Drop Dead Gorgeous(91)

One thing at a time. I’ll make sure he handles the investigation properly, and then I’ll kill him for whatever he did to piss off Zoey.

His eyes narrow and he swipes a hand over his mouth, smoothing his moustache down. “What the hell are you doing here?” he growls.

Whew, guess he doesn’t know about me and Zoey if he’s surprised to see me here. Good to know we hid it that well because it felt like everyone in the courtroom had to feel the tension between Zoey and me, had to know that I was sitting there with the smell of her still in my nose, the feel of her on my lips, and the desire to have her again in my heart and pants.

But the subterfuge isn’t needed anymore.

Any conflict of interest isn’t going to matter by the time this investigation is done because we’re going to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Yvette Horne killed Richard, and any claim as beneficiary is going to be moot at that point.

“I’m here to see Zoey.”

For some reason, the five words ignite volcanoes in the sheriff’s eyes, and he stands, pushing the chair from beneath him forcefully. It rolls haywire before crashing into a table and toppling over loudly. Shoulders wide and hands clenched at his side, he snarls, “Haven’t you done enough to that poor girl?”

Uhm, what?

I didn’t do anything. He did.

Which I was trying to not mention until I handled the professional side of things first. But if he’s ready to rumble, he can bring it on. The sheriff might be barrel-chested and armed, but he’s old, beer-bellied, and probably—hopefully—not going to shoot me.

I send up a quick thanks for all the cardio Trey has made me do because I might need it in the next few seconds if I’m throwing down with Barnes.

“What did you say?” I sneer harshly as I wiggle my arms to loosen up a bit because I don’t want to pull a muscle with my first punch.

“Leave Zoey alone. You’ve done more than enough, asshole. I’m tempted to toss you in her refrigerator myself, ‘forget’ about you for a few days until your outsides are as frosty as your insides, and then let her cut your dick off as a trophy.”

“That is . . . graphic,” I admit begrudgingly, and though Sheriff Barnes’s lips lift, it’s not a smile. It’s feral and predatory. But why is he mad at me?

Higher logic takes over, my brain overriding my fight or flight instincts. “Before you try that—and to be clear, it would be nothing more than an attempt before I kick your ass—”

Sheriff Barnes takes a step closer, and I hold my palms up, hoping to freeze him in place before he can toss me in the refrigerator.

“Before that . . . exactly why are you trying to kill me? This is supposed to be my big moment of kicking your ass for whatever you did to hurt Zoey so badly that she ran out of the courtroom.”

“Kick my ass? That’s funny as hell, kid.” Sheriff Barnes laughs. And then, as though it never happened, he sobers. “What I did? To Zoey? I didn’t do a thing to that poor girl. You did . . . using her like that. Shameful is what it is.”

He pokes a finger in my chest, much like Frederick did not too long ago, but where Frederick’s had been a gentle prodding, the sheriff’s poke makes my arm flinch reflexively.

Shit, did he hit a pressure point or something? I rub at the spot and work my shoulder back and forth a couple of times.

“Use Zoey?”

What in the hell? I’m not some selfish asshole. And I didn’t even know she’d told anyone about us since that was the whole point of hiding our relationship. And what did she tell Sheriff Barnes?

“Look, I’m not a kiss and tell sort, but rest assured, I wasn’t ‘using’ Zoey. I made sure she came . . . multiple times, and she was . . . into it.”

That might be the weirdest thing I’ve ever told another man. Even Trey and I don’t talk like that, sharing that degree of personal stuff, which is why I damn near stumble over the words as I try to say them.

I don’t see the punch coming, not a single tell is telegraphed. My jaw just explodes in fire, and I stagger, looking for purchase on the slick floor.

“You son of a bitch!” Sheriff Barnes shouts. “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.”

He’s stalking toward me, winding up for a round two I can’t let him start. I throw an uppercut to his gut, and though he huffs at the contact, it doesn’t stop him. What does is my answering shout, “Then what the hell are you talking about? What did you do to Zoey?”

“You keep saying that. Why do you think I did something to her?”

I glare at him, panting. “Because she ran out of the courtroom this morning and you were the only one sitting next to her. What did you say to her? Did you call her one of those hurtful names? Drop-Dead Gorgeous? Or Black Widow? Or something worse? Do you know how much that guts her? This whole county just shits on her, treating her like a pariah, when she hasn’t done anything wrong. She never did anything wrong!”

We’re scuffling, arms flailing as we push off one another, neither one of us making any headway. He gives me a big shove, creating a gap between us that we fill with panting breaths. “She ran out because of you, you stupid idiot.”

I’m struck dumb and forget all about the fight, dropping my guard and standing defenseless. “Me? What did I do?”