s name had been replaced with Carlos’s and Carlos’s name had been replaced with Jeff’s.

Not looking at the man currently sitting in a chair that had not previously been outside his office, Carlos walked up to his door and took a picture of his name to send to his mom and brother. He’d have loved to send it to Zoe, but she didn’t have a phone. He needed to rectify that as soon as he talked to Keys. Worst case, he could get her a burner phone, but he’d rather get her a real one either on his plan or her own.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Carlos finally turned towards the man patiently waiting for him. Carlos’s jaw dropped—and he suddenly understood Jeff’s words with perfect clarity.

Because the man sitting outside his office could not be here.

Because Carlos had gone to his funeral .

The brunette man with amber eyes stood up as Carlos stared open-mouthed at him.

“Unlock your office, Sheriff. Unless you want your entire station to know some not so pleasant details about your girlfriend.”

At the mention of Zoe, Carlos snapped out of his stupor. He glanced to his right to see Jeff was watching them closely. Carl, the only other deputy in residence, was collecting his gear for a day on the streets in his cruiser and not paying attention to the station’s visitor.

Carlos unlocked his office and headed inside. His hat went to the coat tree by the door, but he left his gun belt on. It was uncomfortable to sit in and would normally be hung up with his hat. However, he was not allowing what could very well be a ghost into his office without keeping his gun on him.

A part of him felt like he should grab some salt too.

That idea was dismissed when the man proved himself to be corporeal enough to close Carlos’s office door. The man was shorter than Carlos’s six-four but he held himself tall. There was nothing small or demeaning about him.

The man looked at the name on the door and then Carlos’s nameplate on his desk. It still read Deputy Sheriff Carlos Santiago . “I was unaware that there was a new sheriff in town. Congratulations on your promotion.”

Carlos steepled his fingers before his chin, trying to decipher just what the fuck was going on. “I was unaware that ghosts were kept apprised of Mount Grove’s comings and goings.”

The man’s lips twitched. He took a seat in the left chair of the two before Carlos’s desk. “I’m here to deliver a message.”

“From the Great Beyond?” Carlos queried.

“Not quite so mystical,” was the response. “There’s a bounty hunter in your area. Goes by the name of Trapper. Keys will be able to find him if he’s not in your system. Zoe’s left her hidey hole. Good for her, but you need to be cautious. Trapper has no reason to come to Mount Grove, but he might.”

Carlos remained quiet. He had no reason to trust the ghost of the man sitting before him. The fact that he, one, knew about Keys, and two, knew about Zoe only made Carlos even more concerned. However, he kept his composure, not wanting to giveaway his unease.

“I’ll take your warning under advisement. Care to tell me how you’re sitting in my office when I was present at your funeral?”

The man’s straight face gave nothing away. “Were you?”

“I stood over your dead body as the coroner declared you dead, so yeah, I went to your funeral. How the hell are you alive?”

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy .”

Carlos snorted. “Quoting Hamlet only makes me more inquisitive, not less.”

The man stood. “I came to deliver a message, Sheriff. I am not in your area long and wanted to check on Zoe. Consider it me fulfilling a promise I made many years ago.” He walked around the chair and made for the door. Then he paused and turned back towards Carlos. “I am pleased she’s finally breaking free. A woman such as her was never meant to be caged. Don’t make the same mistake as her husband did, Sheriff, and try to clip her wings. Let her soar—or you won’t have to worry about her turning a gun on you too. I’ll do it without hesitation.”

Carlos did not respond. He stood and watched as the ghost of the man he’d known walked out of the bullpen. Jeff slipped into his office and closed the door.

“I didn’t want to leave him in the lobby with Belinda,” he explained. “Was that… I mean, you went to his funeral? We were there at the crime scene. I saw his body. How could he be… alive? ”

“I have no fucking idea.” Carlos sat back down and pulled out his phone. “But my brother has some explaining to do.”

Steel, Lucky, and Bulldog met Carlos and Jeff in the diner. The three VDMC officers came in the back door and were wearing their cuts. They sat in a booth away from the other patrons and with a clear view of the front door.

Kelly brought them all coffee and took their breakfast orders.

“Tell them what you told me,” Bulldog said as soon as Kelly stepped away from the table.

Carlos filled them in on his visitor. He watched Steel and Lucky carefully, trying to determine if they knew anything about Conner’s resurrection. When he’d called Bulldog on the phone to tell him, Bulldog had been enraged, confused, and doubtful. It wasn’t every day that one’s younger brother called him up to tell him that the prospect they’d buried was alive and kicking.

“ Alive ?” Lucky repeated. “That makes no sense. I was there. I saw him die.”

Carlos had been securing Mateo Castillo in cuffs and had not been present for Conner’s last breath, but he’d been there soon after. Bulldog was the only one who hadn’t seen Conner’s body, because he’d been somewhere unknown on an unknown mission for the club that Carlos wasn’t supposed to know about.

Steel, Carlos, Lucky, and Jeff had all been there. They’d seen the blood, the bullet wound, and the body.

“There’s no way he survived that,” Lucky continued. His voice was almost insistent, like if he said it sternly enough he could make it true.

Something else occurred to Carlos then as he saw how pale and uneasy Lucky looked. Harper and Lucky had named their son after Conner. He’d died sacrificing his life for Harper’s, who had unknowingly been pregnant. That dedication meant something to both Lucky and Harper. If Conner was somehow alive… What did that mean for their son’s name? It wasn’t like they would change it, right?

But, of course, he was alive. There was no other explanation for what had just occurred in Carlos’s office.

“Why didn’t you detain him?” Bulldog asked his brother. “At least then we could question him, get some answers.”

“Next time you have the ghost of someone you saw die appear before you, see how well your brain works,” Carlos snapped at him.

Bulldog made to reply but Kelly came back with a giant tray. Jeff was sitting at the end of the table and immediately hopped up to help her lower the tray onto a folding stand. Kelly gave him a kiss on his cheek before passing around the five meals. They all thanked her and she wandered off towards other customers.

Jeff sat back down. “I both saw his body and saw him at the station. Trust me, Conner’s alive.”

Carlos looked to Steel, who had been suspiciously quiet. “Did you know?”

All eyes turned to the VDMC President. Steel took a sip of his coffee, both his tone and his stature were casual. Too casual for Carlos’s liking. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Conner’s dead. However,” he said slightly louder when Carlos made to argue, “Conner’s situation is unique. There is another explanation but not one I understand yet.”

Everyone waited on bated breath for Steel to continue.

“Conner had an identical twin,” Steel reminded them all.

Bulldog’s eyebrows drew down. “He was KIA overseas.”

Steel nodded easily, “And, according to Conner, no body had been recovered. He’d had to bury an empty casket.”

Carlos’s eyes went wide. “You think it was the twin? Why?”

“Unknown,” Steel said. He took another sip of his coffee. No one had touched their breakfast plates yet. “But I do know this, he came to the station for a reason. He could have easily cornered you in a store or somewhere more private. There’s a reason he made such a public appearance in a town who thinks a man with his face is dead.”

“You think something else is going on?” Lucky inquired. “Like what?”

“I’m not sure.” Steel turned to Bulldog. “Let’s tighten security. Between this and the Pythons, I’m not liking having more questions than answers.”

Bulldog nodded once. “Already on it. We’re even setting some traps up in the fields in case anyone decides to come in the back way.”

The property the club owned used to be a distillery. Before that, it was a farm. The club had a lot of unused acres on their land. Carlos did not like that the trailer where he had found Zoe and Kyle was so widely separated from the rest of the other homes.

“If the Pythons come at you head on, is there a safe place for you to put the women and children?” Jeff asked.

Carlos did not miss how still-faced all three officers got. It was Steel who answered. Evasive, though it was. “They’ll be protected.”

Carlos wondered what other construction the club had done recently. Was it possible they had a safe room on property that he didn’t know about?

“Longhill trusted you guys,” Jeff said, either not picking up on or ignoring Steel’s vagueness. “You’ve always helped out and had our backs before. I don’t know what Hannigan had against you, but I was happy when it ended.” Jeff eyed Lucky as if he wondered if Hannigan’s dislike of the VDMC stemmed from Lucky dating and marrying his daughter. “But I won’t see Mount Grove turned into a warzone. Whatever this beef is that the Pythons have with you, you need to solve it and fast.”

Carlos nodded his agreement. “I know you guys stumbled upon the Python’s involvement in the dogfighting ring, but it made them take a closer look at you and Mount Grove. We need to stop this before it escalates.”

“We’ll handle the Pythons, but I won’t be the one to shoot first,” Steel said seriously.

“Hopefully there will be no shots fired,” Carlos stated, though even he could hear the doubt in his own voice. “What about Conner’s twin?”

“Nothing we can do,” Steel answered. “Sounds like he came to deliver a message. It was one he could have left anonymously and chose not to. We’ll just have to wait and see if the reason presents itself. The bounty hunter, Trapper, is now on our radar. If he crosses into our town, we’ll deal with it then.”

Jeff was the only one at the table who didn’t know there was a wanted fugitive in town. Carlos needed to decide if he should read his deputy sheriff into the situation. As much as he liked having another pair of eyes on the lookout for Zoe and Kyle, it was one more person who knew, and could potentially tell, her secret.

Carlos wasn’t sure if it was worth the risk. For now, it was enough that Jeff knew there was a dangerous bounty hunter in their area.